Thread: Restoring vintage strop, improving draw

Holy crap Euclid, that was thorough, thanks.

To be honest I was adding a bit more neatsfoot than a few drops, closer to what you are saying. A drop or 2 would get absorbed instantly with no ability to be spread. I used a bottle similar to a bingo dauber to apply to a dampened strop.

This is a lot longer, more painstaking, drawn-out process than I envisioned but it has also been rewarding thus far.

I have passed on alot of similar strops at flea markets and such in the past, I might not pass after this.

Just posted my new finds along with a question about strop restoration and then saw this thread. Questions answered
Seems it is my lucky day

Originally Posted by NittanyGator

Holy crap Euclid, that was thorough, thanks.

To be honest I was adding a bit more neatsfoot than a few drops, closer to what you are saying. A drop or 2 would get absorbed instantly with no ability to be spread. I used a bottle similar to a bingo dauber to apply to a dampened strop.

This is a lot longer, more painstaking, drawn-out process than I envisioned but it has also been rewarding thus far.

I have passed on alot of similar strops at flea markets and such in the past, I might not pass after this.

Neatsfoot can be funny stuff. Sometimes what looks like just absorbing in one spot will quickly saturate and even if it is absorbed in one spot it can usually be worked out to a much larger area.

On dry boarhide, I use mink oil without silicone and a little water. Over and over.
Takes forever, but you almost cannot ruin it as you can with the neetsfoot. JMO.

So since my last post I wet the tip of an arko stick and rubbed it all over both sides of the strop and then massaged it in and let it dry.

I've since been hand stropping to kind of massage it in further. I'm very pleased with the results, it made the top leather surfaces feel just like a new strop with a nice draw.

I stropped a decent vintage razor on it and everything looks good.

Arko. It's not just for breakfast anymore!

Don't forget the "nuclear option" when you have a strop where all else fails. Soak it in hot water and really saturate it and allow it to air dry SLOWLY. As it dries start applying conditioner or you favorite oil. It won't look pretty in the end but that has saved many a strop from the dead.

Originally Posted by sharptonn

Arko. It's not just for breakfast anymore!

That'll give you fresh breath.

A couple of years ago, my mom gave me her grandfather's strop (he died in the mid-1920s), which was in pretty rough shape. It had spent many decades folded in half and was really, really dirty--both the leather and the linen. But the leather was twice as thick as any of the modern strops I've had and had no nicks, and though the linen was filthy, it was otherwise intact. I didn't want to take a chance on screwing it up while trying to restore it, so I sent it to Razor Emporium; they did a great job on it. And WOW. The shaves I get with this strop are just great--better than any shaves I've gotten from modern strops. And I really like that it was my great-grandfather's. I don't have any "before" pictures, but I'll try to post some "after" shots in a day or two.