Good on a strop/bad on a strop. . .

Post by **ichabod** » Wed Jun 30, 2010 9:11 am

I've been having some issues recently with the feel of my strop (Illinois 127, although I'd prefer a Pennsylvania 6-5000), and have followed the advice to clean it with hand cleaner and it's worked quite nicely. I think I need to protect it with neatsfoot oil or some such thing, and I was hoping to compile some sort of list from the experiences of my fellow SMF'ers. What have you tried that was good, and what was bad, in terms of strop treatments? Dubbin? Shoe Polish? Hand Cream? Extra Virgin Olive Oil? (I haven't tried any of these, just wondering. . .)

matt321 · Post by **matt321** » Wed Jun 30, 2010 10:28 am

Good topic. I've used saddle soap and it seems to clean and also soften/lubricate. Applying tallow based shaving lather seemed to work about the same.

I put neats foot oil on a latigo strop a while back and I wasn't impressed with the results. I finally gave up on latigo.

notthesharpest · Post by **notthesharpest** » Wed Jun 30, 2010 10:40 am

Shoe polish is very waxy and would probably make your strop excessively smooth.

loueedacat1 · Post by **loueedacat1** » Wed Jun 30, 2010 10:44 am

I've had luck with saddle soap too, though I'm still wiping off residue. Seems to clean and condition.

Neatsfoot oil, very rarely, and very sparingly is good. But be sure to get pure neatsfoot from someone like SRD, and not the 80% neatsfoot you might pick up in CVS (which I did and regretted).

EL Alamein · Post by **EL Alamein** » Wed Jun 30, 2010 1:17 pm

My advice is to use the Dovo fat in the yellow coded tube they sell. A sparing amount will help keep it supple. Also you should, daily, give it a hand treatment - rub your hand or even your forearm over the surface of the leather as this will transfer oils and help keep it supple and pliant. I do this just before stropping each day.

I also recommend the Illinois strop dressing used sparingly. Tis good stuff and I alternate between this and the fat. This in particular seems to improve the draw of even the smoothest leather.

I only treat my strop, a vintage 1950's - 1960's model, twice a year. It remains supple and pliant for my daily use.

Hope that helps.

Chris

Post by **ichabod** » Wed Jun 30, 2010 2:14 pm

EL Alamein wrote:My advice is to use the Dovo fat in the yellow coded tube they sell. A sparing amount will help keep it supple. Also you should, daily, give it a hand treatment - rub your hand or even your forearm over the surface of the leather as this will transfer oils and help keep it supple and pliant. I do this just before stropping each day.

I also recommend the Illinois strop dressing used sparingly. Tis good stuff and I alternate between this and the fat. This in particular seems to improve the draw of even the smoothest leather.

I only treat my strop, a vintage 1950's - 1960's model, twice a year. It remains supple and pliant for my daily use.

Hope that helps.

Chris

I'm not sure I think of the right thing when I see this expression - does draw refer to the way the razor glides across the leather, or does it imply some sort of "suction" (for want of a better word) between the edge of the blade and the strop. I struggle because draw can (to me, anyway) conjur up drawing the blade across the leather, or the edge being drawn towards the leather.

Oh - and I made the mistake (corrected now) of leaving my strop in the bathroom for a while and I think the humidity got to it a bit, so I was doing the hand rub thing, but I don't think it was enough to combat the bathroom environment.

Post by **ichabod** » Wed Jun 30, 2010 2:17 pm

loueedacat1 wrote:I've had luck with saddle soap too, though I'm still wiping off residue. Seems to clean and condition.

Neatsfoot oil, very rarely, and very sparingly is good. But be sure to get pure neatsfoot from someone like SRD, and not the 80% neatsfoot you might pick up in CVS (which I did and regretted).

Regretted because the other 20% was stuff that's bad for strops?

EL Alamein · Post by **EL Alamein** » Wed Jun 30, 2010 4:24 pm

ichabod wrote: I'm not sure I think of the right thing when I see this expression - does draw refer to the way the razor glides across the leather, or does it imply some sort of "suction" (for want of a better word) between the edge of the blade and the strop. I struggle because draw can (to me, anyway) conjur up drawing the blade across the leather, or the edge being drawn towards the leather.

