Thread: Ooops, strop got water on it

So, out of the shower, had already given the strop a good rub down prior, but when i got out of the shower the leather got splashed a bit, quickly got a towel and dried it best I could. Immediately thinking that I may have ruined the strop, not necessarily forever, but for a bit anyways. Anyways...i did my strop routine...50 laps poly 60 laps leather. I have had some sticky spots on my leather which has been bugging me, but this time no sticky spots and I could see a bit of the dampness still on the leather. I like the lighter draw that this has given me, as I have found I like that, but wondering if the dampness is affecting the purpose of stropping? Either way it was a decent shave. What I am curious about is has anybody ever had this? I know the last thing you should be putting on the strop is water, but some posts have mentioned soaking it in lather, which has water, as a way to condition the strop. I don't want to mess up my strop and odds are won't be putting any water on it...just curious is all.

A lot of strops draw lightens with use. The water just helped break it in possibly. Rubbing the strop before use with the palm of your hand will help that too.

If the strop was damp the water could have acted as lube which i imagine would affect the effectiveness of the strop, but i dont know.

From the horses mouth, so to speak.


What we should do is to use clean cotton towel soaking in lukewarm water, and it should be not too much wet, but not too dry the towel. And then, we wipe the strop the front side of the strop until little before the lukewarm water going through all the way to the back side, and then it makes dry naturally. That is the way what we make the strop making shinny and smoother. According to Mr. Naomi, we should not apply on any oil on Cordovan strop. The oil collects dust, and it makes losing smoothness on the Cordovan strop, and it makes not as the finishing quality strop anymore. ****************

Tanning residues and a buildup of crud can increase draw or make draw spotty on strops. I correct this using the clean damp towel wipe which has so far worked very well. I hand rub my strop before each use with my palm. I avoid application of anything else which can increase draw and may trap grit and be difficult to remove. Less is more with strops. Vintage strops in need of restoration may need more. Performance tends to get better with use, but this takes time. I safeguard my strops that are performing well because there is no quick way to replace their performance.

No One ever soaked a strop in lather. A little lather was rubbed into the surface.

You never want to "soak" a strop with anything be it good or bad.

I have an old Koken Horse hide strop that every so often gets covered in lather & then wiped clean. I have read several books saying to do this. At first when I got the strop it was pretty dry & I used some baseball glove oil on it for about three days & it works like a new one, not 60 years old.

Slawman

When I do oil a strop, I oil it from the back side. Then when the oil is worked in I will run my hands down the front of the strop with the residual oil.