Thread: Kanayama Strop Care

I've got 3 Kanayamas and they all look pretty much the same as yours. The only maintenance I ever give them is a rubdown with the palm of the hand before use, and a wipe with a damp cloth a couple of times a year to clean the surface. Shell cordovan is not leather, in the strictest sense of the word, since it does not come from the actual skin of the horse. I would be very hesitant to use any leather products on it or deviate from the maker's instructions in any way.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shell_cordovan

Originally Posted by sqzbxr

I've got 3 Kanayamas and they all look pretty much the same as yours. The only maintenance I ever give them is a rubdown with the palm of the hand before use, and a wipe with a damp cloth a couple of times a year to clean the surface. Shell cordovan is not leather, in the strictest sense of the word, since it does not come from the actual skin of the horse. I would be very hesitant to use any leather products on it or deviate from the maker's instructions in any way.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shell_cordovan

I have been using a car wax applicator to wipe it down with, it's like microfiber wrapped arund a sponge so should I use something else to wipe it with like say a cotton tee shirt material instead ?

I just use an ordinary barber towel slightly dampened.

Originally Posted by sqzbxr

I just use an ordinary barber towel slightly dampened.

Well don't have any barber towels so I tossed the microfiber/terri type that was wrapped around the sponge and got a white cotton sock from my sock drawer and will use it, I rinsed it in warm water then rung it almost dry then just wiped in one direction and then wet it more and repeated the process wiping in the opposite direction until the leather was damp and now have it laying flat drying, the spongy thing I was useing felt soft enough and was brand new but I read the Kanayama Care and it says in bold cap letters not to use a terri towel, i showed the car wax applicator to the Mrs and she said it's a terri/micro fiber material, i have no idea why it's not recommended as it feels soft enough but maybe it's what is causing the scratches.

It's also possible i am overthiking this but i am also the guy that turns that screw one more turn , below are what Kanayama recommends

Lay the strop face-up on a flat surface.
Get a smooth, soft cloth, like an old clean t-shirt. Do NOT use terrycloth.
Wet the cloth in luke-warm water and wring it out well--the cloth should only be damp.
Gently wipe the surface of the strop in one smooth motion. Don't scrub or press! Be careful not to get any water on the sides
or back of the leather, as this can lead to hardening.
Allow the strop to dry thoroughly. If the surface still feels like it's not quite right, repeat.

Please note: DO NOT use any commercial leather care products on these strops. Cordovan leather itself is not the same as most
other leathers, and Kanayama leather even moreso due to the treatment developed by Naomi-san. Using products like saddle
soap, lexol or others can destroy your strop.

You might want to look at your razors. Do you use tape to hone?

If not, you may have a sharp corner on the spine and are scraping the strop with the corner of the spine.

You will feel the sharp corner, it can be smoothed with some 1-2K wet and dry.

4-5 drops of Ballistol or Neatsfoot oil on a damp strop worked in on a piece of tissue, (2 squares of toilet tissue works well) and will hydrate the leather. Do not use more that 4-5 drops at a time. Oil rubbed into damp leather will penetrate deep, oil put on dry leather will sit on top and rot the leather eventually.

With the tissue, you will feel & hear any dry spots, you can blot those spots and let the leather wick oil from the tissue pad. It may look blotchy if you leather is dry, but will even out in a couple days.

You will be tempted to add more, but don’t.
Wait a week or two and add more if needed.

I use a damp microfiber towel to wipe my strops.

Here is a good post from a leather worker/strop maker, on hydrating and oiling leather. (Leather 101.)

Post 37 he gives his advice.

I have re-hydrated old vintage Kanayama strops, using this technique, it can take several months.

Originally Posted by Euclid440

You might want to look at your razors. Do you use tape to hone?

If not, you may have a sharp corner on the spine and are scraping the strop with the corner of the spine.

You will feel the sharp corner, it can be smoothed with some 1-2K wet and dry.

4-5 drops of Ballistol or Neatsfoot oil on a damp strop worked in on a piece of tissue, (2 squares of toilet tissue works well) and will hydrate the leather. Do not use more that 4-5 drops at a time. Oil rubbed into damp leather will penetrate deep, oil put on dry leather will sit on top and rot the leather eventually.

With the tissue, you will feel & hear any dry spots, you can blot those spots and let the leather wick oil from the tissue pad. It may look blotchy if you leather is dry, but will even out in a couple days.

You will be tempted to add more, but don’t.
Wait a week or two and add more if needed.

I use a damp microfiber towel to wipe my strops.

Here is a good post from a leather worker/strop maker, on hydrating and oiling leather. (Leather 101.)

Post 37 he gives his advice.

I have re-hydrated old vintage Kanayama strops, using this technique, it can take several months.

I currently have about 12-16 razors in rotation and I am fairly sure none have any burrs but who knows for sure ( I will check ), it could also just be my stropping technique as I am slightly heavy handed and have a tendency to torque the edge in to ensure I have good contact with the leather but the super light scratches don't show up on other strops, I appreciate the suggestion of adding say Neatsfoot oil or Ballistol to the strop but at this time I think I am going to pass on that treatment for now and lighten my pressure to see if that cures the problem but if it does not I may try just a few drops applied to a damp strop and call it good but not in a hurry to add something the maker advises against, I would be more inclined to do this if it were a vintage old strop but this one is only about a year old and was purchased new and only get's used maybe once a week as I have several other strops.

“So looking to you strop masters for suggestions”


Ok, well, good luck with that…