Question on a brand new strop

I have a brand new strop. As I started to use it I was very careful and didn't want to cut it. The very first problem I had was a tiny flake of material coming off the surface. When I say tiny, I mean smaller than the point of a pencil. I almost think it was a tiny fleck of dye or polish?

I took a little oil off the side of my noise and rubbed over the flake. It just disappeared. This happened twice more. Hmmm? So I took a little dab (quarter the size of a pea) of strop dressing, smeared it the length of the strop, and rubbed it in with my palm and let the strop dry over night.

The next day, I went back to stropping. I've been very careful to keep the spine on the edge, come to a complete stop, roll, and start back; all very slowly.

Still on one cycle I didn't exactly get a cut. I got a line about a quarter of an inch long that looked like it could become a cut. So I took a little dab of Ballistol and coated the strop. The line disappeared. I let it dry over night. Ballistol claims to be mult-purpose: lubricates, penetrates, cleans, protects, and preserves leather (and a bunch of other stuff).

So I went back to stropping, and indeed the strop felt more supple and the draw was a bit less. Also after a hundred cycles, I have no flecks or lines -- the strop looks brand new still.

The blade bevel is very shiny and easily tree tops hair on my arm and it shaves just great. So finally my question!

Do I need to do some sort of leather conditioning on a new strop before using it?


Best,

Ed

It all depends on where you bought the strop from. Some strops come preconditioned and shouldn't need anything until it starts to dry while others are dry and left up to the new owner to condition as they see fit.

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Originally Posted by EdHutton

I have a brand new strop. ...snip...
Do I need to do some sort of leather conditioning on a new strop before using it?
Best,Ed

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Usually not. They improve with time and use. You did not tell us the brand so I cannot speak to the quality. I would not expect the best quality to let bits come free.

I would suggest that look at your straight where the spine meets the toe. If there is some hone wear there can be a sharp intersection and cause strop damage. A sharp spot where the heel meets the shoulder of the blade can scratch. Also check the shoulder to see if it has a sharp edge. Some will get sharpened after a honing by contact with the side of the hone.
Your guesses are as good as mine.
~Richard

You should buy a whipped dog practice strop. Then move onto better strops like SRD, then Tony Millers, then Kanayamas. Or maybe a Roo, don let AD get you though..

That would have made more sense! I took about four months to make my old strop ugly. Then I purchased a replacement leather for it. If I can get six months or a year out of it without a nick or cut; then I am going to look at a really nice strop.

Right now I am just trying to make sure I get good results and take care of it properly. Whipped dog would have been the way to go, I only learned about them recently.

Best,

Ed

I doubt the replacement leather was that costly ed, and you probably have a better strop too.

As said, if it needed conditioning depends on the strop and where it came from. It may have been sitting in a hot warehouse or attic for years

I like Ballistol and what it does to leather. A very little goes a long way. Hold a folded paper towel to the top of the can and turn it over quickly so you get a quarter size circle of oil on the towel let it absorb in to the towel. The paper towel gives you a more even thin coating.

Quickly wipe a light coat on to the leather and work it in with the back side of the towel pad. Within a day it will completely absorb into the leather.

Also as said check your razor, by running a Q tip on the edge any burr will snag, which is why you should hit the linen before leather. It may just be you flipped the razor while it was still moving forward or you are using too much pressure.

An expensive strop will not improve your stropping result, until you have been stropping for years and even they it is questionable. A nick or two will not hurt the edge.

Keep the spine on the strop at all times.

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Originally Posted by Euclid440

As said, if it needed conditioning depends on the strop and where it came from. It may have been sitting in a hot warehouse or attic for years. [deletions]

I like Ballistol and what it does to leather. Quickly wipe a light coat on to the leather and work it in with the back side of the towel pad. Within a day it will completely absorb into the leather.

Also as said check your razor, by running a Q tip on the edge any burr will snag, which is why you should hit the linen before leather.

An expensive strop will not improve your stropping result, until you have been stropping for years and even they it is questionable. A nick or two will not hurt the edge.

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I too am impressed with the Ballistol. I've been using it on the blade and wooden scales. A very little goes a long way there too. This is the first time I tried it on leather. I applied the Ballistol the same way you suggested but with a soft cloth. The next day the leather was noticeably more supple. You're right a tiny amount does the whole job.

This is vanity, but it never even occurred to me a high end strop would work any better. I just like the looks of some of them. So a few years from now when I have thousands of hours on the strop they might even work slightly better? Cool.

Thanks for the Q-tip idea -- that is an easy check. I should have thought of that.

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Originally Posted by edhewitt

I doubt the replacement leather was that costly ed, and you probably have a better strop too.

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No it really wasn't that bad, $24 USD, and easy to replace. This is a bit emotional with me I suppose. I really like to take good care of my tools. I usually buy good tools and keep them my whole life. So I don't like the idea of not using a tool optimally.

I suppose it is a bit like getting a scratch on a new car. The first one really hurts. But I got to the same place you suggest, heck at $24 for replacement leather, if I have to buy a couple of more before I get really good at it -- fine.

Also it is worth it to learn good ways to condition leather, so if some day I buy a strop that costs more than makes sense? I'll at least know what products take care of it.

I'm a funny kid in some ways. I buy fairly expensive well made leather dress shoes for work. But I have a shoe shine kit you could use to make money with :-). I'll keep the leather cleaned, conditioned, and well shined. When the heel or sole wears on nice shoes, there is still a cobbler in town and I'll get new heels and soles. I've got some really nice shoes that still look great that are 15 or 20 years old.

When you divide by 15 the costs look pretty good, I just don't want to buy a cheap pair of shoes that fall apart in three years. I feel the same way about my tools. I always appreciate quality, but I figure I need to learn to do my part. So I want to make sure I'm doing a good job taking care of my strops.

Since they are a new tool, I'll have to put up with some learning curve there. I can't complain about the edge I get off the strop. I can get a very nice edge off the stones, but after stropping well, the edge is incredibly keen. I primarily use thumb pad, arm hair, and tree topping arm hair now as a sharpness test; but of course the shave test is the final test.

I've figured out the little lay flat hairs on my beard are a very reliable sharpness test. A pasted strop, and a leather strop take the edge that last little bit to effortlessly removing those little flat hairs on the shave test.

I just want to be really sure, since the strop seems important for that, that I'm conditioning and using my strop correctly.

Best,

Ed