Thread: Noob(Again) questions about strops

I tried Str8 shaving once before and didnt have good luck with it ,tore my face up.That was way beforeI found this place.Now I am going to give it another try.I have a strop from my previous attempt but its been awhile since I have used it .I managed to get the linen all cleaned up .Now I am working on the leather .It is still pliable but has stains of unknown origin.
Doesnt seen to affect the leather though but want to give it a good cleaning and conditioning anyway .I have read the recommendations for gojo or goop to clean with .But is there a homemade or DIY conditioner that i can use ?Or would it be better to just buy a premade one?BTW the Strop is a Illinois #127. Is this okay or should i start looking for another.

There is probably nothing wrong with your strop as it is, if you do clean it with goop or gojo I HIGHLY recommend you use some neatsfoot oil to replace the natural oils that have been stripped from the leather. If you havent used goop or gojo yet, PLEASE DONT. Use some saddle soap instead its far more gentle and will not rob the leather of its natural oils and I would still recommend a little neatsfoot rubbed into the leather. Welcome back into the world of straights, I hope all goes well this time.

You should be fine cleaning up the strop and using it.
The leather may not need much more than some conditioning unless it is filthy.
You can purchase a speciality leather conditioner or some just use something like linseed oil. Use it sparingly, let it soak in for 24 hours or more, use it!

I think everyone has their own favorite method to clean and condition leather. Personally I don't like saddle soap for strops because you need to use water and most strops don't need the water which can dry out the leather despite what conditioners the soap may have. My favorite is bick which is a gel and uses no water and is ph balanced to match the leather its great stuff and they have a great conditioner too.

I would skip the gojo, thats more for removing paste from pasted strops.

@spendur, you dont have to use water with saddle soap.

I cleaned a strop with Fast Orange once (waterless & petrochemical-free mechanic's hand cleaner with pumice). It cleaned quite well, but as the others have said, it removed the oil from the leather, giving the strop almost no draw. I had to rub in quite a lot of mineral oil to get it to draw again. (I think I used Ballistol, which is a general-purpose, very light mineral oil in a spray can).

Originally Posted by nun2sharp

@spendur, you dont have to use water with saddle soap.

I apply saddle soap straight from the bar on my Russian finish strops but a very small amount of water mixed with the soap does no harm what so ever to a leather strop.

PuFF