Balsa Strop

Balsa Strop is an efficient way of final polishing a cutting edge using an Hapstone  knife sharpener. A balsa strop enhances the cutting edge by correcting small nicks and smoothing grooves. The working surface is made of polished balsa wood mounted on a high-quality aluminum blank.

Balsa strops are available in standard and narrow sizes. Narrow strops (12 mm wide) are suitable for recurved blades.

Balsa is the softest and lightest of all commercial woods - nothing else comes close to it. Balsa keeps its flatness better than leather and prevents the blade becoming convex when used on abrasive compounds.

Working with balsa is similar to working with leather. Gently slide the cutting edge over the strop, repeating 20-30 times for each side of the blade. The motion should avoid damaging the balsa with the cutting edge.