Thread: How do my Balsa wood strops look?

Hey i just made the strops/hones im letting them dry now. i took some pics. do they look good? i think the coverage is pretty even.

Those look nice. I've been thinking about making one of these myself, I was going to glue several pieces of balsa together so the 'hone' ends up about the same thickness as a Norton 4K/8K and stands up off the desk a little.

Where did you you get the pastes from? I'm trying to find somewhere to buy a small quantity of CrO2 paste/powder.

I ordered the pastes and sent BScott1122 a small amount. So, I think I am his source. Here's my order information, plus a little bit more about some pastes and abrasives I've used...

Kremer Pigments
247 West 29th Street
New York, NY 10001
212-219-2394 voice
212-219-2395 fax
Kremer Pigments Inc. NYC
[email protected]

Product# 44200, 0.3 micron Chrome Oxide Green powder , 100g, 7.80 US$ + $9.50 shipping
Product# 48100, 0.1 micron Iron Oxide Red 110 M light powder , 100g, 10.00 US$ + shipping


Chromium Oxide 3M Abrasive Paper
Lee Valley Tools - Woodworking Tools, Gardening Tools, Hardware

Item Description Status Qty Price
54K9501 0.5 Micron CrO, Plain In stock. 5 1.80
+ $8 shipping


Dovo Red & Black Paste
Amazon.com: Dovo Strop Paste, Red and Black Two Part Set: Health & Personal Care

Steelforge, just noticed you're from across the pond. Kremer is a German company, and I looked up the US distributor. You can probably find a distribution point closer to the UK.

Curious how that Iron Oxide is working out? Useful on soft steel mostly or? And yes the data sheet 0.2% clumping on a 45micron sieve but pretty good pass rate eh?

I like the 0.5 micron CrO crayon I bought from Straight Razor Designs. And, I like the 0.3 micron CrO powder I purchased from Kremer.

Whether it makes sense or not, at present I got from 0.5 CrO to 0.25 diamond spray (to polish), and 0.3 CrO for a bit of the polishing out of the deeper diamond scratches. (I consider 0.25 to be functionally equivalent to 0.3.) After that, I am experimenting with a final polishing of the bevel with 0.1 micron Iron (Ferrous) Oxide from Kremer. The jury is out with the last 0.1 step.

But, in answer to your question, the 0.3 micron Kremer CrO is a permanent part of my final steps now. And, I like it very much.

They look great.
good job!
How well do they work?

Originally Posted by Steelforge

Those look nice. I've been thinking about making one of these myself, I was going to glue several pieces of balsa together so the 'hone' ends up about the same thickness as a Norton 4K/8K and stands up off the desk a little.

Where did you you get the pastes from? I'm trying to find somewhere to buy a small quantity of CrO2 paste/powder.

Lot of fun and choices....
Scraps of (exterior grade) plywood are less expensive.
Scraps of hardwood flooring if you can find them for cheap
are flat and heavy to the hand. Some brick is exactly the
right size and can be ground flat on a bit of sidewalk.....

They look good to me. The way I went about mine was gluing them to a base first. Plexiglas in my case but a lot of guys use wood. I also went 8" with mine but that is also a matter of preference.