Thread: strop treatment

Hi I have a question, is there any treatment you have to do to a strop before the first time you use it?
If so what kind of treatment would be?
Thanks.

Every Strop I have purchased has been pre-treated, but you can use most any leather conditioner to treat them up or re-treat them... My fav is just plain old Neatsfoot oil...

When I bought my first strop (the one I lost on vacation) the store gave me a little white tube with a strip of yellow tape at the top. Is this the treatment for the strop's leather?

A lot of guys take the palm of their hand and rub the strop a few times a week letting the natural oils in the hand treat the strop. I do that once in awhile. I have treated vintage strops that I have bought on ebay if they needed it. I use a leather conditioner called Leather CPR that I bought in a local hardware store. So far so good.

So you don´t need to pass a pumice stone several times and put some cream before you use it for the first time?
Thanks

Is it a brand new strop ? If so I would just use it.

On new strops, I don't recommend any treatment usually. I'm with Glen on the neatsfoot oil for a strop starting to get a little stiff or if you feel you must put something on it. Rub a little in very well. I mean a ton and then towel off any excess and rub some more. I normally let them sit a couple days after that.

Lynn

salinas,

What you want to avoid is greasy leather. When you have that condition you will think it was glue you used to treat the leather when you next try to strop a razor. What you feel when you attempt to move the razor on the strop will feel to be more adhesion than draw. The leather will get along just fine with minimal addition of dressings. As Lynn said, put on very little and rub it in lots. Old time barbers were known to rub some lather onto the strop and towel it off, with rubbing the strop well after the lather application. The key there is the oils and fats added to the shaving soap to make a good lather are things that will make leather more supple. Neatsfoot OIL - not compound - is what many in the leather goods business recommend for treating leather to keep it soft and usable for generations. Again, the key is to apply very little and work it in well. When you add too much and end up with a grease-ball, well, you've gone too far and divine intervention may be the only thing that will get you back to where you were.

Hello gents...
I also have a question regarding to strop treatment...
I have a cowhide strop and it seems a little bit dried out in some places...
Is it safe to treat it with baseball glove oil?
I trained baseball a few years ago and I bought a bottle of Rawlings glove oil...

Baseball glove oil will do just fine! As will neatsfoot oil and any other quality leather conditioner.