dry strop after saddle soap cleaning

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?

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

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?

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...:shrug:

Jordan

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Originally Posted by 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...:shrug:

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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.

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Originally Posted by mparker762

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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.

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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! :D

Thanks!!!!!

by the way, if the waxes and dyes are building up on one edge of the strop, does that reveal an infirmity in my stroke? Maybe I'm not X-ing evenly, or putting too much pressure on the point end?

Not necessarily but it's possible. If you sweep the blade in an arc instead of straight up and down then this will tend to encourage their migration to the far side of the strop. OTOH if you put more pressure on the side of the strop nearest your wrist then this also cause this.

I personally have a problem with putting more pressure on the near side of the strop, and long term this is likely to be a problem so it's something I'm working on (short term it just means my tips are sharper than my heels, which is not really so much of a bad thing...). On my Tony Miller horsehide/linen paddle the near side of the canvas shows the most evidence of swarf. Fortunately with a paddle I can just tilt it so the far side is a little higher to help even out the pressure.

One reason to make sure and re-condition the leather using a very small amount of conditioner is because although the oils will wick around in the strop, it's slow enough that if you wash your strop often enough you'll get a differential in the oil levels between the two sides of the strop that can cause bowing. Reverse problem (cupping) happens if you over-condition the face side of a strop - if the face is soaked with oils then the back side will absorb more humidity than the face and will expand more, and the strop will cup. Also if you're getting cupping without a good reason you might want to look at the back side of your linen, which makes a good oil sponge to wick oils out of the back side of the leather. A lot of vintage strops have major staining on the inside face of the linen from years of contact with the oily leather.

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Originally Posted by mparker762

you might want to look at the back side of your linen, which makes a good oil sponge to wick oils out of the back side of the leather. A lot of vintage strops have major staining on the inside face of the linen from years of contact with the oily leather.

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you know, I was just noticing that last night - that my linen side next to the strop was looking awful red........

Is it a buildup you are seeing, or is the surface being scuffed? I get scuffing on my strops, as per my other thread.

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Originally Posted by Seraphim

Is it a buildup you are seeing, or is the surface being scuffed? I get scuffing on my strops, as per my other thread.

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buildup for sure. what these guys are describing hits it on the nose. I do have an evil geneva cutlery razor that slashes up any strop it touches, but I've retired that little bastard.

......and no, you may not put a thumbnotch on my strop.

I think the Red Latigo has more oil and wax on it than any of the other leathers I have seen used in strops. I really find that although there is not a break in period for stropping, there is a break in period to get through the oils and waxes. With hand rubbing every day in addition to stropping you can actually feel for lack of something better to call them, little pellets that come up from rubbing and then you can rub these off. Once through this layer so to speak, the strop is really set. I have used saddle soap in the past with pretty good results but always follow up with neatsfoot or mink oil really rubbed in.

Got a tip from a master leather guy the other day. He says if a strop is drying out, put neats foot on the underside as it is more fibrous and the oil will soak into the leather quicker. Can still put a little on the smooth side and rub it in, but best results on the rough or underside. Interesting.

Have fun,

Lynn

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Got a tip from a master leather guy the other day. He says if a strop is drying out, put neats foot on the underside as it is more fibrous and the oil will soak into the leather quicker. Can still put a little on the smooth side and rub it in, but best results on the rough or underside. Interesting.

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Very interesting indeed! I'll have to remember that...

- Scott

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Originally Posted by mparker762

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. .

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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.

[QUOTE=mparker762;351585]

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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

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Originally Posted by jnich67

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

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I use and old boar brush and lather the strop up like I'm gonna shave it, except making a thicker pasty lather to avoid getting too much water in the leather, and work it in for about a minute. Then wipe off with a damp cloth that's been fully wrung out, and let it dry overnight.