Thread: my way of conditioning a strop

Hello to all!

I just wanted to post the results of an experiment I've been conducting for some months now.
I've read a lot about conditioning a strop and about several conditioners: there's the neats foot oil, the dovo yellow paste and several other things. I've never used any of these but I found that there's a cheaper way of doing it.
I have a Dovo strop that ocasionaly manages to nick itself... I don't know what it does in my absence but I frequently find some nicks on it. So I find myself doing the following quite often. I sand the surface of the strop with fine grit sandpaper and after that I use a pumice stone to even the surface down while abrading it some more. Then I apply NIVEA hand cream, the fat one from the blue tin. I find that it conditions the leather keeping it supple and gives the strop a nice even draw. It also keeps the strop in good condition, helping it survive the rather foggy premises of my bathroom.
Anybody else tried this or something similar?

I just wanted to put this out there... thanks!

Wow, hand cream?? I seriously would never have considered that. It does make sense when you think about it: hand cream softens skin, and a strop really isn't anything more than just skin. I just use Fromm strop conditioner on my strop. Great idea though, I'm kinda curious to try it myself now! Thanks for sharing,

Dave

Originally Posted by StraightRazorDave

Wow, hand cream?? I seriously would never have considered that. It does make sense when you think about it: hand cream softens skin, and a strop really isn't anything more than just skin. I just use Fromm strop conditioner on my strop. Great idea though, I'm kinda curious to try it myself now! Thanks for sharing,

Dave

It works bery well indeed. And yes... leather is skin. Tougher skin but skin nontheless... I also use it to condition all my shoes and boots. It hydrates the leather and restores its smoothness. It's not waterproof though... For that (on the shoes...) I use bee wax. Works like a charm.

The only problem with using things like Nivea is that some oils tend to create a very hard caking on the leather while they degrade.

Originally Posted by Kees

The only problem with using things like Nivea is that some oils tend to create a very hard caking on the leather while they degrade.

Sorry... I don't quite understand what you mean by "very hard caking". I'm not native to the english language and somethings just fly past my understanding. Would you please explain this to me? Thanks!

Kees is saying that the surface of the strop may harden as the nivea oil dries.

I have a travel strop that fpessanha made for me several months ago (how long has it been?).

It is as supple now as the day I received it, and I haven't done a damn thing but mistreat it...
roll it up for days, use, roll up again. (aka use it like a travel strop.)


So far so good!


Once again, thanks for the awesome strop setup Francisco!!! YEAH!

Anybody else tried this or something similar?


Well, not quite similar to Nivea but when I bought my first strop the old gent at 'Barber's Supplies' said that lard was one of the best conditioners for a strop and to only apply to the flesh side not the stropping surface.
I've done that on and off for 26 years and still have the same strop.
Yes it's supple and no, it doesn't smell bad, just smells like leather

Originally Posted by joke1176

I have a travel strop that fpessanha made for me several months ago (how long has it been?).

It is as supple now as the day I received it, and I haven't done a damn thing but mistreat it...
roll it up for days, use, roll up again. (aka use it like a travel strop.)


So far so good!


Once again, thanks for the awesome strop setup Francisco!!! YEAH!

So glad you like it and use it, Joe!
By the way... your addres is still the same, right?

I just rub the strop with my hands every once in a while, I think I read a post where Tony recommended this as a way to maintain a strop (one that had already been conditioned)