Thread: CrOx Contamination on Loom Strop

I was recently fortunate enough to get my hands on a ever so slightly used Streich-Riemen loom strop with one side pasted with 0.5 crox.

The first thing I noticed when I received it was that the crox was absolutely pasted on, almost matted, even with chunks remaining. No big deal as I can obviously wipe the excess off and carry on with life, but it also looks like it was put back in the box it comes in with the wax paper reversed, so the side of the wax paper that touched the pasted side then touched the clean leather side, such that there appears to be some contamination, as evident by a very slight discolouration (most visible in the second picture, about 1/4 of the way from the end). What I'm wondering is this:

1) how big of a deal is this? Am I over-thinking something that just isn't a major issue, given that the cross contamination?
2) if it is an issue, what's the best approach here? I'm been reading the forums all day and saddle soap comes up often; so too does a light high grit sanding followed by reconditioning the leather.

If anyone has run into this problem before or has any advice I would certainly value your experience.

Kind regards,
Paul

CroOx is always geen, AFAIK. Either it was pasted with FeOx, (Which is red and finer than CroOx) or some other strop paste, I don't know.
Start with a damp cloth to remove, smooth.
If you get it nice and uniform, it may be a great thing. I cannot see how to get it all out?

Thing looks NOS. The red looks factory-applied?
A paste, I think..

If the razor was not wiped-well it may have taken some of the paste to the 'clean' side. It happens?

Only documented and educated experimentation will reveal the answer.

Originally Posted by sharptonn

CroOx is always geen, AFAIK. Either it was pasted with FeOx, (Which is red and finer than CroOx) or some other strop paste, I don't know.
Start with a damp cloth to remove, smooth.
If you get it nice and uniform, it may be a great thing. I cannot see how to get it all out?

Thing looks NOS. The red looks factory-applied?
A paste, I think..

If the razor was not wiped-well it may have taken some of the paste to the 'clean' side. It happens?

Thanks. It could very well be FeOX -- I am, unfortunately, colourblind and can't tell green from red. I haven't used it yet, but of course it may have also been from the previous owner. I'll try giving it a very gentle wipe; even if there is a minimal amount of contamination, would it really affect things so much, I wonder.

Mastro Livi recommends using lighter fluid to clean his strops, never tried it myself.
I would leave it as is as it dosnt seem too bad. Just remember to wipe your razor if using the pasted side.
As Tom said its probably FeOx.

Its ruined, just box it back up and send it to me for "proper" disposal

Originally Posted by markbignosekelly

Mastro Livi recommends using lighter fluid to clean his strops, never tried it myself.
I would leave it as is as it dosnt seem too bad. Just remember to wipe your razor if using the pasted side.
As Tom said its probably FeOx.

I've used the lighter fluid on toilet paper to clean it off and it works like a charm. Just rub lightly and use new paper after a wipe or 2 to avoid just smudging the stuff around.

Looks like it was sold that way with pre-charged Solingen ferric-oxide, red tube stuff (allegedly 2-4 microns). Assuming that the surface is now even, it's probably best to use it as such, for touch-ups or off a mid-to-fine range stone. As for the contamination on the other side, I cannot speak to lighter-fluid, but maybe it will work as mentioned. Trying to clean it with a water-dampened rag is what I would probably try first.

In any case, if the contamination stays there, all is not lost. Assuming that you would be using the strop for the pasted side, you could then use the "contaminated" leather side as a dedicated surface for cleaning the blade prior to moving to a larger hanging strop.

I had heard from a collector of German WWII items that the Med service used Similar strops for the medical razors ( Swert and Wapi) to sharpen them between uses. Mystrop came with a Green paste layer on it. Hones were not used.
JMO, YMMV
~Richard

Another thing comes to mind, but folks may take issue with it here, fearing rancidity. In France, I have seen people use olive oil to apply pigment to toothy Russian leather or low-sanded (~P180), vegetable-tanned leather. Following this, if the pasted is side is caked up because it has dried out, one can simply pour out a teaspoonful of olive oil onto a saucer, then dab the pad of one's thumb into it and then gently work small amounts of oil as needed into the pasted surface using a circular motion. The dried, caked, cracked pasted surface then becomes refreshed and workable so as to spread it out more evenly.

A note....Devise a way to reach-in and scrub-out the box good. If these strops are inserted the wrong way, the paste will be applied to the other side. As you clean out the box, insert the strop pasted-side down only to prevent this from happening.

Nice strop, BTW!