Oops! Stropped With Oil Still on My Blade!

[Aldwyn]

I treat my blades with a little coat of oil right after each shave... well, today, I went happily stropping away on my leather with my pre-shave routine, and when I hit round trip #30 or so, I realized I never wiped the oil off the blade before I started stopping!

Is this bad for my strop? Should I clean it in some way?

Thanks!
Aldwyn

[MJC]

Probably not a problem
Did you start on the cloth/webbing/non leather side by chance?
What kind of oil ? Dripping or just a light coat?

A gentle wipe with a clean dry cloth (think white tee-shirt material)
And then 40 palm of your hand strokes for penance and you should be good to go...

(we have all done worse..)

Smooth shaving...

[TwistedOak]

doubt the amount of oil that could be on the razor's bevel and spine would affect the strop. Neatsfoot oil can be applied directly to the face of a leather strop without issue.

[Haroldg48]

You've hit on why I don't oil except for long term storage. On my normal 6 day rotation, I just dry them well with tissue, strop webbing & leather some and then let dry open out on my dresser before putting them away. We have either A/C or heat running 9months of the year which keeps the humidity low. I've never had a problem.

[onimaru55]

OP. If the oil you used is harmless to leather it's harmless to leather. If you used motor oil , bad idea.

[thebigspendur]

Don't listen to these guys your strop is ruined forever and will damage any razor it comes into contact with.

Just mail it to me and I will take care of it for you with proper disposal.

Har har.

[Galaxy51]

Aldwyn, I seriously doubt whether you or anyone else could tell a difference in draw after the little mishap.
In a few days, or less, the oil will be absorbed and no tell tale stain should survive.
I always leave my favroite strop hanging vertical and wouldn't guess that it would get contaminated by anything other than dust as I am pretty careful about having a clean razor before using it.
Every few months though, I notice a slight difference in drag along its length.
When that occurs I rub its surface with a clean T shirt and that seems to help the strops drag to become a little lighter and more consistant.
When I use a microscope to examine a razor straight from the strop I notice considerable oil on the blade which has to be wiped off to get a clear look at the edge.
I suppose years and years of use might remove enough oil to change its draw but I am not too concerned with that.
By far the biggest change in performance of your strop will occur with lots and lots of experience using it.

[DaveW]

I just cleaned my horse butt strop with mineral oil two weeks ago- mineral oil on several paper towels until the towels didn't remove dirt. I know this is no problem because I've done it to veg tanned leather in my shop (strops that are used on tools).

You'll have no issues, and unless the strop has never seen oil at all, it will dissipate into the strop and into the air.

[Aldwyn]

Thanks, guys!

Leather only... just a light coating of oil... cant feel it on the stop...

Yep... I think its ruined.

I can rest easy now... thanks again, gents!

[cubancigar2000]

I have used neatsfoot oil on my stops also