Pasted Balsa Strops: How Long Before Repasting?

[jhenry]

I have a Balsa strop that I purchased from the vendor that was already pasted with Chromium Oxide. I have used it approx. 6 times now to refresh the blade sharpeness of several of my straight razors.

My question is this: When should I re-paste my Balsa strop with CroOx so that it continues to refresh the sharpness of my straight razors' blades with maximum efficiency?

Thanks in advance for your advice/responses.

[Maximilian]

Henry, I too have a pasted balsa strop that came pre-loaded. I just re-pasted mine after what seems to be an eternity. It's that long I don't even remember when I got it. I use it a lot. Slightly rub your fingers over the top and see if you see any green cro-ox on your fingers. Also when you start seeing a lot of dark streaks and patches you might consider lightly re-pasting it. Before I completly re-paste I sand it down to remove the old crap and flatten the balsa wood again before re-applying new cro-ox. Works for me.

[sharptonn]

You should be able to use it for an extremely long time, even as it turns grey. If you wish to start fresh, just scrub it with a cleanser like Comet or Ajax with as little water as possible until clean. rinse good and allow to dry for a good long time. Then you can block sand it and repaste, let that dry well. It all takes a while for the drying! Like new!