Thread: Lathering a strop

I have been talking with an old barber who believe it or not is 86 years old and still barbering. He used to shave his customers with a straight for many years. He told me never to put any kind of oil on a strop, including neatsfoot oil. He told me to get a good thick shaving lather up and put that on the strop and use a smooth glass bottle like a soda or beer bottle to rub back and forth on the strop. I was reluctant to do that to my strop but he insisted. I use the Walmart soap made by Van Der Hagen. It is good stuff. Anyway I was amazed. In only a minute the strop became supple like never before. When the surface dried it was really nice. I'm really glad I did that. He said to do that about twice a year or more.

Yup, I've become a strop latherer as well. I Ilike the way it conditions the leather. I only use tallow based soaps to do it, however FWIW.

I have done it with williams soap several times with different strops, all with great results. I actually think I get more use out of the williams for that purpose than lathering my face.....

I'm going to get a glass bottle right now. I'll be back in a few minutes.

I... am a believer Thank you!

I've been told that by an old barber years ago and I seem to remember reading it in a barber manual someone linked to the forum. Maybe in the help files but I've never done that. I've got an old stiff strop I may try that on. Thanks.

Originally Posted by McShaverson

I'm going to get a glass bottle right now. I'll be back in a few minutes.

Me too.

Whoops this one is full so I better fix it.

Originally Posted by niftyshaving

Me too.

Whoops this one is full so I better fix it.

LOL,good enough reason for me to try it out

I have a Vintage Russian Shell Strop that I use after honing a razor and was wondering if lather would work on it as it is pretty slick and has a relatively hard surface. I cleaned it with saddle soap and conditioned it with mineral oil when I first got it. It seems to work pretty well now but I think some more cleaning and conditioning would help. Any one tried lathering a Russian Shell or should it be treated like regular leather? Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks guys!

Hi guys I would just like to inform you all about a strop that I bought of flea bay for a £5 it is a Scorcher No 153 Real Horse Hide it has 2 leather strops in one, the finishing side is a normal strop that I cleaned up with baby wipes then gave it a good treatment with neat foot oil. I think that this strop hasn’t been used in a long time as it has started to crack. However the other side is what interests me it was jet black when I tried to clean this up I noticed that it there is about 1/16th inch thick of stuff on top of the strop. I have had a good look at this and I think that it is lather with soot in it. Any way after about a week of gentle cleaning most of it came off. After reading this thread about leathering a strop I thought why not. I can honestly say that the strop is still jet black but it’s like a new strop. It has a lovely draw to it and the little nicks that were in it have gone and most of the cracks have healed up. I tried the strop with the soot before I cleaned it and it didn’t harm the blade however the strop had some very uneven draw because of its age and condition so that is why I had a go at cleaning it. I can honestly say that I will now be looking at cheap strops on the net and having a go at this on them.