Strop break in?

So first, I am new to the whole wet shaving arena and thus far I have enjoyed learning as much as I can but I was reading another thread and strop break in was mentioned. Well my question is, I have had my strop for about 2.5 months now and I did nothing to "break it in". Should I do anything now or what exactly should I have done? In my research before buying a straight I don't remember reading about a break in method. Have I ruined anything no breaking it in? Thanks for all your help gents I appreciate it very much.

I rub my strop with my hand, until the leather gets warm, before every use which really started improving the draw after a couple of weeks.

Hand rubbing is the preferred method for new strops. Some will say rub them with neats foot oil but that only needs to be done to revive older strops that have dried out from non use for many years. Leather apparently has natural oils in it and the hand rubbing process basically activates the oils thus helping keep the leather supple which is what you want for good draw when stropping.

The strop I use before shaving is one I've had for over 5 years and have not cleaned it yet. I just rub it until it feels a little warm before stropping, still supple and works great.

Ok thank you Leatherstockiings and DoughBoy68 for this info I was getting worried I had maybe ruined my strop. Every shave so far I have not noticed anything bad but after reading the other post I started to wonder... I will try rubbing my hand on it next time before I strop and see what I notice. Much appreciated :beer1:

Glad I could help. You should check out this classic thread on stropping.
http://straightrazorpalace.com/strop...st-2012-a.html

I actually tried the library but for some reason I could not get anything to work. I believe my computer is being finicky. Thank you for answering my question as I am sure it has been asked 100 times.

Hand rubbing is good to do - It softens the leather up and the oils from your skin soak into the leather as well.

Theres not really any need to use Fromm (IMHO) unless the strop is particularly old or dried out.

I also give my strop a good rub before each time I use it just to warm the leather up, and this seems to increase the draw somewhat which I like.

Simply hand rubbing and using a strop will maintain it for a long time. A drop or two of conditioner well rubbed in may eventually be needed if the leather starts to get dry and stiffen.

A film can build up on the leather surface. If a dirt film is suspected, wet a face cloth with water and wring it out then scrub the strop surface clean. The strop should not get soaked, just damp enough to soften and remove the film of dirt.

Resume hand rubbing when dry. Avoid extended exposure to direct sunlight, very dry conditions (hot attic), or prolonged dampness (damp basements).

Who's or what strop are we talking about? If you doctor tells you you have too much money & you go buy a costly Kanayama - very little 'break-in' is needed - that's part of what you paid for. The SRD premiums need little or none. The Illinois - more. A pc of latigo from a leather shop - think 1500 strokes (don't have to be all at once). The preparing & break-in always depends on the starting point - which often has some (not completely) to do w/ cost, reputation of the maker, etc. Latigo has a low reputation, but well broken in, is very effective. 'Not the easiest to learn stropping with, due to being a bit grabby at first. (don't ask how I know) Stropping remains an area we seem to have the least knowledge, confidence that can be generalized from one strop/blade/individual to another. I tend to want to listen most to some of the more experienced voices there - Tony Miller, Lynn, formerly Neil Miller. I pay alot of attention to AFDavis on the topic. For new shavers, it would be hard to overstate the value of AFDavis' short vid - used to be posted on the home page - on the all important 'flip' at the end of the stroke. That one part led to the demise of 5 of my strops. Glen's old thread on strops was freaking priceless - about not needing fancy or magic material, etc. His old, scarred, 30 y.o. Illinois remained his daily driver.

Honestly, I've never done anything to break in a strop. I simply use it. Over time just using it will serve as break-in and I'm not sure it really needs it. Now there may be some strops that are very stiff and hard and those may benefit from some home remedy treatments. I view the palming of a strop mostly to transfer oil from the palm to the strop which is good for the strop.

In the end like most other things if you do something and you see a benefit then it works for you.

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Originally Posted by pinklather

Who's or what strop are we talking about? If you doctor tells you you have too much money & you go buy a costly Kanayama - very little 'break-in' is needed - that's part of what you paid for. The SRD premiums need little or none. The Illinois - more. A pc of latigo from a leather shop - think 1500 strokes (don't have to be all at once). The preparing & break-in always depends on the starting point - which often has some (not completely) to do w/ cost, reputation of the maker, etc. Latigo has a low reputation, but well broken in, is very effective. 'Not the easiest to learn stropping with, due to being a bit grabby at first. (don't ask how I know) Stropping remains an area we seem to have the least knowledge, confidence that can be generalized from one strop/blade/individual to another. I tend to want to listen most to some of the more experienced voices there - Tony Miller, Lynn, formerly Neil Miller. I pay alot of attention to AFDavis on the topic. For new shavers, it would be hard to overstate the value of AFDavis' short vid - used to be posted on the home page - on the all important 'flip' at the end of the stroke. That one part led to the demise of 5 of my strops. Glen's old thread on strops was freaking priceless - about not needing fancy or magic material, etc. His old, scarred, 30 y.o. Illinois remained his daily driver.

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pinklather, we are talking about my strop. I purchased it from SRD it is a 3" Latigo. I was reading another thread and strop break in was mentioned and I started to just wonder if I missed something and if I had done something wrong. I did nothing to my strop when I un boxed it aside from hang it and use it. I was only asking because I didn't want to further damage my strop if I had already begun too. Thanks for the insight much appreciated.

Just want to say thanks so much for all the helpful info. This is a great forum with a ton of super nice people and I appreciate when a newb like myself asks a question there are no high and mighty rude responses, just solid info. Thanks all

Taken from the perspective of a SRD Latigo fan boy, The draw on this strop is heavy for some and as a result garners distaste by much of the community. My experience with Latigo is it benefits from use, and I use it a lot. When new, these strops are already on the oily side, no need ever to add conditioner to it. The draw being initially heavy calms down over time. The surface velvety at first becomes almost glass like after many months of use. For me heavy draw strops help with control. Think of it this way, draw is friction, the more you bear down on the razor the more draw you get. The strop helped me keep downward pressure on the light side and kept my stropping speed under control. I get good feedback from these strops and really enjoy using them. I also find that the latigo leather is heavy and is very resistant to deformation. Some of my other strops of a thinner nature show slight signs of cupping or curving and other surface anomalies. A great stropping leather in my opinion that really improves with age.