Balsa strop?

E

evert67

Joined
Oct 22, 2011
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Anyone stropping here with a balsa strop? I am curious to know what the advantage is over a leather strop.

Thanks!
 
Balsa is firmer than leather, and compounds can embed very well into it. The extra firmness helps minimize rounding the edge, if pressure is a little heavier. Most leather, unless it's very hard or very thin on a hard backing, will tend to form itself around the edge of the blade drawn across it, which is more likely to round off or dull the edge. The ability of compound to embed into the balsa will make the strop work faster, in terms of polishing. You'll notice this in how fast the surface of the strop blackens (with the metal coming off the blade).

Balsa strops are about the simplest to maintain. When they get excessively dirty, just sand it clean and re-apply compound. Done.
 
In one sense, it's more like a 'hone', used with a stropping motion (edge-trailing). Trying to go edge-leading on balsa would likely result in the blade cutting into it. Not quite like a stone, which is usually used with an edge-leading stroke.

As for 'poor person's' use, this could be true for virtually any material used for stropping, like leather, cardboard, paper, denim, etc. Whatever works. And balsa works quite well. :)
 
Obsessed with Edges said:
Balsa is firmer than leather, and compounds can embed very well into it. The extra firmness helps minimize rounding the edge, if pressure is a little heavier. Most leather, unless it's very hard or very thin on a hard backing, will tend to form itself around the edge of the blade drawn across it, which is more likely to round off or dull the edge. The ability of compound to embed into the balsa will make the strop work faster, in terms of polishing. You'll notice this in how fast the surface of the strop blackens (with the metal coming off the blade).

Balsa strops are about the simplest to maintain. When they get excessively dirty, just sand it clean and re-apply compound. Done.
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Balsa sounds excellent. Wonder why you don't hear more about people using balsa, given its effectiveness. Maybe just because they aren't aware of it? To me, balsa already sounds like a better option than leather.

How does newspaper compare with balsa? Nice thing about newspaper: always cheap, always available, zero maintenance (just toss when done).
 
maximus83 said:
Balsa sounds excellent. Wonder why you don't hear more about people using balsa, given its effectiveness. Maybe just because they aren't aware of it? To me, balsa already sounds like a better option than leather.

How does newspaper compare with balsa? Nice thing about newspaper: always cheap, always available, zero maintenance (just toss when done).
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Actually, many of the experienced sharpening nuts around here have sung the praises of balsa stropping. That's how I learned about it. ;)

And newspaper is known to work well too. There are probably an infinite number of ways to strop a blade. I've used paper on my balsa blocks (phonebook paper, or printer paper with compound). How effective a stropping material is, comes down to the abrasiveness of it, and also what's being used as the backing (how firm is it?). You can make a significant change in the performance of a single compound, just by using it on a different material. It'll be more aggressive on firm/hard materials, like wood, and less aggressive on softer materials, like leather.
 
I love stropping with balsa! For some reason it gives me better tactile and auditory feedback which prevents from using the wrong stropping angle. I still like my leather strops for any stubborn burs though.
 
What I meant by "poor man's stone" is the folowing. Suppose you had finished sharpening on a 1200 grit stone (Ansi rating). That is equivalent to about 5 microns.

What would you do next to improve sharpness, if money were no issue:
- sharpen with a 1500grit stone (equivalent of abou 3.5 microns) followed by stropping on leather
- strop on balsa using 3.5 micron compound, followedby stropping on leather
- strop on leather using 3.5 micron compound
 
evert67 said:
What I meant by "poor man's stone" is the folowing. Suppose you had finished sharpening on a 1200 grit stone (Ansi rating). That is equivalent to about 5 microns.

What would you do next to improve sharpness, if money were no issue:
- sharpen with a 1500grit stone (equivalent of abou 3.5 microns) followed by stropping on leather
- strop on balsa using 3.5 micron compound, followedby stropping on leather
- strop on leather using 3.5 micron compound
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That's the catch. It's almost impossible to say which would work 'best' in your hands. So many variables play into it. The other huge variable is the definition of 'improve sharpness', which depends on a subjective perception of 'sharp' (some say toothy edges are sharper, and others say more refined edges are sharper; and depending on the use of the blade, they can both be right). The great thing about balsa and so many other 'cheap' options is, they're CHEAP. So, given the choices you listed above, I'd just try 'em all. At some point, you're going to produce an edge that you like best, and the steps taken to get there might not seem so straight-forward, in terms of the grit size or type, or the backing media used.

In simplest terms, to refine the finish on the bevels in a logical sequence, I'd say this sequence would be the most logical:

stone --> compound on balsa --> compound on leather --> bare leather.

That 'should' do the best job at polishing the bevel. Whether that's going to be 'sharpest' or not, is up to you.
 
Thanks again David! Of course I know the answer "it depends" :). But your explanation makes it quite clear.

The only thing that was not correct in my "presumed assumption" was that money did not matter. I have a Wicked Edge system and balsa strops are about §40 for this.

I think I'll go for stropping with diamond compound first with a grit size a bit higher (smaller micron size) than the stone I finsihed on. And then strop on plain leather. Does this sound sensible to you?
 
evert67 said:
Thanks again David! Of course I know the answer "it depends" :). But your explanation makes it quite clear.

The only thing that was not correct in my "presumed assumption" was that money did not matter. I have a Wicked Edge system and balsa strops are about §40 for this.

