Thread: How often to clean yah strop ?

Clean my strop? I didn't even know that was a thing and I have been straight shaving for I guess about 35 years. I don't get mine dirty so I don't see why I need to clean it. Once I have a freshly made strop drawing like I like it, I rarely do anything to it.

Never cleaned it, but have sanded it down with fine sandpaper on a block a couple of times, after the cats have mauled it.

Well ....glad I haven’t given it any love the past 11 years.. But I do shampoo my brushes ..once a year.

It seems to me that a lot depends on the original quality of the leather, the environment
where it has been used, and how much care (or abuse) it has received along the way.

Dirt is bad, obviously, both for the leather and for your razor. Too dry is bad, because
dry leather cracks. A little oil now and again is good. So, give it some love when it needs
it...YMMV.

I use a damp lint-free shop towel to wipe it off once in a while...go lightly so the grunge
doesn't get ground in. And too much water can leave a stain.

I'm with thebigspendur on saddle soap. And I'm very suspicious of "leather conditioners,"
which may contain silicone and waxes. Neatsfoot oil is fine as long as there are no additives.
Mink oil is fine, too. Our blade-brother Gab (gabrielcr78) cleans and oils his roo strops, using
a tiny bit of Japanese "horse oil," as follows:

"I use a cloth with warm water, get the cloth damp, and rub on the strop to get it damp.
Let it sit for 5 min. Dampen the strop again and dip the tip of your index finger in the
horse oil...just the tip. Distribute the oil in your palms and rub your palms in the strop.
Try to do it as evenly as possible on the surface.

Clean your hands with the damp cloth and use the cloth to distribute even better the oil
over the strop surface...do this on your strop twice. You will notice that the oil will sink
(specially the first time you do this) into the leather and you will have to repeat.

You can repeat the procedure on the back of the strop once....One or two applications
within 4-7 days should suffice.

If you apply two times, please give a period of at least a couple of weeks so the oil
stabilizes and distributes itself before repeating...water helps opening the pores and
distributing the oil .. but the best distribution will happen with time passing."

Originally Posted by Steve56

The only thing that our strops need to be protected from is us.

Originally Posted by CrescentCityRazors

Clean my strop? I didn't even know that was a thing ...

+1
The only care is not cut it.

Just a follow-up on Gab's clean/restore method:

I've been using one of Gab's roo hide strops for about a year now, and I just cleaned
and oiled it for the first time, as per his instructions. I gotta tell you that the treatment
really gave it a new life!

It now has a bit more draw, but not much. It is more supple, and the oil did darken the
color slightly. All in all, it was worth the effort.