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I came across this video tonight and honestly I am mortified. I am no expert on strop restoration. I have learned about strop restoration from members of this forum and have successfully brought back to life a handful of old strops using their advice. This video is contrary to everything I have learned. Don't shoot the messenger.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sKuWHTLsWd4
:gaah: really???? i mean... where did that come from? :thinking: ... well i guess it was a good strop while it lasted :cry::boohoo:
wow.. thanks alex for sharing... now, a respectful note for:
NEW USERS looking for maintaining a strop.... what's shown in that video is a big nono!:nono:
please, for most strops you get from respectable sellers, they come well conditioned and just need a bit of break in... use them! to speed up the break in if you want, a bit of rubbing your hands every now and then (clean hands.. not after eating chicken wings and pizza :P) will do the trick..
for maintenance just cleaning with a damp microfiber will do!... or every now and then (really, that not often) a couple of drops of oil if you really want to condition and add a bit of draw.
A strop is not the same than a motorcycle seat or a swaddle from a horse... it does NOT need that amount of oil or conditioner! It will normally be in a controlled humidity and temperature environment (inside the house, possibly in your closet or bathroom.. not hours under the sun and heat of the road or in the dry dessert.
If you want to do some additional conditioning cause the strop looks and feel dry, (maybe old or just came from someone else that was not taking care of it) use warm water dampen microfiber.. clean it.. let it wait for a few minutes to let the leather pores open. Then rub a small cotton cloth with just a couple of drops of neatsfoot oil or horse oil... (there are other options like mink oil, i use that for the handles)....
let the oil do it's work for 2 or 3 days.. be patient! and then repeat the process... you will see that most times you will achieve results sooner than you thought..... but this HUGE amount of oil will not help your strop and will mess up the draw...
there are some cases where you need to do some mayor restoration or cleaning to a strop.. that's another topic (and it will NOT involve a heat-gun or two pounds of soap and conditioner)...
but just for maintenance.. please don´t do what is taught in this video!
cheers!
Seems as though my instinct to ignore his videos on FB was spot on. :idea:
Why would he not just throw it into the washing machine!
THEN, toss it in a bucket of oil! :dropjaw:
Wrong in so many ways.
Gabriel's advise above is spot-on IMO.
What's wrong with dunking it in oil? I soak mine in used french fry oil at least once a week! :pQuote:
Originally Posted by sharptonn
Youtube has a lot of good info but unfortunately anyone with a camera and an account can be an 'expert'. As stated - don't do this. If you have to recondition your strop - there is a lot of good information on this site and you can always ask the folks that do this properly.
As soon as I started the video and saw whose it was, I stopped it. I've watched a few of his others and well, let's just say that he is not a good resource for good information.
I have no idea if he is making this stuff up on his own or if he is re-hashing bad information that he finds from others, but he gets way too much stuff wrong. Number of views does not equate with credibility.
This video and one he has on honing a razor makes me cringe! Please do not do this! Like sharptonn says gabrielcr78 info is spot-on! Take information from people that are respected by people that know what they are talking about. Not just because they have a youtube channel with a lot of views.
Nice simple explanation Gabe!
This sounds like the making of a classic video. With effort, it could be on par with honing on a cinderblock with skim milk.Quote:
Originally Posted by sharptonn
hahahaha.. that was a funny one... sremember that milk in the brick.. and he punishing the blade against it.. LOLQuote:
Originally Posted by Utopian
I’m sorry I watched that video. You know I used to work in the bush, and my leather caulk boots would be exposed to pretty extreme stuff, and that is similar to the stuff we would do with our boots, except the heat gun on high, whoa, a hair dryer on medium is what we used. It is suppose to lightly warm the BOOT leather. He appears to be a mirror another presenter with super aggressive tactics.
Yep, one of the most important skills today is the ability to spot blatant nonsense on the Internet and successfully ignore it.Quote:
Originally Posted by Speedster
B.
He seems like a nice guy :)
I just took the time to watch this idiot destroy that strop! I also left a comment and and thumbs down.Quote:
Originally Posted by alex1921
I wouldn't ask any other members to waste their time to watch but do so if you want. I would ask that Everyone leave the thumbs down. I can't believe that close to 50 ignorant people liked this butchery.
That reminds me of the video on how to hone a razor on a brick. The bad thing is somebody just starting out is going to watch these sort of videos and do it and end up turned off by straight razor shaving.
Anybody who falls for the brick honing should not be handling sharp objects anyway. Not that they'd be that sharp.
The lack of cerebral activity in some people is terrifying
do NOT heed that man's advice
Also, notice the amount of people congratulating him on his "great" video
:thinking:
:gaah:
Back when I drove a rock/dirt truck and operated excavators and loaders I wore Whites Boots. Best boots for that kind of work. Every few weeks I did sort of what he did to my boots. Then I would put them on a boot drier overnight. Slow heat. In the morning my boots would be ready for a few more weeks of destruction. I still have the boots and the drier. But I never slathered them like he did that strop. Warmed the LP and rubbed it in with my fingertips. Used a soft toothbrush to get the stuff in the seams and edges. LP is some great stuff for leather, but why he would think that boot leather and a strop are alike and need to be treated the same way is beyond me.
Maybe he strops in the shower...Quote:
Originally Posted by Gasman
Or maybe he wears his strop for a shoe.Quote:
Originally Posted by Utopian
He did reply to cudarunner's comment........to me his reply to Roy read like a plea for help. :shrug:
Recognizing you have a problem IS the first step ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by Benz
That vid is gonna keep me laughing, every time I pick up another strop to restore. :roflmao:roflmao
One of the sad parts is that many of us have gone and watched that video and shaken our heads in horror, however he just got another X views on his bad video and thinks his fan base is growing and that he needs to make more videos of him having no idea about, and then we will watch those too, and we are feeding him every time we watch. L
After cringing through a bit of that video my first thought was - Hell , why not shellac the strop and bake it in the oven at 450 degrees for an hour?
I am simply amazed, all I have ever done to a strop for normal upkeep is a wipe down with a damp cotton cloth and once a year I use a slight amount of either Fromms or Horween Venitan cream, please new guys don’t do this to a strop ever.