My $5.00 Stropping Experiment (the results may surprise you)

[Allen R.]

So recently I broke my paddle strop, (it was a small compact strop from a man who makes strops , It was a good strop, and the build quality had nothing to do with why it broke, I had it hanging up and was moving boxes and it fell off the hook and I stepped on it , which I'm sure cracked the wood. None the less it snapped . So a fellow forum member sent me a barbers type strop that they had and it works great and I love it, but I've been hearing a lot about Balsa wood so I decided to try it, here is what I did.

First I hit my local hobby store and found some "Balsa wood kits" that have about 12-13 pieces of balsa in them and my intentions were to get that, and mount some of the smaller pieces on edge pro blanks and mount the bigger pieces on some scrap wood. Well as I'm getting what all I was gonna need and the total was getting pretty expensive, I had the balsa kit, glue, some pieces of hardwood to mount the balsa strips on, and I think the total was getting to be around 30 dollars give or take, But I had enough stuff to make about 4-5 edge pro strops and 4 hand strops.

So I'm about to checkout and I'm thinking for 30 bucks, I could get (insert strop here) online forgot this, So I go put all the stuff back, Well I run into an employee who is talking about how she makes straight razors , so I approach her and I ask her how she likes balsa , and she praises it and proceeds to tell me I'm kinda crazy for buying all the stuff I was about to, and directs me to a square piece of Balsa wood that is 4 inches wide , and about 12 inches long & it has 4 sides, BINGO, I examine the wood , It's flat , no dings or anything, and she says pull up our website on your phone and you will get 40% off of this item so I got this nice chunk of balsa for $5.00 bucks, I get it home and load each side with a different compound, Black, white, and green and left one side unloaded.

I'm not gonna lie I had serious doubts about using this stuff, but I trust this forum so I grabbed my zdp-189 endura and off I go , First with black, Then with white, then with green ,and finished with the plain and I'm still having my doubts so I grab some newspaper and It slices it like butter! Still having my doubts I grab my benchmade 810 that was a little dull, and do the same thing and same results. So any of you guys on a budget or just refuse to fork over the kind of money some strops go for , Grab yourself a block of balsa, then hit up your hardware store and for $2.98 a stick you can buy compounds, I already had the compounds so I was GTG with just getting the wood. The best part about this chunk of balsa is unlike leather if your new to stropping your probably going to cut your leather , hell I do it still and I've been stropping for a while now, but if you cut your balsa or it gets loaded up or what have you, all you need is some 100 grit sandpaper to sand away the old compound or your knick out if you cut it and there you go , a brand new stropping surface. Examine your wood also before you do anything with it and make sure it is flat , or doesn't have any imperfections , If it does you need to sand it before you do any stropping, I guess I got lucky though the piece I got didn't need anything but some compounds. Overall $5.00 well spent!

 

[Allen R.]

Gonna add , when applying your compounds be careful this wood is so soft if your using the stick type compounds and you use too much pressure you will actually dent your wood, so just be very careful , a little compound goes a long way, there is no need for the entire section to be so coated in compound where you can't see your wood. I would suggest the paste type compounds if you have them, but the sticks worked just fine for me, just use very light pressure when applying, I also read somewhere of someone taking the solid compounds and mixing them with mineral oil or some other oil I believe and melting the the 2 together to make a paste, I'm not sure If this works, or even how to do it, If anybody has done this let me know, I would be interested in making a paste myself.

(Edit)- been reading up on this ^^^ and I've seen several people take flakes of the compound mainly chromium oxide (green compound) and mix it in with mineral oil to make a paste, not sure if heat is needed as no one mentioned it they just said mix with mineral oil to make a paste .

