Balsa hones for fun and, well, for fun!

[thombrogan]

This is what $3.99 and some lapping film can do for you:

This is some fun-tac to sometimes keep the hones from sliding on the sharpening surface:

Doesn't always work.

This is lapping film on a piece of balsa on a fun-tac-fastened surface:

I've used these twice and the results from the first time were heartening (took a ZDP folder to a level of sharpness I haven't bothered with in months) and the second time was, well, it exposed the folly of a previous sharpening job, but the sharpness was still good.

What's nice about balsa topped with sandpaper, lapping film, or buffing compound:

1. It's cheap and effective for most every knife.
2. The softness of the balsa encourages a light touch.
3. Choice of abrasives is open to anything you can stick to a flattish surface.

What's objectionable about balsa topped with that stuff:

1. Edge-leading strokes limited to the coarser grit for lapping films if at all.
2. Fun-tac doesn't work all of the time.
3. Unlike a float-glass backing or most waterstones, light touch is mandatory, so "I took that knife from 180 grit to 8,000 grit in 10 minutes" is no longer the case. Also, if you start with the medium-fine lapping film instead of the plain medium lapping film, the scratches on the back-bevel left by the 180 grit stone from last time will just stand out more and mock you (no effect on sharpness, though).

That's my stupid idea that other people have already done better and more people will soon outdo, but it was fun, so it's being shared.

 

[grizzled gizzard]

I have tried HA magnetic balsa hones with diamond, boron carbide, and cubic boron nitride. I've also tried the same on EP blanks. I'm not a big fan of balsa, and probably won't get more. Mylar on glass is more precise, and hard leather is better too, IMHO. The balsa has a surpring amount of "give", and it gets compressed from repeated strokes, so that it becomes less than flat... which is how it comes anyway.

I know lots of guys are loving it, but I think it's a passing fad. I'll take thin hard leather every time.

Just my $.02

 

[thombrogan]

The softness of the balsa wood actually isn't that much of a negative - it rewards a light touch and punishes a heavy touch, so it makes a good reminder on proper sharpening technique.

If we were talking about woodworking tools instead of knives for general purpose or food purposes, I'd agree that float glass or other hard, flat substances would be a better idea. Have found that everything I've ever thought was a necessity (flat surfaces, precision angle-holding, uniformly dispersed abrasive particles) for sharp knives just isn't.

Is balsa a fad? Can't say for sure. I do prefer float glass as a backing over balsa wood and prefer benchstones (diamond plates and waterstones) and ceramic doodads over float glass, but everything that gets the job done today will get it done tomorrow. There are still people raising a burr on only one side of a knife with a ceramic hone and removing it from the other side with the back of a notebook.