Thread: Hanging a strop in a humid bathroom

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.

Originally Posted by petercp4e

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 <:-}

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.