Thread: Strop conditioner; whats the difference?

What's the difference between the dovo yellow paste, mink oil, neatsfoot oil, williams shave soap lather, etc.? Which do you use?

I don't know what exactly the differences are as I have only used neatsfoot. I suspect that some of the pastes require more work. I really enjoy the neatsfoot and just massage it in really well.

I've tried the dovo yellow, neatsfoot (baseball glove) oil and mink oil.

the effect is very nearly identical between the three.

all I know is, that the stropping ability of dry leather (just veggy tanned) and neatsfoot treated leather is night and day. very much better.

Yeah I gotta go neatsfoot oil here too, after trying just about every thing it is the easiest, cheapest, and I have never found a difference in effectiveness... I put it on an old wash cloth then rub that on the strop, I have never liked putting any oil directly on the strop...

Keep in mind we are talking maybe doing this every 6 months lightly in the worst of conditions.... Even just a hard rub with the heel of yer palm will condition the leather...

Originally Posted by gssixgun

Yeah I gotta go neatsfoot oil here too, after trying just about every thing it is the easiest, cheapest, and I have never found a difference in effectiveness... I put it on an old wash cloth then rub that on the strop, I have never liked putting any oil directly on the strop...

Keep in mind we are talking maybe doing this every 6 months lightly in the worst of conditions.... Even just a hard rub with the heel of yer palm will condition the leather...

+1 here. I think the Neatsfoot Oil is the best and easiest to use. Mink Oil is OK, but not quite as penetrating. I think the tendency I have seen with the Dovo treatment is to lay it on way to thick. Don't need much.

Another cool thing is a leather guy recently told me that putting neatsfoot oil on the back side will actually penetrate quicker and be better than the smooth side. I am experimenting with this currently.

Lynn

any tips on application?

Lynn,

i remember you saying something about thid but i didnt catch the conversion. please tell me how that worked.

jason

Originally Posted by gssixgun

I put it on an old wash cloth then rub that on the strop, I have never liked putting any oil directly on the strop...

HUGE +1.

Over the years I've used neatsfoot oil on all sorts of things from saddles to leather hats, although I've yet to put any on my strop. (you don't have to condition strops all that often, and I was out of neatsfoot oil last time)

It can soak in VERY quickly, and if you try to pour it on leather and then rub it around, it can be very hard to get an even application, which would be very important with something like a strop.

I guess it depends on what your leather is like to start with. I dumped and smeared neatsfoot on my home made strops kinda like honey on toast, it soaked in fast, leaving dark patches for a while, but after a couple of applications and a few days, they look nice and even.