I recently saw somebody suggest that hard wool felt is a better strop than balsa. I've been using balsa on hardwood for about a year now (I have 2, chromium oxide and iron oxide) that I "refresh" my blade with about every 6 weeks or so and it works out well. I thought I would try the felt to see/feel any difference. I don't know why but when I got done it was the as if I didn't know what I was doing! HHT failed, shave was awful, had to revert to a DE to finish. I went back to my balsa and it seems OK now. Anybody experience this?
I use the hard wool felt for a refresher. The challenge—especially if hung as a strop—is to ensure one doesn't roll the edge. I'm not claiming this is why you experienced what you experienced; I'm just saying I was mindful of the 'roll' as the wool is far more pliable (bendable) than a regular strop and I had to be extra careful when using it with pastes and sprays. I've only used balsa a few times and wasn't overly pleased with the results. Different strokes....
Just got done shaving and it's back to normal. I was always careful not to "roll the edge" while using the hanging strop but never thought it could happen on a bench strop. I got the edge back pretty easy with the balsa. Just another lesson learned! Maybe I'll save the hard wool strop for wood chisels.
I made my own strop with hard wool felt stuck to a block of hardwood, not a hanging strop I know, i use mine with 0.5 micron diamond spray for refreshing the edge when it starts to get a bit dull, i agree with HollyRollah that the tendency is to not keep the razor flat because the felt is so springy, although saying that, i only use the lightest of laps with the diamond spray. !!
I may have used too much pressure and rolled the edge. I've since learned that just the weight of the blade is all you need.