I think I'll go for stropping with diamond compound first with a grit size a bit higher (smaller micron size) than the stone I finsihed on. And then strop on plain leather. Does this sound sensible to you?
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I'm assuming the stone you finished on wasn't diamond? If it wasn't, it's sort of a toss-up as to whether the diamond stropping afterwards will leave a finer or coarser finish. Even at smaller grit, diamond will cut more deeply than other abrasives, like aluminum oxide or silicon carbide, at similar or even a somewhat larger grit size. The hardness of each is what makes the difference. And in this case, the balsa backing for the diamond compound is going to be less firm than the stone, so that's another variable. Results are much easier to predict if the grit size is the only thing changing, with the abrasive type and the backing media remaining the same. The best I could recommend for now is, give your planned sequence a try, and see if it works for you.
 
Obsessed with Edges said:
Balsa is firmer than leather, and compounds can embed very well into it. The extra firmness helps minimize rounding the edge, if pressure is a little heavier. Most leather, unless it's very hard or very thin on a hard backing, will tend to form itself around the edge of the blade drawn across it, which is more likely to round off or dull the edge. .
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I think that most folks who make their own leather strops leave out one very important step in the production. Unless the leather has been properly 'cased' it will not be firm enough for a good quality strop. Most folks just take a good piece of leather that they bought and glue it to a backing. This is NOT the way to make a good strop!!! The leather needs to be cased first, wetted, then rolled hard with a good solid rolling pin of some sort to compress the leather, then allowed to dry before gluing to the base.

The results make a good leather strop.


Stitchawl
 
stitchawl said:
I think that most folks who make their own leather strops leave out one very important step in the production. Unless the leather has been properly 'cased' it will not be firm enough for a good quality strop. Most folks just take a good piece of leather that they bought and glue it to a backing. This is NOT the way to make a good strop!!! The leather needs to be cased first, wetted, then rolled hard with a good solid rolling pin of some sort to compress the leather, then allowed to dry before gluing to the base.

The results make a good leather strop.


Stitchawl
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Thanks Stitch.

I still need to play around with that a bit. Haven't done it yet. When I got to the point I was dissatisfied with the relative softness of my leather strops, I just moved on to using wood (balsa, oak). I still use my leather strops a bit, but with very, very light pressure, so as to minimize the 'squish' in it. It still has it's place in my 'tool kit', but within some obvious limitations.
 
Obsessed with Edges said:
Thanks Stitch.

I still need to play around with that a bit.
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Step by step:
1. Wet the leather. No need to soak it for any length of time. Running it under the tap for a second or two, front and back, is enough.
2. VERY IMPORTANT - let the leather dry for a while. Before you wet it it was a light tan color. Water darkened it a lot. Let it dry until it's about half-way back to its original color. At THAT point it will be almost as squishy as modeling clay.
3. Use a large diameter rolling pin, the heavier the better. Marble pastry pins are great for this, but even a piece of 3-4" PCV pipe will work. Now start rolling on the smooth side of the leather. Roll from end to end evenly, bearing down on the roller. Do this for 4-5 minutes, not just one minute. This will firm up the leather. If you are going to use this for a bare leather strop, roll it for 10-15 minutes. The rolling will force more silicates to migrate to the top of the leather.
4. Let it dry naturally, then glue to a backing or use as a hanging strop.

Keep in mind that any natural oil... ANY oil... is going to soften the leather. Makes no difference if it's Lexol or Olive oil. Lexol is more compatible with leather. Olive oil won't hurt it. But both will soften the leather... Soooo... if you really want a good firm strop, but need to put some sort of strop conditioner on it, dab it on a finger tip and rub it out well. Don't paint it on with a brush, or rub it on with a saturated cloth, or pour it on and rub away the excess. None of the above will harm the leather, but they will significantly soften the leather more than is needed to preserve it. The strop conditioner I use on my grandfathers old hanging strop has the consistency of thicker Vaseline, and I use less than a pea-size for the entire strop once a year. My grandfather used it every day as did my dad. I'm guessing that this stop is about 75 years old... and the leather looks brand new.


Stitchawl
 
Thanks again, Stitch.

I have noticed, with my DMT Dia-Paste, the relatively thick oil-based suspension used with it seems to do a decent job keeping my strops quite 'grippy' and supple on the surface, without softening the leather as a whole. Great tactile feedback. Applied just as you describe, with a fingertip in sparing amounts. :thumbup:
 
Man, one of the Best Threads yet. Thanks guys :thumbup: If every Day lived was lived to its fullest by learning something new - this was a good day.
 
Balsa + micro-abrasive is a great maintenance tool. When my knives have been used hard, the leather strops sometimes aren't rigid enough to hone the edge whereas the balsa is perfect for the job. A balsa/leather combo is a great 1-2 punch since leather has the somewhat unique ability to burnish the surface of the bevel, smoothing the metal from the scratch ridges and filling in the valleys.
 
I just picked up a length of balsa from an art/framing store. While I was there the staff mentioned that they also have basswood which they said was firmer. So I got one of each, as well as a length of leather strop from Tandy.

Still have yet to try them out.
 
So, if one were to use balsa as a strop BEFORE going to a leather strop,......



What grits would you say perform best with what material? You know, like how fine a grit for the balsa, before moving to what grits on the leather strops.

Thanks, this is a great thread!

dave
 
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