 

[HeavyHanded]

Just a little bit of oil goes a long way when mixing with crayon type compounds. You can simply rub a drop onto the block with a fingertip and rub the block on X or put a drop on the surface and rub the smear - less is more, you can always add more oil, not so easy to take it away. If you use a piece of oak one can actually sharpen a knife with compound. You have to use a bunch - really make a bit of mud, but it works very well. Can use the fine compound like a polishing hone and if you want to take it up another notch, rub some on a sheet of paper and strop with that.

You can get real creative with compounds if you care to experiment a bit.

 

[Allen R.]

Just a little bit of oil goes a long way when mixing with crayon type compounds. You can simply rub a drop onto the block with a fingertip and rub the block on X or put a drop on the surface and rub the smear - less is more, you can always add more oil, not so easy to take it away. If you use a piece of oak one can actually sharpen a knife with compound. You have to use a bunch - really make a bit of mud, but it works very well. Can use the fine compound like a polishing hone and if you want to take it up another notch, rub some on a sheet of paper and strop with that.

You can get real creative with compounds if you care to experiment a bit.

Thanks for the input, I've been eyeballing your washboard and also I'm trying to get away from using the edge pro, I find free handing to be much more gratifying. Anybody should be able to get a hair whittling edge on a guided system, but to get that same level of sharpness with just stones, is well the first time you do it the since of accomplishment is awesome. I don't have any expensive stones , I will set my bevel with the edge pro, then I will either use my diamond benchstone $20 bucks at a sporting goods store, then go to sandpaper and finish with the Spyderco UF benchstone , then strop, and so far the results have been just as good as what I can do on the EP. Granted they may not be as "pretty" , but they are every bit as sharp ...

 

[Allen R.]

HeavyHanded , what kind of oil do you recommend ? Will any oil work or do you you need a specific type, I've read wd-40????? and mineral oil, Mineral oil I can see but wd-40 really??? I've heard of people applying too much compound and using wd-40 to remove the excess.

 

[HeavyHanded]

Thanks for the input, I've been eyeballing your washboard and also I'm trying to get away from using the edge pro, I find free handing to be much more gratifying.

Glad to put it out there, I spent a lot of time noodling with different compounds, backings, surfaces etc, using slurries on hardwood and balsa was part of it.

Feel free to hit me with any other questions you might have re the WB - am currently out of stock but have already started more and will have some finished within the week.

I used to use my Crystalon stone and follow up with black and white compound on the WB. Now I use it with sandpaper just like the videos and finish with my "custom" made compound. It works better than any other commercial stuff I've tried (in that application). I still break out my India or Crystalon stone every now and then but not very often. Don't want to hijack your thread so I'll stop there...except to say I cannot imagine using a guided system unless I had a physical restriction that made freehand impossible (in which case I'd use one without hesitation) - its just too versatile and fast. It becomes an extension of your will, another way to express yourself, rather than another tool to be manipulated.

 

[HeavyHanded]

HeavyHanded , what kind of oil do you recommend ? Will any oil work or do you you need a specific type, I've read wd-40????? and mineral oil, Mineral oil I can see but wd-40 really??? I've heard of people applying too much compound and using wd-40 to remove the excess.

I just use a bit of drug store mineral oil. If you lay on too much you'll have to wipe it off and start again, but crayon compounds are might cheap so no tragedy. As a plus, I've added a bit of Juniper oil to mine.

 

[Allen R.]

Wifes got some of this high dollar bio oil (shes pregnant and its for stretch marks) I might steel some of that real quick and see what happens , also have some skin so soft (for the dog), I may try as well, If I go offline for awhile youll know she woke up ans I was doing this, because she will kill me...

 

[HeavyHanded]

Wifes got some of this high dollar bio oil (shes pregnant and its for stretch marks) I might steel some of that real quick and see what happens , also have some skin so soft (for the dog), I may try as well, If I go offline for awhile youll know she woke up ans I was doing this, because she will kill me...

For a long time I was eyeballing my wife's microdermabrasion lotion - it uses AlumOx in a nice cream binder!

 

[Allen R.]

