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Just wondering...
Has anyone experienced any problems from hanging your strop in the the bathroom? I know that my bathroom tends to be pretty warm and steamy even though it is well ventilated.
It would be interesting to hear if anyone has had problems with the leather itself or the metal hardware on their strop due to the humidity in the room.
Thanks
Pete <:-}
My two strops have been hanging on the back of the bathroom door for over a year with no problems so far. I tend to rub them with the palm of my hand before each shave.
I keep two in the bath. Like Jimbo, my showers are quick and not very hot. OTOH, my wife likes to be parboiled.
Biggest concern I would have would be water spots. Keep palming to lubricate the fibers and if you don't have water dripping off the ceiling you should be OK given your room is well ventilated.
Gentlemen,
Just to be safe, I hang my strops on the back of the bedroom door, away from the adjacent shave den where the shower is located, because one never knows how leather will react around humidity.
I've had mine hanging in the bathroom for 5 or 6 years now.
I store my strop out of the bath on the back of the bedroom door. If humidity is an issue there are a couple of things you can do to minimize it.
First take down the fan cover and clean the fan and vent pipe, a vacuum works well for this. You can easily improve air flow by up to 50 percent by doing this. Lubricate the fan motor while you have it down, a couple drops of oil will make it much quieter.
Second, for about 20-30 buck you can buy a timer. They recommend running a fan for at least 20 minutes after a shower to remove moisture and humidity. This really does work, this is the timer I bought and gives you push button options for how long you want the timer to run, $20 @ HM Depot.
You can also replace the fan with high volume fan, but they are noisy and can be pricy, 2-300 dollar range.
Quote:
Originally Posted by petercp4e
Great question! I never thought of that possible issue. Waiting to hear from all the people in the know!
Mike
Unless it's a specialty leather high humidity and leather don't mix well.Leather does absorb water. Probably daily use for many is what is saving them from little creatures growing in and on the leather. I think it prudent to keep a strop in a dry environment.
I keep mine in the kitchen/honing room. Have seen mould on the flesh of leather & under hanging hardware when disassembled.
Work surface has never suffered tho.
If your leather is in good shape (fairly new) and you keep it conditioned appropriately there shouldn't be a problem. Just a reminder, barbershops have plenty of humidity in the air throughout the work day. Strops live a longtime in that environment.
That's a great point...well taken...about the barber shopsQuote:
Originally Posted by Ozarkedger
Pete <:-}
I don't think old time barbershops had high humidity. Outside of a hot towel they didn't run water like a shower. Also from the 1950s on the shops were air conditioned in the summer and over heated in the winter. Probably in areas of high humidity in the summer before air conditioning they would be exposed to moisture but then in the winter they would dry out.
I read in a post by a fellow who said that he was about to purchase a new strop to keep in the bathroom. He said that he would keep an eye on it to see if humidity had any effect. The one he had then, he said, had only been in the bath for 35 or 40 years.
I use to keep mine in the bathroom. But, in my new home I have a large closet where I can hang it from the door knob. I'm pretty sure I'm happier that way.
Regards
Chasmo
My shave den is the basement bath. No fan only a tiny window. The basement is humid all year round. I have not had a problem yet with any of the four strops hanging. I do rotate them and give them a rub for the couple weeks they are in rotation
I keep mine out of the bathroom in a hallway. An ounce of prevention being worth a pound of cure. :)
I keep mine in the corner of the bathroom. I don't believe that humidity will affect the strop that soon and it's not that expensive so....
Mine have hung in the bathroom for yrs,never an issue.
I am fortunate in having a tiny bathroom and a door at each side. The constant movement of air makes it the same relative humidity as the rest of my tiny dwelling. No rusted razors and no ruined strops. It is also the place where I recondition old strops. So the strops are of all ages and conditions. Some I wish had a higher moisture content. They hang on the back of one of the doors and the one in use is hooked at the end of my counter top.
That said, during winters up here, the relative humidity of the whole house may be <20% and summers >60%.
My suggestion is to watch the strop, if it seems stiffer, place it where there is more moisture. Otherwise, do a visual when you think of it.
Enjoy your shaving journey!
~Richard
I try to keep my strop as far from the shower as possible which places it on the back of my door, but with that being said, I have a smaller bathroom that can get pretty steamy at times. So far I have not had any issues, but I never thought about this being a potential problem so I am going to keep a good eye on this. Thanks for the post...good question!
I agree with Obie..Quote:
Originally Posted by Obie
I keep mine in an adjacent walk-in closet rather than subject them to humidity changes.
I hang my strop in the bedroom adjacent to the bathroom. I also keep my razors outside of the bathroom.Quote:
Originally Posted by petercp4e
Have never had an issue with strops in my bathroom,I think a certain amt of Humidity is a good thing for any leather product.JMO
I have buckskin (and moose hide) moccasins that I've worn in the woods for years... in rain and snow. They are stitched with artificial sinew. They get a coat of oil or grease once in a while so they stay supple. Wet leather dries and as long as it gets oiled in some manner occasionally, it should be ok. They don't last indefinitely, but compared to the humidity and damp of a bathroom, they receive much more abuse. I've had my Russian leather strop in my bathroom for a year and there have been no negative ramifications. The metal fittings will rust before the leather is ruined.
I spent the first 16 years of my life in Southern California, within 100 miles of Los Angeles, and the last 43 years in South Louisiana. It is considerably more humid in Louisiana and I witnessed various things deteriorate more rapidly here because of the weather. I saw cars rusting out here, and the house needed to be painted 2-3 times as often. That is why I tend to keep my shaving equipment in the bedroom adjacent to the bathroom rather than in the bathroom.
If you live somewhere where the humidity is negligible, it's probably OK to keep your razor equipment in the bathroom. I just don't because of my experience living in two distinctly different climates.