Very good thread guys! The alkaline idea is sure appealing but would not the ash be removed by shaving and rinsing?

The ash is an abrasive and has been used for that purpose in the past and does seem to be very fine. One local man and his father had a grinding service for many years and used wood ash as a polishing agent. It seems that I have read in the past of ash being used on linen and possibly leather. If it works on linen then it should also work on leather... right?

The alkaline argument makes more sense for the soap especially since the final stropping is after the shave. It has been recommended in the past that razors be strooped after shaving to remove the water and thus reduce rust. It has also been recommended that a razor be rested for a week or two and then stropped because the rust will then fall off and the edge will be sharp again. In addition it has been stated that rust start forming immediately after the steel is exposed to moisture. Thus rust will degrade the edge.

It does make sense to strop after shaving on a strop that has been treated with soap or an alkaline substance that will retard rust formation. Thats a really perceptive insight!

The question I have is would it be a good idea to strop on an ash treated linen after shaving and rinsing the blade? Would the ash act as both a moisture absorbent and rust inhibitor? Then follow that with a few strokes on a soap treated plain leather strop to further protect the edge with an alkaline substance?