Thread: Did I ruin strop by putting polishing compound on leather side?

Hi,
I am a newbie. I have a Red Latigo Leather strop and I was trying to do a bit of razor maintenance/sharpening so I applied the red compound (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1) to the leather side of the strop and now the strop looks a bit damaged and discolored. Is it ok to put the compound on the leather side (I can't seem to get a clear answer from videos) and if it is ok, can i use this paste treated leather side as my pre-shave 50 stroke stropper? or do i need a clean leather for that? Thank you!

Originally Posted by dhbarger

Hi,
I am a newbie. I have a Red Latigo Leather strop and I was trying to do a bit of razor maintenance/sharpening so I applied the red compound (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1) to the leather side of the strop and now the strop looks a bit damaged and discolored. Is it ok to put the compound on the leather side (I can't seem to get a clear answer from videos) and if it is ok, can i use this paste treated leather side as my pre-shave 50 stroke stropper? or do i need a clean leather for that? Thank you!

Just use it as pasted strop for touch ups. Its hard to get polishing compound out of leather. You'd be better off buying a new clean leather strop for daily stropping

Originally Posted by CrownCork

Just use it as pasted strop for touch ups. Its hard to get polishing compound out of leather. You'd be better off buying a new clean leather strop for daily stropping

I don't think you can easily get that off, I also think you should get another leather strop. The strop with the red polishing compound will now work great for touch ups but not every day stropping

You can try saddle soap and a soft brush. Then let it dry well. You may need to treat back side with neetsfoot oil.

The paste as linked would seem to be intended for buffing wheels. Pix of the strop's condition would help here.

I've not tried this with leather, but as the paste is waxed-base, another possibility might be to get some genuine blotter paper for printmaking from an art supply store, lay it on the strop and then pass a hot iron over it to wick off the paste as applied (use aluminum foil between the iron and blotting paper to protect the iron surface). Then follow with some sort of leather cleaner (Lexol? tallow-based shaving lather?) followed by a decent leather dressing (Meltonian? Fromm?).

Thank you everyone for the quick responses. I think based on what I have read i will keep my old strop as my new touch up strop with paste and I will get a new strop and keep the leather clean for daily stropping.

Once pasted, always pasted...the material gets into the pores. You may be able to thin it out like Bouschie said, but it will always be present. I have a pasted strop that I have put cream polishing compounds like Flitz or Maas on as well as diamond. Not all at the same time mind you, but say a year or so apart. Pasted strops aren't meant to be used every time you shave, only here and there to touch up or mellow a razor after honing.

Pics please...

The problem with the polishing compounds you found on Amazon is that you really have no idea what grit rating or micron size they might be. If the red is an extremely fine jewelers rouge (Iron Oxide) (approximately 0.1 micron), then it might not be a problem for daily stropping. However, if the grit rating is 0.5 micron or larger, then you would not want to use it every day. Unfortunately, the vendor does not tell you what is in the red crayon or what size grit is used. I suspect the compound is designed for sharpening knives, chisels and other tools rather than razors. For that purpose, it probably works well.

You are advised to purchase abrasives for razor sharpening from a razor supplier as the product you receive should be designed for razors. There are some vendors like Chef Knives to Go that sell abrasives that work with razors because they deal in high end knives that require similar sharpening techniques.

Some vendors sell replacement leather for their strops. If not, obtain a new strop for daily use and use the pasted strop for refreshing your edges as needed.