Thread: Strop Mystery

There is something strange about my latest strop. If you run your hand down the strop it feels like any strop...smooth. But, when you strop there is a section where you can feel a change in the surface. Nothing you can see either. This is my 3rd strop and this has never been an issue. Has anyone experienced something like this? Thanks in advance for hijacking the thread.

I have an old Dovo Russian leather with that same issue. My problem was that a drop of oil via hair product dripped on it. Mine is visible as well. When you get to that spot its slicker then snot. Its been like that for years now, I just learned to live with it.



And I wouldn't dream of highjacking your thread. I'd thread kill it but wouldn't highjack it. Har!!!!
Kidding

Nope, nothing on it....hair product? When was the last time you needed a hair product? Butchwax, for a flat top?

Originally Posted by Tarkus

I have an old Dovo Russian leather with that same issue. My problem was that a drop of oil via hair product dripped on it. Mine is visible as well. When you get to that spot its slicker then snot. Its been like that for years now, I just learned to live with it.



And I wouldn't dream of highjacking your thread. I'd thread kill it but wouldn't highjack it. Har!!!!
Kidding

Originally Posted by WW243

There is something strange about my latest strop. If you run your hand down the strop it feels like any strop...smooth. But, when you strop there is a section where you can feel a change in the surface. Nothing you can see either. This is my 3rd strop and this has never been an issue. Has anyone experienced something like this? Thanks in advance for hijacking the thread.

Have you done anything in an attempt to resolve it. Clean it or oil it or rub it with smooth glass

Originally Posted by WW243

Nope, nothing on it....hair product? When was the last time you needed a hair product? Butchwax, for a flat top?

Har!!! Yes I do buzz my own hair, but there was a time where I actually cared what I looked like granted it was long ago.
Its good to be a man.

No, but the smooth glass idea sounds promising...I will never oil a strop again I ruined a strop with the smallest amount of Dovo leather treatment...ruined meaning made the stropping slow as molasses. How do you clean it?

Originally Posted by RezDog

Have you done anything in an attempt to resolve it. Clean it or oil it or rub it with smooth glass

leather cleaner like saddle soap is what I have seen frequently recommended and a few that say lather, but I would be more inclined to go with the product designed for leather. On the strop that you put the oil on you should be able to get that moving a little faster by rubbing it with glass too. The strop guys use a piece of glass with a handle called a slicker. With I had one, I love tools. It is my biggest AD. Any smooth glass should work. You should experiment with the strop that you say is ruined, you already don't like it, it likely won't get any worse.

To clarify..The slicking glass must have a very smooth rounded edge or it will scrape the surface or cut it. . You may use a bottle to even out the strop's surface. I use a square mason drinking mug.
This after removing all of the ccleaning product. Some leather cleaners are not strop friendly.
Do a search here for " strop cleaning advice." There is a lot of it.
~Richard

Read the posts by Honedright as to how to do it, and by Neil as to whether to do it or not ........ I have no opinion since I've never done it. Old time barbers used to though ;

http://straightrazorpalace.com/strop...ing-strop.html

The whole idea of a quality strop is it free of all imperfection and is uniform throughout. So, if yours isn't the actual area where the surface changes is probably an area where there was some damage of some sort to the skin. If it's minor you might be able to correct it. Try the bottle routine and see what happens.

As far as cleaning goes I've never been a fan of anything with water in it. Most leathers don't go well with water. Saddlesoap was designed for saddles which are really tough leather. Your strop isn't. Oil soaks in and often times can be quite penetrating. I know we have discussed some products that might draw the oil out of the leather. Normal cleaning won't do because the oil will just reappear.