Thread: I got a linen really clean. Now it has no wax. What do I do?

Thanks Joe. Looking forward to reading about the results.

All this talk about waxing linen has me concerned. I bought a leather/cloth strop from Tony and I've been using it without a problem. The instructions that came with the strop didn't say anything about waxing nor do I think the strop came with wax on it. Am I missing something? I guess what I'm asking is why is it necessary to go through all this hassle with waxing? Isn't plain linen good enough for its intended purpose?

I'm in the same boat as you mate.. However this linen got cleaned up and that removed the wax, so it needs to be reapplied.

A lot of old barber linen strops were waxed or finished in some way. If you read some of the old barber catalogs they describe "prepared" "polished" and "filled" linen strops. I've also seen the description "broke-in finish". It's difficult to know exactly what these were except by the examples that still exist today and then it's still not exactly clear what the composition of the "finish" is.

Supposedly some of these had various types of abrasive compounds mixed in with the wax, glue, starch, varnish or whatever was used on the strop. Whether or not the finishing was really necessary or not is up for speculation. You could argue that the strop manufacturers wouldn't have gone to all the trouble if it weren't really necessary, but then you could also argue that it was just clever marketing. But then you would also have to assume that barbers were uninformed consumers.

So, does it really matter? I don't know.

The one person I know who could probably give a definitive answer on this is Ed Simon. I'll pass along an invitation for him to join our group. I'm sure he could be a wealth of information about strops and more.

Scott

Originally Posted by Duke

All this talk about waxing linen has me concerned. I bought a leather/cloth strop from Tony and I've been using it without a problem. The instructions that came with the strop didn't say anything about waxing nor do I think the strop came with wax on it. Am I missing something? I guess what I'm asking is why is it necessary to go through all this hassle with waxing? Isn't plain linen good enough for its intended purpose?

No worries, if it needed wax I would have made it that way. I don't think you will find wax on any of the new Dovo or Jemico strops nor on the new Illinois Strops. I have a few vintage ones with a waxy substance but it isn't going to make or break a strop.

Earlier there was a thread about using white paste on linen and one of using chalk, ashes, etc..... They have all been used in the past with varying success but again, plain linen, smooth, coarse, soft or hard will do the job just fine.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it <g>.

Tony

Originally Posted by Tony Miller

No worries, if it needed wax I would have made it that way. I don't think you will find wax on any of the new Dovo or Jemico strops nor on the new Illinois Strops. I have a few vintage ones with a waxy substance but it isn't going to make or break a strop.

Earlier there was a thread about using white paste on linen and one of using chalk, ashes, etc..... They have all been used in the past with varying success but again, plain linen, smooth, coarse, soft or hard will do the job just fine.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it <g>.

Tony

Great points. Still wanna experiment with the Filson Wax, though.

I think I should try some of my snowboard wax just for the hell of it... It promisses to give my edge the best possible carve in fresh powder

Dr. Zogg's Sex Wax maybe??


Tony

Man, this is my first strop. You guys are confusing me.

I suspect putting the beeswax or parfin on the linen keeps bathroom moisture and splashes from easily soaking in. I donno though! The only strops I'm familiar with are the 2 I own.

Do the newer strops come with any wax on the linen?

Should I be putting beeswax on the strop?

I have no clue!

whish Lynn would chime in or any of the other 'old as dirt' guys (whom I can't keep track of their names)

I have a norton4k/8k, a dumb ebay razor, a honed reference razor sent to me courtisy of mparker (What's up brotha, werd!), A 12" X 12" marble tile, 2 dif grits of wet/dry sandpaper, a 30X jewers magnifiying glass, and two genuine Illinois horsehide strops from Crowley! My only hangup from starting honing and stropping practice is I don't know how to condition the linen and leather of the strop. I been stuck for 5 days.

btw, look for my needy 'how do I condition and break in an old strop (leather side)' heh.

Originally Posted by Tony Miller

Dr. Zogg's Sex Wax maybe??


Tony

The few years I surfed, most surf wax (Zoggs included) smelled like pina colada.
Maybe I should wax the linen up with Dr. Zoggs, craft some Hello Kitty scales and make a straight razor, give them both to my girlfriend with some cremo creamo and let her figure all of this out