Ok , so last night I kind of goofed up and had to bright idea to heat one the compound crayons (the black ) and try to apply it that way, DON'T DO IT!!I ended up with thick pieces of compound in some places and it wasn't uniform etc, I was gonna sand it off , until I asked about the oil, I just took some oil and put some on my finger and began to rub all that black mess i made last night and it worked, I had to use a little more as the amount of compund that was on the black side was ridiculous but it took all of 10 minutes to apply oil to the wood scrub the compound with my finger and now it's nice and uniform.... Thanks HeavyHanded.

 

[Allen R.]

Going to add as well, I can't take the credit for this I found it on a google search but for $1.98 you can buy a porch spindle at your local lowes or the home depot I'll post a pic at the bottom, and cut it in half to make a nice handle and balsa being so soft you could probably cut a hole for the spindle (handle ), with a sharp knife or a boxcutter, and use some wood glue or other adhesive and now you have a handle, you could also use the other side of the spindle to mount 4 pieces of leather on, (also found at the hobby store).Of course you would need to cut the squares off of one side , unless you wanted to split the balsa up and mount them on that way, but for me I'm going to cut the spindle apart one below the square and the other side leave the square and make my own paddle strop from different materials.

 

[OHALLUM]

Alabama engineering at its best!! :applouse:

I mounted some 3/8 inch balsa planks to some hardwood paddles I made for my balsa strops. They work great.

Blessings,

Omar

 

[Chris "Anagarika"]

The heating up happened to me too. Ended up oiling the paper on WB

I blame it on Mag's video

 

[Obsessed with Edges]

Good post, Allen. Completely agree. :thumbup:

I'd picked up some balsa blocks at Hobby Lobby a few years ago. The ones I found were cut/sized for carving projects, I think. There were about 6 or 8 blocks in a package, for about $7. Each block was roughly sized/cut to about 5"-6" length, by 2" wide and varying thickness in the ballpark of 1-1/2" or so. In other words, very similarly-sized to a typical 6" sharpening stone found at the hardware store.

Mine have been great with the compounds I've put on them. Currently, I've been using two primarily; one with green powdered compound, and the other with 600-grit SiC. I mixed both compounds with mineral oil, then 'painted' the mix onto the blocks with a small paint brush. I've noticed that both of these, when I first applied the powder/oil 'slurry' to the wood, made for some great polishing of blades; more so, when the mix is new & relatively thick & heavy.

I don't criticize anyone for wanting to purchase expensive strops (to each his own). But I'm convinced there's absolutely no need for any of this to be expensive, with some applied creativity. Minimal expense makes for lots of 'experimental' possibilities, without breaking the bank. That leads to greater knowledge, which in turn makes it easier to find even simpler and cheaper ways to go about it. Good or great stropping options can even be found for no cost at all, if one is continually keeping an eye open for it.


David

 

[Omega Leather Works]

Great idea re: table leg!

When I apply "crayon" compound to my traditional leather strops it comes off spotty, with thick areas and bare areas. Personally, I hold the strop over the flame on my stove, high so that it only starts to melt/soften the compound then quickly rub it in with my fingertips. It works wonderfully for me. I heard of others using a hair dryer, same principal.

I've been wanting to try rubbing a little petroleum jelly into the leather of a clean/new strop before applying crayon compound. Work Sharp recommends this, and in fact even includes the jelly with there tool sharpener. I've seen carvers do this step on their strops as well, it's supposed to be a prepping of the leather. It's about time for me to clean my ChromOx strop so I'm going to try it and see what happens. The leather I use is extremely thin and the nap is very very short and velvety.

Great post, I'll also try some balsa the next time I'm at Hobby Lobby.

 

[stitchawl]

i've been wanting to try rubbing a little petroleum jelly into the leather of a clean/new strop before applying crayon compound. Work sharp recommends this, and in fact even includes the jelly with there tool sharpener. I've seen carvers do this step on their strops as well, it's supposed to be a prepping of the leather.

