caring for my 4-year-old SRD strop

Hi everyone,

I have a paddle strop I purchased from SRD four years back, the one where the leather is a magnet and you can interchange it. I've been using it quite frequently, and started noticing that it is starting to look very dry, when I bend it in the light I can see its not smooth but crackling at places.

I do have some neatsfoot oil that I rub into it, maybe I don't do it often enough. I also have a replaceable identical leather piece that I got at the same time and I never used. I can definitely notice that the replaceable one is lighter in color and is much smoother when u bend it with your thumb.

I should be able to use the leather piece for a bit more? Any other suggestions besides rubbing it with neatsfoot?

Try cleaning it with saddle soap. Let dry, then add neatsfoot, should it need it.

I would lightly clean with warm water and a cotton cloth first and softly wipe it down from one end to the other ( not scrubbing ) let it completely dry and see what you have, regardless of what some may say leather needs hydration, I wipe all my strops down with a dam cotton cloth several times a year ( no soaking wet just damp ) and if one needs any treatment like a conditioner I use Venetian neutral shoe cream from Horween and not a lot, I pretty much put a few drops in my palms and rub my hands together then rub the strop down and done.

Remember once you put say lots of oil or whatever into a strop it’s there and you can’t take it back out so it’s best to go slow.

Go slow is good advice. I have a strop that I went too far with oiling and I can oil and strop a razor at the same time. It looks good until you star to used it and the oil comes up to the surface. So used it a little bit after each application before deciding to add more.