Thread: The traditional way to break in a new strop?

Was just looking at an old barber’s catalog online (very old) and their preferred method for breaking in a new strop included soaking the strop in urine for a few days (didn't say whose urine) and finally rubbing it with lead just before the first use, I'm assuming because we can all do with a little more lead in our blood stream. Gads, I’m starting to question what may have been done to the old strops I‘m using! If anyone wants to try out this method, let me know how it turns out.

I skip the strop and just pee on my face while eating old paint chips.

Well, at least they stayed with #1 instead of going on to #2.

Originally Posted by SixNipples

I skip the strop and just pee on my face while eating old paint chips.

LOL, great :-)

Originally Posted by JoeBass

included soaking the strop in urine for a few days (didn't say whose urine)

The urine probably has to come from the same girls that roll the tobacco leaves on their thighs to make the best cigars.

Urine has some bleaching properties and I know tanners used to use urine during the tanning process, but I can't see a reason for using it after the fact.

We have some nice Barber's manuals in the reference files that don't call for any piss.

I was told that cow brains were used at one time to break in leather as well.

Leather processing and getting a strop ready for use are a bit different...

Now if you go Shoot a Deer, Elk or Moose, and decide to make a strop out of part of the hide then the "Stale Urine and Brain" processing might be something to look into..

I have plenty of one of the required items.