Thread: Polishing a leather strop

Originally Posted by Humanalien

Hi!

I have bought a new strop, wich is called "Stropzilla" muahahaha!
https://www.etsy.com/nl/listing/2445...remium-xxl-xxw

Now the leather is still very new, soft and, well, "hairy". How can I speed up the proces to make it smooth and shiny?

Thanks in advance!

Not to worry ... the spine will lay the grain down nice and smooth. The edge trailing motion
allows the bits from the split hide to lay down and work nicely. It is tempting to add too much
strop dressing (oil). The less oil you use the faster it will react with air and help smooth the surface.
Smooth and shiny is not going to happen compared to a skin side different cut of leather.

Some leather is rolled between a traction roller and a smooth roller to press the leather flatter and
make it denser. Russian leather is sometimes this highly compressed flesh side leather.

The maker says "The leather is finely napped and will give a very refined edge."
and I expect that is the case.

They all make great strops.

Smoother yes in a couple months but shiny no.

Do not be tempted to sand the leather -- you do not want the napped leather to
grab grit that will haunt you. Sanding works for belts... not strops.

My Illinois strop with napped Russian leather is one of my favorites.

Have fun.

Thanks for all the reply's, I'm going to use it as it is then.
I asumed it had to be worked in, becouse I didn't feel any drag like i felt on the Herold one.

The only time I have sanded a strop was my first one becouse i'd nicked it. In that case, and I think only then, it can be usefull to sand.
Still learning, after 6yrs of SR shaving last year I started honing, I think now is the time to go deeper into the stropping.

Originally Posted by Srdjan

If you decide to apply anything to this strop, apply it to the back side only. Euclid440 brings up an interesting point of softness/suppleness of the strop. You could probably show us how supple it is, if you balance the leather on one finger and let the ends hang down....

Do you mean the backside of the leather or the canvas side? Like putting the Yellow greasy tube on the backside of the leather, or putting a sort of compound on the canvas side. I'll try to make a picture, a moment

I mean on the back side of the leather and only if it's needed. The aim would be to soften it and make it more supple.. but lets see that pic first

Picture of one hanging strop

And since we are not lazy I took the DSLR witch a macro lens. The two pictures are from the same distance, should have put a ruler next to it.

That resembles the mentioned suede 3rd piece on a Kanayama strop. The primary stopping surface on quality strops like Kanayama are indeed smooth to the point of shiny. They require no creams, conditioners, oils. They need only a rub with the palm of your hand. If expense is a worry consider that a cheaper Kanayama is around $120.00, you pay lots for collections of stones, jnats, and razors, and all those stones and the like aren't worth a cent if you have a poor strop.

Originally Posted by Humanalien

Do you mean the backside of the leather or the canvas side? Like putting the Yellow greasy tube on the backside of the leather, or putting a sort of compound on the canvas side. I'll try to make a picture, a moment

If oiling a leather strop with neatsfoot oil use almost none and apply to the back of leather
and allow it to soak through. More than enough will wick through to the the other side.

I always get too much on the leather...

Yes you can rub it on both sides but it always seems to be too much. Brown paper, newsprint,
old rags can pull enough back from the surface for use.

On the canvas side both sides are normally of equal quality and applying a polishing abrasive
is normally done on the back leaving the front for day to day stropping.
Today with a submicron abrasive it is less important than the old turn of the century days.

Well then it is a worry because the strop was only 50€ (normaly comming from 100€ he claims) , for a 4" wide one.
I wanted a 3" Razor designs strop or equal, but they are very hard to find in Blegium. This one is home made by a member of a Shaving Facebook group in the Belgium/Netherlands.
I always use Belgian Coticules. At this moment I have no knowledge about Jnats, so staying away from them at the moment.