Thread: Do all strops stain?

I have a black 2" strop from Five Star Shaving which was a vast improvement over my original Ebay strop. Problem is, I've been finding random green stains on my white countertop. I couldn't figure out what they were until I touched up the edges of the strop with the pummice stone and it left green stains everywhere when I got some water on the countertop.

Do all strops leech color when they get wet? Or just all black ones? Or is it just that the five star strop is cheap?

I'm not familiar with five star shaving.
I do have a 2" black latigo from star shaving that I've had for maybe 3 months and I haven't noticed any leeching from it.
Granted, it's mostly for travel so it's only been used ten times or so.

To be honest, I've never gotten any of my strops wet, so I don't know if they would stain or not. From what you are describing it would appear that your strop has some less than optimal materials, but since they really aren't intended to be wet, who's to say what's acceptable?

Green? Is it a bright green? Could it be Chromium Oxide paste? Because I find it odd that a black strop would leave green stains...

Originally Posted by JimR

Green? Is it a bright green? Could it be Chromium Oxide paste? Because I find it odd that a black strop would leave green stains...

Jim, this is just the base pigment in the strops dye. By the way, where the devil is that Jeeves, did you ever send him? To the OP, please dont get your strop wet, mold and mildew may result as well as hardening of the leather once it dries.

Originally Posted by nun2sharp

Jim, this is just the base pigment in the strops dye. By the way, where the devil is that Jeeves, did you ever send him? To the OP, please dont get your strop wet, mold and mildew may result as well as hardening of the leather once it dries.

I shipped him Prioity mail...he should have been there last week! I do hope I poked enough holes in the box...Oh my!

I didn't get the strop wet. The flakes from the strop that landed on the countertop got wet and they leeched the color into the countertop. At first I thought it was chromium oxide but I cleaned it and have the chromium oxide kept in the basement shop so I couldn't come up with a way for that to have gotten on the countertop. It's definitely from the strop. The SWMBO had decreed that the strop has to be kept somewhere else because it randomly drops little flakes from stropping onto the counter and stains it.

Edit: And yes, it was star shaving, not five star shaving. My bad.

Originally Posted by nun2sharp

By the way, where the devil is that Jeeves, did you ever send him?

Maybe Jeeves ran into Bertie Wooster and they stopped for a spot of tea ?

Originally Posted by PhlyanPan

I didn't get the strop wet. The flakes from the strop that landed on the countertop got wet and they leeched the color into the countertop. At first I thought it was chromium oxide but I cleaned it and have the chromium oxide kept in the basement shop so I couldn't come up with a way for that to have gotten on the countertop. It's definitely from the strop. The SWMBO had decreed that the strop has to be kept somewhere else because it randomly drops little flakes from stropping onto the counter and stains it.

Edit: And yes, it was star shaving, not five star shaving. My bad.

Have you contacted the vendor? Even if it's the dye the strop shouldn't be dropping flakes.
I have an SRD premium II strop, a whippeddog poor man's strop and the latigo from star shaving.
They all feel different bit the strop from star shaving feels different & kind of plasticky. I'm not sure if it's the latigo or not as it is the only latigo I own. It kind of feels like bonded leather. If it is bonded then that would explain the flaking.

No I haven't talked to the vendor. I figured it's just a cheap strop so what do I expect. I just want to make sure that it's not a problem that's inherent in black strops.