Thread: Glycerine as strop conditioner

Originally Posted by groundrush

I heard some peolple say they just rub their palms across it every day to rub in their own oils and brisk rubbing to soften the hide.

I don't know... I'm a newb, but I heard it somewhere and that's what I do. After all... I can only put so much stuff on my sinktop.

+1...This is the way I do it and it has worked so far . Keeps the leather supple.

You don't know what you will do to your strop's property (draw, and other physical characteristics) when you apply glycerin on it. On living tissue, that's one thing...dead tissue: whole other story.

Thanks BladeRunner. Your point about draw (and other properties) is the key one, I think, and is one of the reasons I decided to give it a try on a strop I have less than $25 in.

I am going to be very interested to see how the glycerine affects the draw, as I feel pretty confident that it will improve the life of the strop.

It seems that there are about two to four key criteria for conditioning a strop, some of which would be shared with leather restorers, some of which might not.

First, preserving the life of the leather ... probably of interest to both.
Suppleness of the leather ... probably of interest to both.
Appearance of the leather ... probably more important to the restorer, but of some interest to both.
Moisture attracting/retaining characteristics ... probably of interest to both.
Draw/surface characteristics ... probably of most interest regarding strops, but surface feel would have some interest to the restorer also.

If you can think of other concerns/criteria, please let me know. Given the above list, it seems that probably the only unique concern for stroppers would be the draw/texture, and possibly a higher concern regarding the moisture attracting/retaining characteristics given the greater potential for use in a high humidity environment.

While strops have a different purpose than motorcycle seats and saddlebags, the reason the antique guys (the ones I've spoken with) use glycerine is that they believe that mink oils, neats foot oils, etc., are not uniformly manufactured, and may have properties/contain ingredients that will eventually contribute to the deterioration of the leather. For example, some oils and silicones apparently keep the leather, over time, from breathing and may actually seal in moisture, dust, dirt, etc., contributing to early deterioration. They believe that glycerine conditions without sealing and results in greater life. It seems that if this is true, it would be of interest regarding strops as well as motorcycle seats.

I am not yet advocating the use of glycerine ... just throwing it out for discussion, experiential feedback and testing.

Just to clarify the importance of this subject to antique motorcycle enthusiasts (while obviously not quite as dear as the skin on one's face ), the cost of an original leather 1930's-40's era OEM leather motorcycle seat (or pair of saddlebags) may range from $1,000 to $3,000, while a reproduction seat of the same style would cost about 15 - 20% as much. Obviously, if you were to drop that kind of cash on an original motorcycle seat, you would want to make darn sure that you didn't put something on it that would ruin it, and you would seek the advice of experts on how to best preserve it.

Again ... I'll report on the draw and surface characteristics in the near future, and keep an eye on the long term effects as I go.

Thanks again for all the thoughtful input.

Originally Posted by Tuxedo7

Thanks BladeRunner. Your point about draw (and other properties) is the key one, I think, and is one of the reasons I decided to give it a try on a strop I have less than $25 in.

I am going to be very interested to see how the glycerine affects the draw, as I feel pretty confident that it will improve the life of the strop.

It seems that there are about two to four key criteria for conditioning a strop, some of which would be shared with leather restorers, some of which might not.

....

Again ... I'll report on the draw and surface characteristics in the near future, and keep an eye on the long term effects as I go.

Thanks again for all the thoughtful input.

Well...the only way to know or find out for sure is to experiment on a cheaper strop (like the $25 you mentioned) over the course of 3 to 6 mos, maybe more if you wanted to be exact and find out about adverse effects over time.

Have fun...I (and I am sure others here as well) would certainly be curious about the results you get.

Well ... it's been over a week, and the results of applying the glycerine have been favorable. It didn't change the draw much (very slightly more draw, if anything, but I'm not even sure if it's enough to mention). Additionally, the glycerine hasn't seemed to have any negative effects related to drawing too much moisture in the bathroom. I'll have to say that I really like the fact that it took slightly dry leather and made it supple without making it oily, or substantially changing its draw.

I think my recommendation would be that if you are attempting to lubricate or condition a strop, any of the here-to-fore standard treatments (neatsfoot oil, strop conditioner, Lexol, hand-rubbing, mink oil, human skin oils, etc.) will work fine. I also think I that using glycerine seems just as effective as the mink oil, hand-rubbing and human skin oil (these are the applications I have used). I will continue using glycerine for a while as a simple conditioner to see how I like the results long-term.

HOWEVER, I think I would definitely recommend for consideration the glycerine for more of a strop "restoration" or "recovery" treatment for those strops that have been neglected and/or have become excessively dry or have lost their flexibility ... OR if, like I have, given a strop a good cleaning, and probably in doing so removed the natural moisture and oils from the strop. I have seen old, dried leather "restored" by using oils, and the result is an oily leather that also seems to have become weaker. When I use the glycerine, it seems to give the leather back a very natural suppleness, without oilyness, and the strength of the leather is not compromised, but actually seems increased.

Thanks to all for your input. If I find any other pertinent results as time goes by, I'll post.

Just ran across this quote from JimR's Kanayama site and thought I'd post it since it seems to agree with some of the things I've heard from the leather restorers I've spoken with ...

"Naomi-san does not recommend any oil, as over time the oil will start to oxidize and break down, damaging the conditioning of the strop."

Naomi-san does recommend a damp cloth treatment for restoring dried and hardened strops.

Originally Posted by Mvcrash

Old tile guys use Corn Huskers Oil which is mostly glycerin, Works great on hands and elbows, don't know about leather.

In a sence WE are leather,if you doubt it look at some of the old ladies at the beach LOL
and men for that matter (dont want to offend)
Griz

Originally Posted by BladeRunner001

+1...This is the way I do it and it has worked so far . Keeps the leather supple.

You don't know what you will do to your strop's property (draw, and other physical characteristics) when you apply glycerin on it. On living tissue, that's one thing...dead tissue: whole other story.

Ive read about the rubbing your hands on the strop and have one thing that bothers me ,I think the massaging of the leather softens it up ,BUT, how much oil do you really have on your hands?? Really,most of us wash and that depletes the oils in your hands,so it would take years to get enough oil on your strop,maybe if you have a teenager with an acne problem and use his forehead you might condition your strop

Originally Posted by Grizzley1

Ive read about the rubbing your hands on the strop and have one thing that bothers me ,I think the massaging of the leather softens it up ,BUT, how much oil do you really have on your hands?? Really,most of us wash and that depletes the oils in your hands,so it would take years to get enough oil on your strop,maybe if you have a teenager with an acne problem and use his forehead you might condition your strop

You don't need all that much. Even when you wash your hand, you get enough oil production within the first few minutes to have enough. Although it doesn't seem so, but a very little goes a very long way. You don't need to do this everyday...once every 3 months will do

Just wondering if there is any update to this? I've got an old Valet Autostrop razor complete with an old dried out strop that i would like to recondition.

I used neetsfoot oil on my strops with no problem,better then the glyersryn