Thread: Cordovan Strop Care

Have been using my Cordovan strop pretty hard these past few months and it’s seems it’s lost it shine like it went from new car shiny to more of a Matt satin finish but more on the Matt side, I first used just a lightly damp warm cotton cloth and lightly wiped it down in one direction but that did nothing so then I used the same damp cloth with some saddle soap and it still looks the same, the draw has not changed one bit but am curious how to get the shine back.

It’s kinda shiny at the top and bottom where the blade basically never goes due to the lesther end caps so it’s pretty much in the middle

Pics are from bottom to top and as you can see the middle seems to be getting the worst of it and I don’t know whats caused those little bumps other than raised spots in the leather from being wet but I only used a damp cotton cloth

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

I've used my Neil Miller shell cordovan regularly for about four years now, and the shine does decrease with use. Your strop appears to be fine in your photos. I palm rub mine before each use, and that's it, and I would be hard pressed to ever doing anything else to it for fear that I would damage it.

Originally Posted by BobH

Yup, proceed with caution at your own risk.

Bob

Bob, you are correct as have over applied strop care products in the past that yielded negative results so it’s best to take baby steps if I decide to apply anything after doing the light saddle soap wash I will proceed with caution and apply very small amounts as it’s easier to apply more than take it back out after being applied.