Wait!!!!!

Rather than petroleum jelly, which is about as alien to leather as a fish is to a bicycle and just about as healthy, if you're going to take the time to treat your leather, why not use something that is actually healthy for the leather?

Petroleum jelly does make the leather 'look' healthier. It's not, really, but it looks like it. But leather is skin. Use a skin cream made for leather, such as Lexol, neatsfoot oil, or any other 'made for leather' conditioners. If you don't have a hobby shop, sporting goods store (that sells baseball gloves) or saddlery in your area, that sell dedicated leather conditioners, I'm sure you have shoe stores. They all sell 'shoe cream.'

Your strop will thank you.


Stitchawl

 

[Indiana Joe]

Wait!!!!!
But leather is skin. Use a skin cream made for leather, such as Lexol, neatsfoot oil, or any other 'made for leather' conditioners. If you don't have a hobby shop, sporting goods store (that sells baseball gloves) or saddlery in your area, that sell dedicated leather conditioners, I'm sure you have shoe stores. They all sell 'shoe cream.'

Pecard leather dressing is another brand. The Smithsonian uses it on their leather items and it's not expensive.

 

[Allen R.]

I don't criticize anyone for wanting to purchase expensive strops (to each his own). But I'm convinced there's absolutely no need for any of this to be expensive, with some applied creativity. Minimal expense makes for lots of 'experimental' possibilities, without breaking the bank. That leads to greater knowledge, which in turn makes it easier to find even simpler and cheaper ways to go about it. Good or great stropping options can even be found for no cost at all, if one is continually keeping an eye open for it.


David

Nor Do I , I have spent a lot of cash in the past on equipment, but I think it's murray carter who said it , It's 95% technique and 5% equipment, and it's very true , you can get screaming sharp edges without going out here and buying a WEPS or Edge Pro (I own an edge pro FWIW)and no my technique is not refined enough to where I can get a "pretty edge" like I can on the edge pro, but I can slice t.p with my edges so that is good enough for me. I posted it above but I'll say it again IMO anyone should be able to get a hair whittling edge from a guided system, but to do it free handed is a lot more gratifying IMO. I posted what I posted not to bash anyone for buying high dollar strops, But just to say hey if you wanna get into free handing no need to go buy the most expensive of everything, start out cheap that way if you find you can't get the hang of it, or you cut your strop, your not out of a lot of money. my freehand setup as of right now is a $20 diamond benchstone from the sporting goods store, It's rated as extra fine, but It cuts super fast, If i need to go lower grit, Sandpaper all the way. I have sandpaper up to 3,000 grit, It's cheap and it works , my most expensive stone is my spyderco UF benchstone, I have the smaller one, and I think I paid 50 something dollars for it , however that stone is amazing, I would probably pay 100.00 bucks for one or more, They are that good IMO

 

[Allen R.]

Great idea re: table leg!

When I apply "crayon" compound to my traditional leather strops it comes off spotty, with thick areas and bare areas. Personally, I hold the strop over the flame on my stove, high so that it only starts to melt/soften the compound then quickly rub it in with my fingertips. It works wonderfully for me. I heard of others using a hair dryer, same principal.

I've been wanting to try rubbing a little petroleum jelly into the leather of a clean/new strop before applying crayon compound. Work Sharp recommends this, and in fact even includes the jelly with there tool sharpener. I've seen carvers do this step on their strops as well, it's supposed to be a prepping of the leather. It's about time for me to clean my ChromOx strop so I'm going to try it and see what happens. The leather I use is extremely thin and the nap is very very short and velvety.

Great post, I'll also try some balsa the next time I'm at Hobby Lobby.

I have a bottle of suede cleaner I got for my boots, the cap is like a plastic brush, and of course the cleaner, I have used it, and I recommend it, not only will it clean your strop, but the brush will actually rough up your leather a bit and allow it to take compound better, and I find it works better for bringing an edge back.