Dirty strop?

I have a SRD strop that has always been hanging in my closet. Every now and then I will rub it down with my hand but not often. I have noticed for about a month now it will sometimes leave like brown smudges on the razor that look sort of like water stain with brown spot here and there. The marks come right out if I rub it once with a white t shirt. Only thing I have done to it is use 2k sand paper on bottom left edge to sand out a nick that I just gave a good rub after that (did this way before smudge problem).

has anyone had this happen before and know what I should do to fix it? Not sure if smudges would cause problem to razor if I don't rub them off.

I clean a Strop with saddle soap. It removes dirt but does not damage leather. If you think Strop is too dry after cleaning apply neetsfoot oil and remove excess with dry cloth.

Would this be a red Latigo strop.?

is the premium IV I believe English Bridle leather. As for if strop was dry after washing has anyone had experience using Kiwi Mink oil? I have used it for my soccer cleats in past (kangaroo leather) with success not sure if it would give a good result for strop though. (At the moment though I believe strop definitely does not need any oil/conditioning)

There has been a few guys that have used mink oil, here.

I asked what type strop...because I've had like issues with a red latigo

Before oiling any strop, which you should only need to do once every several years at most, you should hydrate it with a barely damp cloth. Wipe the strop with that cloth, wait ten minutes, and the wipe it with a dry cloth. That also should be done immediately prior to the application of any oil.
Also, for the application of any oil, never forget that less is more. Do not over-oil your strop.

yea, just curious to why my strop is leaving weird smudges on my razors that I have been wiping off after stropping.

It's normal for a "new" strop to do that. The dye and any high spot will transfer to the blade for the first few years.

I too have seen that this is much more common with the red latigo strop.

ah thanks for replies. Could it cause any damage to the blade if not wiped off? Or is it just something I don't need to worry about any.

Honestly, I've no idea if it would cause any harm but I've always gone ahead and wiped it off.

Red latigo does this. I didnt like the color coming off of the one i had. So 8 guess a few of us have delt with this.

I asked Mastro Livi what to clean the leather on his loom strop. He responded "lighter fluid" on rolled up toilet paper. I thought this was insane but he is the Mastro and I did what he said. Cleaned the leather with just a couple of strokes. I then tried it on my SRD modular leather and again, great results. I asked Mastro Livi what to condition his leather and he said extra virgin food quality mineral oil. Works great so I used it on other strops and it got similar results. Use very little. Isn't sticky.

I know what extra virgin olive oil is but I've never heard of extra virgin, or just virgin, mineral oil.
:thinking:

It's the naphtha in the lighter fluid that does the trick. It is harded to find naphtha so lighter fluid is substituded. I learned that from a saddle maker.
Also if using sadle soap, use it with very little water. Hope this helps!

I just looked at the bottle and it says Food Grade mineral oil which is natural and highly refined. I purchased Cutting Board.com on Amazon and it works great. It isn't sticky and is very light.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Utopian

Before oiling any strop, which you should only need to do once every several years at most, you should hydrate it with a barely damp cloth. Wipe the strop with that cloth, wait ten minutes, and the wipe it with a dry cloth. That also should be done immediately prior to the application of any oil.
Also, for the application of any oil, never forget that less is more. Do not over-oil your strop.

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AMEN!!
wise words here... mind them :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by jkatzman

I just looked at the bottle and it says Food Grade mineral oil which is natural and highly refined. I purchased Cutting Board.com on Amazon and it works great. It isn't sticky and is very light.

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Food grade mineral oil also can be found in any pharmacy or drugstore. It should be in the same area as laxatives and should be quite cheap.

Regarding it being "natural," it's as natural as gasoline. I've really just never considered using mineral oil on leather.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Utopian

Before oiling any strop, which you should only need to do once every several years at most, you should hydrate it with a barely damp cloth. Wipe the strop with that cloth, wait ten minutes, and the wipe it with a dry cloth. That also should be done immediately prior to the application of any oil.
Also, for the application of any oil, never forget that less is more. Do not over-oil your strop.

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In other words, wipe the crap off with a wet rag let it dry, then dust it off and apply oil!:p