Thread: Confusion on oiling my strop...

I wipe the strop every couple of days with a wet towel an allow it to dry. My edges are keen and deliver smooth shaves. http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthr...t=carnauba+wax

Originally Posted by feltspanky

I wipe the strop every couple of days with a wet towel an allow it to dry. My edges are keen with a smooth shaving edge. http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthr...t=carnauba+wax

Glad to see another carnauba user. I don't foresee ever using anything else on my leather strops. I cringe when someone posts about using neatsfoot. YMMV of course.

Well, this is alot of info! Thanks all!

To answer some questions. My strop is a cheap one I found on Amazon. After some reading I found most advised to get a cheap strop when first learning as I'd most likely destroy it over time. Later I can get a good one. I bought a Scalpmaster Barber Strop from Mid-States Beauty. It's a horse hide strop for about 12 dollars. It doesn't have any bad nicks or divots and it seems like a good smooth surface so I think it is ok for stropping. It seems supple enough right now I just wasn't sure if I needed to be oiling it to keep it that way or what.

Climate: I live in Pensacola, FL so humidity is high. I don't think it will dry out easily.

Well, what I'm getting so far is that I just need to palm oil it whenever I use it and that's really it. Thanks for all the advice! Keep it coming if there is anything else I need to know! Thanks all!

Originally Posted by lz6

You may or may not be right. I simply did not want the member to get advice to oil or not
oil a strop until we know what the strop is.

Roger that, I was only guessing what he had.

Chasmo

Originally Posted by QuietListener

Well, this is alot of info! Thanks all!

To answer some questions. My strop is a cheap one I found on Amazon. After some reading I found most advised to get a cheap strop when first learning as I'd most likely destroy it over time. Later I can get a good one. I bought a Scalpmaster Barber Strop from Mid-States Beauty. It's a horse hide strop for about 12 dollars. It doesn't have any bad nicks or divots and it seems like a good smooth surface so I think it is ok for stropping. It seems supple enough right now I just wasn't sure if I needed to be oiling it to keep it that way or what.

Climate: I live in Pensacola, FL so humidity is high. I don't think it will dry out easily.

Well, what I'm getting so far is that I just need to palm oil it whenever I use it and that's really it. Thanks for all the advice! Keep it coming if there is anything else I need to know! Thanks all!

This is why I'm not a gambler. I'd have lost $2 on this one.

From my ways of doing things, it sounds like you are on the correct path. Strops are easy to ruin by trying to make them better and over correcting by adding too much of this gunk or that goop. It doesn't take very much to over do it. I've learned my lesson. Simple hand rubbing on clean leather.

Chasmo

When in doubt look at what the old barbers used to do when they were the real pros.

Back in the day barbers relied on their strops each and every day and stropped probably for every customer because even if the customer was not getting a shave a straight was used for trimming after a haircut. Barbers used the oil in the palm method for maint.

I'm afraid the thought of waxing a strop would cause them to turn over in their graves.