Thread: Talc for your strop, yes, no?

I've been kicking this idea around for some time now. It's probably not new, and it has probably been tried; maybe there is a post here somewhere.

Being a carpenter on and off through most of my life I've picked up a "secret" trick (not so secret) of using baby powder for polishes like french polish. As a musician I know that players of Tabla drums use talc on their skin drum heads; the oils in the talc are good for the skin (leather).

So I tried some talc on my strop. I understand that steel and a french finish are different things, yet I like the outcome; and I'm sure it doesn't hurt my strop any either.

At the least, it could help keep a strop supple, especially in the event one finds them self with no alternative.

So, any thoughts on this?

talc on the strop is also an old barber's trick. I learned about it via some old directions on how to break in a razor strop (applying talc is the final step in the break-in process) and have posted the same a few times.

Originally Posted by honedright

talc on the strop is also an old barber's trick. I learned about it via some old directions on how to break in a razor strop (applying talc is the final step in the break-in process) and have posted the same a few times.

Talc is an old hiker trick to not get blisters.

Talc can also take the squeak out old flooring.

Originally Posted by honedright

talc on the strop is also an old barber's trick. I learned about it via some old directions on how to break in a razor strop (applying talc is the final step in the break-in process) and have posted the same a few times.

Could you give us a link to this break in process?

And thanks to the OP for raising the issue. I'm interested in trying it.

Cheers

AND, scented talc can make you smell like a baby's bottom too—LOL

Thanks for the tip - I just gave it a shot. I'll need a while longer to reach a firm opinion, but it certainly didn't seem to hurt.

Thought I'd resurrect this thread, as I'm curious about adding talc to cotton and linen strops, in lieu of the Dovo/Solingen white paste. Anyone try this, or have further comments to make relative to leather break-in with talc as originally posted here? For example, I'd be curious to know if charging a coarse weave cotton belting with talc, followed by spraying it with strong hairspray would help to smooth things, etc., etc.

I have not tried talc on my strop. I do recall an old thread about using chalk powder as a strop compound as well. imhave also heard it mentioned as being in the old Barber books too. I would like to hear the results of those experimenting with this.

Like mentioned above

Talc/Chalk and Hairspray is an old Barber trick to recharge a linen strop after cleaning them

I was taught that back 1981-2 when I first started, it works quite well but isn't often used or talked about any longer

Same as cleaning/conditioning your leather strop using a Tallow based shave soap

I haven't seen either mentioned on here in ages but that is how I was taught :P

I have used Stirling's unscented tallow based shave soap to clean and condition a couple of old hardware store strops. Seems to help.

Lately, I've been trying to soften a stiff and relatively coarse cotton strop by rubbing it across the edge of a thick steel block until the fibers start to break down and pill. One side done this way, I pasted it with a tube of the Soligen/Dovo white paste, but I didn't like how the results turned out. So last night, I charged the other side with talcum powder and spritzes of water, rubbing it with my palm to even things out. Upon drying, the result there looks good. We'll see how it feels when stropping after tonight's shave.