Thread: Vintage Strop Too Slick?

Hi guys, I'm hoping someone can help me out...
I've been trying to do this whole thing on a budget,(unsuccessfully) so I've begged, borrowed or stolen everything I could (kidding).
My barber gave me his old strop, a "Barber's Special Scorcher" with two leather strops; a thick one on what I choose to call the "front" and a thinner one one the "back". I'm guessing that the thinner one is horse hide, it seems a little slicker than the thicker one. BUT, and here's my question, they are both really, really slick feeling. None of this so-called "draw" (?!?!). Should I sand them down with some sandpaper or just clean them or what? I don't want to wreck it or change it irrevocably. Neither one is stiff or dry so I haven't used any neetsfoot oil, or done anything to them (yet).
Any advice?

-Chris

Well from my experience horsehide strops have little or no draw to begin with. However whether it has draw or not has nothing to do with its performance as a strop. Some of these well used barber strops that have been well cared for and are in good shape are worth their weight in gold. I wouldn't mess with it. Just clean it if it needs it.

I just applied some ordinary hard hand soap to my strop, as recommended in that new PDF that was posted, and dramatically increased my strops draw and efficiency. I was very impressed.

You have to pack it on repeatedly in order to fill the pourous sections of the strop and let it dry. Took about 2 days to dry (although I didn't check after the first day).

It seemed to increase draw but remained gentle with the edge. That seems to be a nice compromise.

I would also just try the strop first and see how it goes. I can validate that draw alone is hardly an indicator that a strop performs better.

A barbers strop will have seen a lot of stropping! If it hasn't been cleaned in a while, the surface of the leather is probably loaded with metal residue and other stuff. The thin stuff is probably horse (most "scorchers" I have seen are genuine horse shell - perhaps the name refers to the slickness = speed of the strop), and it usually has little or no draw, so thats OK. The other side should be somewhat coarser.

Why don't you ask the barber about the strop? It may need cleaning (saddle-soap) or it may be meant to be as it is - if it isn't broke, don't fix it.

Regards,
Neil

Thanks for the responses.
So it seems that saddle soap won't hurt it any. Or glycerine soap if I'm thinking of the same post as AFDavis ?

It has defin'tly seem some good use. Tons of little nicks along the edges, and one good slash in the thinner strop that is easy to avoid.

The Barber I got it from didn't seem to know much about it, I gather he kind of just inherited it. He only uses disposable blades so it was probably just taking up space. I still thought it was awfully generous of him... I'm sure he was shakin' his head...... he probably thinks I'm nuts.

Soap application will work. I do it with shaving soap whipped into a thick lather. Brush it on the strop to coat it, and let dry overnight. When dry, rub the dried lather off. The strop should have plenty of draw following this treatment.

Horse shell cordovan strops (if that is what yours is) are very slick, hard, and shiny. Even so, I find that they can still put a wicked keen edge on a razor even without noticeable draw.

I used to hate super slick horsehide strops (and full hollow razors too).

Now I love that lickety-split fast stropping, and love full hollows now too. Tastes change over time. Most often the old stuff is teh good stuff.

Some new stuff is awful nice too, though!

Originally Posted by Seraphim

Most often the old stuff is teh good stuff.

Some new stuff is awful nice too, though!

Dont tell that to my Ex. She would surely disagree!

I am a bit interested in this question too. My strop is very slick, but I like that feeling. On the other hand, I have sometimes wondered if this is the reason why some of my razors feel dull too quickly. My' Renaissance' razor seems to respond well to it, though. I am wondering if the strop would benefit from a good lathering (as suggested in some old barber manuals) or if a slick surface is just as good. Also, will the lather cause the leather surface to bend or warp?

Thanks for the responses...
What i eventually did was to rub lather into it and wipe it off 2 or 3 times. A whole bubch of brownish crap seemed to keep coming off. I then layed it flat and squished it with some weight to keep it flat while it dries...
It seems quite a bit better... still slick but not as slick as it was before. Now I can feel just a bit of draw. It actually feels like it's doing something now.
Thanks guys!