Thread: Increasing draw

I have a TM Starter strop that I have had for quite some time now (I also have a TM Artisan, and a Kintaka horsehide strop). I had previously tried to increase the draw by adding the supplied neatsfoot oil (it had been fine, I pretty much was just screwing around with it...). However, after doing so, the strop seemed to get smother and slicker, and pretty much lost all of its' draw. I tried adding more neatsfoot, but to no avail, it was quite slick now. One other thing: adding neatsfoot oil will make your strop a rather plain brown, as opposed to the warm reddish tone of the latigo as it comes from Tony...

The latigo Artisan I haven't oiled at all, and still has nice draw. The Kintaka is a horshide strop with zero draw as well, but that is to be expected of horsehide.

So, I figured I didn't have anything to lose with the Starter. I hit it up with some 400grit sandpaper. I wrapped the sandpaper around a bottle, pulled the strop fairly taut, and rubbed the bottle up and down the strop for a while. It was easy to see immediate effects, as the dark brown leather was quickly abraded into a much lighter brown. So, I had at it for a little bit. But now my strop looked rather ugly--no longer a nice uniform color, it looked as if someone had taken some sandpaper to it or something!

Well, since I had previously given the strop a pretty good dose of the ol' neatfoot, all that was required to get it back to a nice rich, uniform brown was to rub the strop for a bit with the heel of my palm.This also helped remove the sanded off leather dingleberries (I'm sure that's the technical terminology used in Tony's shop....).

Anyhow, the strop is back in top form again. It has tremendous draw and a very slight nap to it.

The only drawback as of now (I just did this a couple of days ago) is that after stropping a razor there is brown strop residue left on the razor. Right up by the honing bevel. No big deal, a quick wipe on a towel gets rid of it, and I imagine it will stop doing this after some use.

I'm now contemplating giving the Kintaka horsehide some sandpaper massage as well. I love that strop, beautiful leather, feels awesome to hold, but I don't get much enjoyment out of zero draw stropping...

We'll see...

I've reconditioned a purchased horsehide strop and made one entirely from scratch. For both I sanded with a few different grits of sandpaper. Like 220 grit and then 400 grit. Not wet/dry which clogs way too easily for this, but regular sandpaper.

The finish is dreamy. Nubuck style finish silky smooth. I did this to both the grain and the flesh sides. The flesh side naturally does not have as fine a finish but it great for use in lieu of a canvas strop. I also use the flesh side for giving my razors about 30 post shave passes before putting them away.

Does this increase draw dramatically on horsehide? No, just as you've mentioned, horsehide is different than cowhide in that respect. It does however give it a draw and I like it better than smooth horsehide.

Chris L

Originally Posted by Chris L

I've reconditioned a purchased horsehide strop and made one entirely from scratch. For both I sanded with a few different grits of sandpaper. Like 220 grit and then 400 grit. Not wet/dry which clogs way too easily for this, but regular sandpaper.

The finish is dreamy. Nubuck style finish silky smooth. I did this to both the grain and the flesh sides. The flesh side naturally does not have as fine a finish but it great for use in lieu of a canvas strop. I also use the flesh side for giving my razors about 30 post shave passes before putting them away.

Does this increase draw dramatically on horsehide? No, just as you've mentioned, horsehide is different than cowhide in that respect. It does however give it a draw and I like it better than smooth horsehide.

Chris L

Thanks. Yes I think I'll "do up" my horsehide as well...I just want some sort of draw from it

I typically just use 1000 or 2000 grit sandpaper with an application of lather next time I shave for similar results, albeit, I think, with a bit less work.

Originally Posted by Seraphim

(it had been fine, I pretty much was just screwing around with it)

And that folks is why my instructions say to do nothing to the strop other than rub it with your hand unless it really dries out and why I no longer include neat's Foot Oil. If it ain't broke, don't fix it <g>

The sanding though works very well on many leathers.


Tony

I use the high grit sandpaper to get rid of nicks in the leather. Sometimes, afterwards the red comes off on the spine of my razors. I'm not sure if this is a bad thing or not, or maybe it's just shedding where I sanded it a bit.

I just rub mine down for a few strokes with a red scotchbrite pad once a month or so. That combined with rolling it under all the way down (easy to do, hard to describe) helps keep a nice draw going.

Originally Posted by Ditch Doc

I use the high grit sandpaper to get rid of nicks in the leather. Sometimes, afterwards the red comes off on the spine of my razors. I'm not sure if this is a bad thing or not, or maybe it's just shedding where I sanded it a bit.

After sanding the leather on the few strops I've made, I rub one of those micro fiber cloths over the surfaces very well. All dust and loose leather particles....gone.

Chris L

An old barbers trick is to use the edge of a pair of scissors to refresh the surface of the strop (aka scraping)

PuFF

Originally Posted by PuFFaH

An old barbers trick is to use the edge of a pair of scissors to refresh the surface of the strop (aka scraping)

PuFF

Puff,
I tried the trick mentioned and had an excellent result, I have an antique Keen Edge strop, black fine side, red course side. I gently scraped down on the fine black side and removed the glased finish, the draw is really good now, previously all but non existant. I will give it a dose of RM Williams saddle dressing to finish the job. I stropped one of my old Cadman Razors and had a really good shave, so a great result. Thanks mate.


Cheers

Gordon