Thread: Mineral oil on strops

Has anyone treated a strop with mineral oil other than with chrox? I know that it is consumable and can be used on cutting boards and wooden salad bowls. I figure it is not a petroleum product. I just want to soften the leather with it. I have heard that concentrated neatsfoot oil is poisonous.

Welcome to SRP. In case you haven't accessed it yet there are many tutorials in the SRP Wiki here. As far as strops go many guys maintain them by rubbing the leather with the palm of the hand every day or so. The oils in the hand aren't overkill and they do transfer to the strop. Neatsfoot is good ( if you aren't eating off it ) but a little goes a mighty long way and it will increase the draw. (resistance) I don't know about mineral oil but someone will be along who does.

If you can apply chromeox via mineral oil to a strop, why couldnt you apply mineral oil alone? Go for it, try not to use too much or you could be waiting awhile for it to soak in. BTW Neatsfoot oil isnt so bad for you that you cant safely strop a razor and then shave your face, unless of course there may be an allergic reaction.

I used mineral oil on my strops and didn't like it - ended up cleaning it off. Can't remember why I didn't like it though. Maybe didn't absorb well enough.

I used mineral oil to revive the strops on the back of a couple of razor hones. Both of them were extremely dry, but just a small amount of the mineral oil rubbed into each made them soft again.

Admittedly, both were extremely dry, but the leather hadn't become brittle yet. I'm guessing that as long as you apply it sparingly it shouldn't be a problem. Once the oil has softened the leather you can continue the process with the oils from your palms alone.