Oh - and I made the mistake (corrected now) of leaving my strop in the bathroom for a while and I think the humidity got to it a bit, so I was doing the hand rub thing, but I don't think it was enough to combat the bathroom environment.

Draw in this instance refers to the tack or stickiness of the leather as the razor slides over it while you strop in the normal fashion. With regular use draw diminishes over time. The best strop dressings were designed to keep the leather supple and pliant while also restoring as much draw as possible.

I'm not sure hanging the strop in the bathroom has any ill effects as I hung one in the bathroom for years and didn't notice any performance issues. It may actually help keep the leather from drying out, but I can't be sure of that. If you use the strop dressings sparingly I think hanging a strop in the bathroom won't affect it. That said I'll complicate things and say I no longer hang mine in the bathroom since we did the master bath. during the refurbishing I moved it to the bedroom and never moved it back. I sort of liked it in there don't ask me why.

Hope that clarifies things.

Chris

loueedacat1 · Post by **loueedacat1** » Wed Jun 30, 2010 4:43 pm

ichabod wrote:
loueedacat1 wrote:I've had luck with saddle soap too, though I'm still wiping off residue. Seems to clean and condition.

Neatsfoot oil, very rarely, and very sparingly is good. But be sure to get pure neatsfoot from someone like SRD, and not the 80% neatsfoot you might pick up in CVS (which I did and regretted).
Regretted because the other 20% was stuff that's bad for strops?

yes

Post by **drmoss_ca** » Wed Jun 30, 2010 5:55 pm

One of my TI paddles has become a great favourite. It has a brown side and a black side. Initially the brown leather was the smoother, but the black has become very much like velvet with use and is currently my finishing strop of choice. No need for neat's foot oil or anything else with the sueded finish.

Chris

JohnP · Post by **JohnP** » Wed Jun 30, 2010 6:30 pm

I've had good luck in the past with just plain mechanic's hand cleaner used sparingly, FWIW, but NOT the pumice type...
I think the lanolin helped somehow....

The Dovo stuff worked well too, pretty sure it's just fat, though. Lots of stuff out there that will work.

John P.

Post by **ichabod** » Thu Jul 01, 2010 6:10 pm

What about Bag Balm, anyone tried that? I think it's mostly lanolin.

notthesharpest · Post by **notthesharpest** » Thu Jul 01, 2010 6:29 pm

If lanolin is really what you want you can buy it pure ("anhydrous lanolin") from a pharmacist who compounds their own lotions. However, it's extremely sticky and greasy (makes Vaseline feel watery by comparison) and maybe it would be easier to work with if it was mixed with something.

loueedacat1 · Post by **loueedacat1** » Thu Jul 01, 2010 7:12 pm

Bag balm is an awesome aftershave balm of last resort (particularly if you want your wife to leave you alone for a while). But I wouldn't put it anywhere near a strop. It's mostly petroleum jelly (and lanolin).

It is rumored to have magic powers though....

brothers · Post by **brothers** » Tue Jul 06, 2010 6:09 pm

I've got an Illinois 127 strop that I've had for about a year and a half. It's the only one I've ever used on a daily basis. (I have a vintage strop, but haven't taken the trouble to try to actually use and depend on it to keep my razors sharp.) I used my Chicago to learn on and you know what that means. I cut and nicked the crap all out of it. But because it's the one I have, that means I'll fix it and use it forever.

I keep it supple and soft with a bottle of Neatsfoot Compound I bought at the hardware store the same time I bought the strop. I've sanded the nicks out in the order they've happened, and I even cut a pretty good gash in it about a year ago, and fixed that with some contact cement, then sanded out the raised area where the gash was (is). It's no big deal.

In the beginning the strop was thirsty, and it took a lot of Neatsfoot oil until it started feeling right to me. Once it got well oiled and seasoned, it's been excellent, day in and day out. After a stretch of about 10 months following the first round of Neatsfoot treatment, I just recently reapplied another thorough dose and I really like it. The reason I like it is because the razors come off of it with a wicked edge every time. I doused it thoroughly (liberally) with the Neatsfoot when I treated it in the beginning, and then again when I gave it the first annual refresher.