dry strop after saddle soap cleaning

[loueedacat]

I've had a tony miller latigo for a while that I use every day. great strop. over a year or two, gunk accumulated on the top 1 cm of the edge I run the point down. Could never figure out exactly what it was or why it only accumulated on one edge of the strop. But it started to affect the evenness of the draw. Last night i cleaned it off the whoe strop with a little saddle soap, and that seems to have worked. However, the leather is now pretty dry, so when I stropped last night it made a scratechy sound the draw wasn't as good usual.

Do I just need to rub my hands on it for a few weeks, or should I rub it down with some oil to get some moisture back into it? And which oil? neats foot? mineral?

[Tony Miller]

I'm really not a fan of saddle soap, etc.... on my strops as the results can be unpredictable. Maybe an application of Neat's Foot Oil would renew it but I can't promise anything.

I would try a very light coating. Put a little into the palm of you hand, rub it with the other hand to disperse it a bit then rub the strop with both hands. This method will apply very small amounts evenly where just painting or pouring it on will cause it to sink in unevenly and possibly leaving way too much.

Tony

[loueedacat]

thanks tony. It was actually better this morning for some reason, so I may not need the oil, but that's what I'll do if I do need it. And it is nice ot have the stop nice and clean.

Any idea what the grimy gunk would have been? I'd guess oil from the blades (though I swipe them first), but then why wouldn't the gunk be evenly spread across the strop?

Also, if you don't favor saddle soap, how would you advise cleaning your strops?

[jnich67]

I could be wrong, but I think the RL leather has waxes and what not added to it. I'm guessing those get pushed around by the stropping and build up in some areas...

Jordan

[mparker762]

I could be wrong, but I think the RL leather has waxes and what not added to it. I'm guessing those get pushed around by the stropping and build up in some areas...

this

Also the reason the dryness has improved is the oils have seeped up from the lower levels of the strop. The saddle soap only really strips the oils from the thin upper layer. After cleaning my strops I use a very small dab of the Fromm strop conditioner while the strop is still damp, which makes it easier to rub it in evenly.

I use Williams mug soap to clean my strops FWIW. Seems to do a better job than saddle soap, and avoids having another specialty item around the house.

[loueedacat]

this

Also the reason the dryness has improved is the oils have seeped up from the lower levels of the strop. The saddle soap only really strips the oils from the thin upper layer. After cleaning my strops I use a very small dab of the Fromm strop conditioner while the strop is still damp, which makes it easier to rub it in evenly.

I use Williams mug soap to clean my strops FWIW. Seems to do a better job than saddle soap, and avoids having another specialty item around the house.

this is fascinating and explains a mystery that has been bugging me for a while. And it gives me something to do with that nasty smelling puck of Williams!

Thanks!!!!!

[loueedacat]

this

Also the reason the dryness has improved is the oils have seeped up from the lower levels of the strop. The saddle soap only really strips the oils from the thin upper layer. .

when I got home tonight I checked the strop and it is in nice shape now. ie the 12 hours from this morning (so now 24 hours from when I saldle soaped) were enough to allow the strop to re-oil itself. Very cool.

[jnich67]

[QUOTE=mparker762;351585]

....


I use Williams mug soap to clean my strops FWIW. Seems to do a better job than saddle soap, and avoids having another specialty item around the house.[/QUOTE]

MP, how do you go about doing this? What are the mechanics? Thanks

Jordan