Thread: Is Your Strop Dry or Dirty?

My strops only see the palm of my hand before and after shaving, I have one beater with a pasted linen that has been treated with Fromm dressing but I would never think to add this to my Kanayama or Spanish or English Bridle strops, I added it to an oil tanned strop one time and the draw became so heavy it was almost unusable and what I added was very little, what I have done once or twice over the last few years was after shaving I rinse my brush as most do and then apply my WH and splash and the very last thing I did was palm rubbed my strop before putting my razor to it before putting it away, I am sure some of the oils that are in the WH and splash along with the soap were on my hands and transferred to the strop, I am sure it's not that much oil but enough and I figure if I do this once or twice a year it will keep my strops is perfect shape for years to come.

The thread being about dry strops, Euclid440 refers to applications of water to open pores to accept conditioners/oils.

I see this working great on some old ones. Works well!

On the back side, a damp microfiber followed by Mink oil 20 mins later is going great. Every few days..

In fact, i thik in aframes tokyo, Takeshi Mentions that Mr. Naomi's Kawamachi (Kanayama strosp maer) recommends to clean his strops with a water damp cloth.

I can vouch for the wisdom of Euclid440's admonition to wipe just a tiny bit of oil at a time and then let in soak in for a day or two. Trust me - a little too much can turn a strop into a soggy, oily mess!

Kanayama #70000, palm rub now and then. Happy days.

I wipe mine off with a damp cloth before I apply strop conditioner to it. I condition them when the leather turns lighter in colour and if marks from the razor appear.

Originally Posted by JeffR

I can vouch for the wisdom of Euclid440's admonition to wipe just a tiny bit of oil at a time and then let in soak in for a day or two. Trust me - a little too much can turn a strop into a soggy, oily mess!

This is true! Come to think of it, I have been missing Euclid440 around for a while.
Always learn as he posts!

Get some Ballistol! It will clean & treat your strop or about any leather "except rough out leather" better that anything I have found. It is good for so many things in your shop. Check it out at ballistol.com
I used this on a VERY dried out Jager Barber Supply shell strop from probably the 1930's. I first cleaned the strop with the ballistol & then every few day wiped a small amount on for a couple of weeks & the strop looks & feels like new.

Slawman

Ideally, the application of any oil on leather should be preceded by a wiping with a slightly damp cloth. Wait 10 minutes then wipe with a dry cloth right before applying very little oil.