Thread: Help with inherited razors

Strop might be a bit of a challenge but it is worth the attempt. First hit both parts front and back with saddle soap and water, with a soft toothbrush. wipe clean with a damp cloth. Do it all over again. Pat dry, roll up in a tshirt so it dries slowly. After a couple of days, rub the leather, front and back, with the palm of your hand with a few drops of neats foot oil. This will be a process, not an event. Rub for several minutes. Next day, repeat. Each day reduce the number of drops of neats foot by half. Continue the daily rub with only one drop, until your have restored most of the suppleness of the leather. Then every day, hand rub with no oil for a few minutes. The strop will either be usable, or it will be a relic for display, one or the other. If you use it, give it a good hand rub before stropping on it. Don't keep adding oil. You mustn't over-oil it. Well, if you do, it isn't the end of the world but it is a hassle to pull all the excess oil out. Maybe the easiest way to do that is pack it in clay-type kitty litter. (unused!) for a few days, then brush and wipe clean.

There are a lot of ways to do this but the common thread is that first the strop is cleaned, then a suitable oil is introduced but not excessively, while the strop receives lots of hand rubbing. Neats foot oil has long been accepted as the best oil for this purpose. Why use any other oil? Don't settle for second best, is my thinking.

Whatever you do, don't let any abrasive paste get on the leather! In fact I wouldn't let any paste anywhere near that strop.