New strop question.

[flyman]

I just recently bought a new strop. I went to Gentlemen's Choice in CT and bought an American Made 3" in black Latigo with a second in canvas webbing. I had some Franklin's baseball glove break in oil which I found out is really just neet's foot oil so I rubbed some in and started working it into the leather.

My questions are :

How do I recognize the signs that the leather is being broken in properly?

I noticed that some moisture on the surface of the strop was left undisturbed as the razor passed over it while stropping. Should I be concerned? I became very conscious of my technique when I noticed this so I was keenly aware of not favoring the spine, thus lifting the edge. As a matter of fact, at one point, I passed the moisture spot very slowly and, noticing the razor did not disturb it, unconsciously pulled the razor back over toward the wrong direction, putting a slight nick in my brand new strop. It has been Christened.

Anyhoo, any help would be appreciated.

[pinklather]

Hey, Fly. I've had the same question, having re-slung a couple strops w/ new latigo from a local leather shop.

One thing I can promise will be asked is the width. I'm getting to where I don't want another 3" 'cause of the cupping issue. PITA.

On my new leather, I'll strop after a bit of leather treatment, and notice there's still a non-flat surface. So out comes more leather treatment and a coffee cup for it to strop. Give me a lousy edge, will ya. I'll show you!

I can't say I know, but one attribute of readiness has to be flat. Until mine was flat, I could strop and actually have a reduction in edge readiness.

'Will be interesting to hear the old hands weigh in on the question. Thanks for asking.

[flyman]

I have already noticed the shaves getting a little harsher with all my razors! I thought to myself, "This doesn't make sense!"

[zib]

Why would you treat a brand new Latigo strop with neetsfoot oil, I'm curious...I have a bunch, and have never had to treat a Latigo...? It's already treated to make it "latigo" unless Tony Miller lied to me..? To each his own I guess. All I do is rub them with my hand...Did they tell you to do that...? I've read all kinds of stuff guys do to strops on here, from Ballistol to Shave cream, and that's cool, but the best way, is just to use it, and rub it with the palm of your hand..I understand about wanting to break it in quicky, but nothing about this hobby is fast...

Now, I've cleaned leather strops before with Saddlesoap, and because of the drying effect, I've treated with neetsfoot oil after. the strops are never the same after that...As I said, whatever floats your boat, and if you think it's better, than great...!

P.S You might want to lay that strop out on some paper towels or something absorbent, leather side down, with some weight on it to suck up the excess moisture...



Rich

[Lynn]

I find that with new Latigo, the main thing is to get past the oil and wax layer. So, whether you just hand rub or apply a couple of sparing coats of neats foot oil and hand rubbing, you want to get to where the draw starts getting better which to me is more resistance. These strops start off a little slick, but after a short break in and getting past the leeching, the draw and results improve a lot.

Although I have occasionally seen a 3 inch strop cup, it is rare and particularly when left hanging all the time. I have found over time that the 3 inch strop is simply a more comfortable width for me and I only go back to the 2 1/2 inch width when experimenting or when I wanna play with my Kanayama's.

Have fun,

Lynn

[Ryan82]

If cupping is an issue try the bottle trick. Lay your strop on a flat surface and use a glass bottle (a beer bottle works great ) like a rolling pin on your strop. The only other technique I know of is to lay something flat and heavy, like a stack of hardcover books, on the strop and let it sit overnight.

Let us know how it goes

[flyman]

Why would you treat a brand new Latigo strop with neetsfoot oil, I'm curious...I have a bunch, and have never had to treat a Latigo...? It's already treated to make it "latigo" unless Tony Miller lied to me..? To each his own I guess. All I do is rub them with my hand...Did they tell you to do that...? I've read all kinds of stuff guys do to strops on here, from Ballistol to Shave cream, and that's cool, but the best way, is just to use it, and rub it with the palm of your hand..I understand about wanting to break it in quicky, but nothing about this hobby is fast...

Now, I've cleaned leather strops before with Saddlesoap, and because of the drying effect, I've treated with neetsfoot oil after. the strops are never the same after that...As I said, whatever floats your boat, and if you think it's better, than great...!

P.S You might want to lay that strop out on some paper towels or something absorbent, leather side down, with some weight on it to suck up the excess moisture...



Rich

I was told by Ray Fournier at Gentlemens Best where I purchased it, and I've read it in quite a few posts having to do with breaking in a new leather strop. Also, I hope I didn't lead anyone to believe I treated the strop to the point that it was dripping neatsfoot oil. I used a few drops down along the length of the strop and the shoulders which I then thoroughly rubbed into the front and back by hand. The "moisture" that I spoke of on the surface of the strop was a few drops of water that shook off my hand as I was stropping a few passes after a shave. I don't plan on treating the strop with any more oil anytime soon, but it did sop up those few drops like a sponge. I did notice the feel of stropping was a bit "softer" after the oil treatment, but I do believe this one has a long way to go before it's in prime condition. In the meantime, I have decided to start with the new strop for 60 or so passes, then finish up on my old starter strop for about 20 more. Seems to be doing the trick.

Thank you Lynn. As usual, your help is invaluable.

[niftyshaving]

I just recently bought a new strop. I went to Gentlemen's Choice in CT and bought an American Made 3" in black Latigo with a second in canvas webbing. I had some Franklin's baseball glove break in oil which I found out is really just neet's foot oil so I rubbed some in and started working it into the leather.

My questions are :

How do I recognize the signs that the leather is being broken in properly?

I noticed that some moisture on the surface of the strop was left undisturbed as the razor passed over it while stropping. Should I be concerned? I became very conscious of my technique when I noticed this so I was keenly aware of not favoring the spine, thus lifting the edge. As a matter of fact, at one point, I passed the moisture spot very slowly and, noticing the razor did not disturb it, unconsciously pulled the razor back over toward the wrong direction, putting a slight nic in my brand new strop. It has been Christened.

Anyhoo, any help would be appreciated.

At this point just use the strop. i.e once the leather
darkens from the oil there is enough.

You can rub it with a clean rag or even a paper towel.
As Lynn noted wax and other surface treatments seem
to get in the way but that might be an exaggeration because
of the contrast that an old strop has when compared to
a new one. The surface treatments vanish in a month
or two of rubbing and daily use, then there will be 15 years
or more of increasing comfort and use.

If the razor passes over some areas and leaves them "undisturbed" that
is OK because the rest of the strop is in the game.

Baseball glove break in oil can be a mix of oils and it is easy
to get more on a strop than is needed. Overnight press the strop with
some weight on brown paper or clean news print. If the paper
soaks up any oil you have all the oil you need on the strop. When
clean paper no longer attracts oil you are back on track. I have a container
of Franklin oil and less is more for sure.