Thread: Cordovan Strop Care

Two things, first cordovan is a finish, so rubbing a piece of steel will eventually wear away sone of that color that is applied. Second no matter what kind of leather or finish, it's still rubbing a piece of metal on the finish. The slickest piece I have has a worn area on it too.

So if you use it then it will wear, no getting around to that, never seen a strop that was used that didn't show it. It's character. Tc

Originally Posted by tcrideshd

So if you use it then it will wear, no getting around to that

Yep. What he said. Never saw a problem with it either. As to the daily care - rubbing it with your hand once in a while will give it all the oils it needs.

From my understanding no leather can go without some type of treatment, I don’t plan on putting any mink oil or neatsfoot oil on it either, I know the cordovan was sourced from Horween and the maker of the strop applied nothing so with that said I see Horween recommends Venetian shoe cream for their cordovan and was thinking maybe a very, very light treatment of the neutral colored one for the strop, my thinking is by using the light wash of saddle soap that I may have removed some of the oils and waxes from the strop and this cream is supposed to put it back.

https://www.horweenproducts.com/shop/venetian-cream

I have found that you don't really need to put anything on a new strop, some believe in hand rubbing for the oils that transfer, but I,m not sure on that either, it might just contaminate the strop too.i wipe mine down every couple of weeks with a damp microfiber cloth, doing this has kept my strops clean and hydrated. As to mink oils, neatsfoot oil, saddle soap. Only to bring back a worn old dry strop, never let it get there and it will not be needed. By the way saddle soap won't dry the strop, it's for restoring the moisture, that's why you mix it with water. If you've ever taken care of saddles and tack, you would see it keeps the leather soft. Tc

The only thing I have done to my shell Cordovan strop for regular maintenance is palm rub before stropping. I have cleaned it once after a couple of years of use with saddle soap, let it dry and polished it with pure carnauba wax. Talk about a light draw until it settled down again. The very light waxing has not done it any harm from what I can see.

Bob

The Venetian cream is supposed to have a small amount of wax in it, I may get a small bottle to try on a older strop to see how it affects it.

Originally Posted by Jnatcat

The Venetian cream is supposed to have a small amount of wax in it, I may get a small bottle to try on a older strop to see how it affects it.

Yup, proceed with caution at your own risk.

Bob

Originally Posted by BobH

The only thing I have done to my shell Cordovan strop for regular maintenance is palm rub before stropping. I have cleaned it once after a couple of years of use with saddle soap, let it dry and polished it with pure carnauba wax. Talk about a light draw until it settled down again. The very light waxing has not done it any harm from what I can see

Bob

I talked to Alastair ( Westholme Strops ) regarding maintenance of his strops (Harween ). He advised against oil of any kind on Cordavon and suggested a gentle palm rubbing on occasion . For cleaning, just a slightly damp cloth. Mine's getting a bit scuffed also . I just consider it character . . . . .

I had already discussed this with Alastair early on and yes he only recommends palm rubbing and I also have a wallet from Ashland and they recommend the cream that is endorsed by Horween but could not comment if the draw would change on the strop.