Thread: Waxing new horse shell strop?

Roughkype, 'Grats on the strop. It sounds like a winner. I've eyed them repeatedly. Hope it gives long find service.

I apply really tiny amount of neatsfoot oil in October and April - basically only at winter time (winter is 8 month here ) on all my strops, humidity in summer time in Moscow relatively low, and at winter Russians heating their homes like there is no tomorrow. At winter you can have 7-15%!!! humidity in your house, which is definitely bad for strops. That’s it. I don’t bother even with palm rubbing.

In regards to shell cordovan, I have the same strop like yours, I found that no any oil required.

Vell,

I vould say dat you needs a nice portion of some schmaltz. Rub it in well, stick it in a pot and let is soak over night on Friday and then boil it on Saturday thereby refreshing the leather suppleness. Roll it out and cut it back into the original shape and it veel be good to go. Any humidity will be repulsed, the dryness will be compensated for and your razors will gleam mit unbridled achievement.

Tradition!!

Thanks Lynn,

Duck, chicken, or pheasant schmaltz? Since these are all organic solutions, I'll try one!

For what it's worth, I never identified the vendor in my original or any subsequent posts. I did receive a helpful email from him, after he'd read my post here, specifying Malm's carnuaba wax, which is what Horween recommended to him. I remain quite certain I heard "turtle wax" in the brief phone call I placed about this order; the vendor seemed hurried; I think he had a customer at the counter. There was a speako or a hearo, in which the dreaded T-word got transmitted in error.

I would have posted my question anyway: why would anyone wax a strop? The surface of the leather is one thing, the surface as a substrate for another molecule altogether is, well, another thing altogether. That question remains in my mind, and perhaps it's as rarefied a question as "If you strop on paste after using an Escher, are you still shaving on an Escher edge?"

Well, folks, I'm sad that my post has precipitated an angry block of text at the vendor's web site. I've frequently steered people toward him; he's the only vendor who sells half-hollow Dovo Bests in 5/8 and 6/8 sizes, and his amazing, mercurial hone selection is worth a weekly check. I've had great, prompt service from him. My first order gave a very good impression; somehow he managed to monitor his web orders via smart phone and contacted me from the airport where he was snowed in, to let me know there'd be a delay.

Still loving the strop, and hoping to shrug my last shrug over the rest of the experience.

Well the only thing that stuck out at me about using car wax is that I wouldn't want it on any of my personal care items. I'm not sure it makes a difference to me whether it's turtle, or carnauba wax.

I'm using a regular steerhide strop now, and I'm resolved that over time it will show some wear. So I can't give any advice on keeping a shell strop looking/feeling new. Surely Jarrod has much more experience with that

The diatribe on his website seems based on some past history, which I have no knowledge of. Clearly he has some anger towards this site and it's administrators.

I am both a happy member of this forum, and also a customer of Jarrod's. I've bought rocks and razors from him (hundreds of dollars) and overall I have been pretty happy with my purchases. So if anyone thinks that the members here are "minions" or being told what to say, then I'm not sure where that comes from.

Michael

You really don't want to keep any strop looking new in my opinion. They definitely work better with wear, not that the results off the bat should be inferior. Really, you are simply developing in that piece of leather what it will naturally produce as a tool with whatever amount of draw or resistance is built in. The water trick that the old Japanese gentleman provided works wonders and if anyone wants to try anything, they should be able to do it and let the rest of us know the results. I have tried Neatsfoot oil on Cordovan in the past and it made the strop sticky, so I don't recommend that alternative.

As for anger issues, people are ask to leave them at the door when they get here Michael along with agendas and trolling. This why you don't see the same few people spewing the same garbage here like you may in other places. They do come in from time to time to become exalted somewhere else, but I figure that is their problem.

Have fun.

The Horween Vid..

Mentioned in this thread, I believe says it best

http://straightrazorpalace.com/strop...tml#post990716


At the 12:00 min mark, at the end..

I genuinely hope there is not a bit of confusion from the normal use (footwear) of this leather, to what we are using it for

Originally Posted by gssixgun

I genuinely hope there is not a bit of confusion from the normal use (footwear) of this leather, to what we are using it for

Full disclosure, I didn't watch the video. I was thinking, however, that if I was going to apply wax to leather, it would be to a pair of shoes that were going to be exposed to the elements.

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

Full disclosure, I didn't watch the video. I was thinking, however, that if I was going to apply wax to leather, it would be to a pair of shoes that were going to be exposed to the elements.

The Vid actually says not to use it even for shoes,, But I started thinking the same thing Jimmy...