Thread: When are nicks bad enough to sandpaper

I bought a nice looking SRD strop off of ebay and got it today and noticed very small nicks on the sides. Not hardly through the surface. Should I sandpaper it? If I do should I treat it with strop conditioner or neatsfoot oil (which I don't have) or something else around the house.

Yes go ahead and cut any flaps off clean with the surface and lightly sand. I used one light coat of Neatsfoot oil on mine. Go easy on the stuff because it really penetrates and it stinks like rotten cow. Otherwise, get strop treatment stuff specific.

You may be able to sand the small nicks off. If the nicks are big enough to hold with your fingers, I'd use a razor blade and lay it flat on the strop and SLOWLY cut them away, then sand, and then neatsfoot oil. I'm no expert but that's what I did with my star shaving supply strop. I posted a small bit on the repair I did to the strop. The thread was called "stroptober".

If only I could find a razor somewhere!

oh wait, there are a dozen in the closet down the hall, one upstairs, one in the garage and one in the drawer.

Originally Posted by ccase39

I bought a nice looking SRD strop off of ebay and got it today and noticed very small nicks on the sides. Not hardly through the surface. Should I sandpaper it? If I do should I treat it with strop conditioner or neatsfoot oil (which I don't have) or something else around the house.

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Give us a clear photo to see the actual damage. Where to sand and how much to sand is dependent upon the extent of the actual damage.
If it's a matter of just sanding a bevel on the long edge of the strop, that would be a fairly easy fix. However, if any of the surface beyond the edge is involved, we need to see the damage if possible.

I have sanded two strops down to a very fine suede finish and then applied neatsfoot to the back side of the strop with good success. Again, a photo will help us help you.

Jerry
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