Thread: Is baby oil good for strop and razor blade

I like a heavier draw.

I recently sanded my English Bridal leather strop to smooth out the couple of cuts it had and then rubbed in a mix of neetsfoot and glycerin that a member here sent me.

My strop is excellent now, supple, smooth and a lot slower. I also hand rub every week.

Originally Posted by STF

I like a heavier draw.

I recently sanded my English Bridal leather strop to smooth out the couple of cuts it had and then rubbed in a mix of neetsfoot and glycerin that a member here sent me.

My strop is excellent now, supple, smooth and a lot slower. I also hand rub every week.

I am a believer in minimal treatment to a finished strop, as well. Hand rubbing alone is usually optimal. If you simply HAVE to meddle with it, a couple drops of neatsfoot oil rubbed into the palm of your rubbing hand every few months is not going to hurt anything. A lot depends on the leather. Horse shell can go years with no treatment at all. Latigo as well. Bridle (not bridal, has nothing to do with brides) or harness leather needs little except hand rubbing and to be used frequently. Cowhide/steerhide can do with a few drops once a month or so, especially the less heavily treated cheaper veg tanned hides. You will know them by their pale color and stiffness. A few drops doesn't mean a big squirt. It means a few actual drops, rubbed between the hands. It may go on a bit spotty or streaky but that's okay. It migrates and spreads in the leather, eventually. Leave it be.

As for razors, I usually do not oil, but once in a while I find cause to regret it, here in humid New Orleans. When I oil, I use ordinary motor oil. It is free, because it is just the bit left in the can or jug when I change the oil in the truck or the car. It is formulated to leave a long lasting film on steel. Buying "special" oil that does not protect as well, seems a bit silly to me, but it is okay to be a bit silly about something as serious as razors. Camelia oil is often used, Baby oil too, though I avoid this out of concern about this business of squeezing it from babies maybe not being politically correct. Various gun or reel or sewing machine oils, too. Generally, veg or animal based oils on steel are not a good idea because they oxidize and gel or stain more readily than petroleum based oils. For long term storage, it is hard to beat petroleum jelly. At any rate, wipe your razor quite dry before stropping, if you store your razor oiled.Hide is an animal product, and they do best with animal based oils.The thing is, they already have animal based oils in them, if not removed during processing and not replaced.

“is baby oil is good to protect your razor blade and is it good to to oil the strop?”

Yes, you can, Ballistol is made from mineral oil and other additives. Many saddle makers and leather tooling artist who go through gallons of the stuff, recommend Olive oil. Both Food grade Mineral and Olive oils are commonly used in cosmetics and many other products for human consumption.

I use Ballistol and or Olive oil. The trick is to use oil sparingly and not apply by rubbing with your bare hand, you are just rubbing grit into your strop. There are tons of post on how to properly re-hydrate a strop.

Cleanliness of a strop is probably more important to finish stropping quality than the amount of hydration. Proper cleaning, hydrating, and rolling a leather strop can dramatically improve a strop’s performance. It is the final polish on your razor’s edge, prior to touching your face.

Also do not overlook the ability of clean linen to polish the bevel and edge of a razor. For maintenance of an edge, it is or can be more of a factor than most leather strops. Used in concert it is the best of both worlds.