Another Strop Care Q

[Lmarkow]

Gentlemen, this is my WH horsebutt strop (sideways, sorry).



As you can see, on the right side (top of pic), the strop gets very dry and scraped from stropping. This happens with use even immediately after the strop has been rubbed with neats foot oil or my palms. I've even tried Victor's oiling from the back side routine, to no avail.

Any suggestions? I love the strop. It still seems to perform well. But it looks like it's "in pain." lol. FYI, this doesn't happen to any of the other strops hanging next to the WH.

 

[sskim3]

If the leather is that dry, I would try multiple applications of neatsfoot oil. My assumption is that the horsehide is sucking it up pretty quickly and needs more oil.

I would rub neatsfoot oil on the strop. Let it naturally dry and soak the neatsfoot oil. I would wait at least 30 min or more before applying another coat. You can space out the applications a bit more. I would oil both sides to make sure the leather gets more supple. After a few applications (I am hoping 4-6), you should see vast improvements. When you think the leather is all good, I would wait until the next day to give it a whirl.

I am no strop expert but love leather shoes so this would be similar to how I would handle leather that is overly dry.

 

[Steve56]

Try Dovo yellow strop paste. I wet the strop, rub a small pea-sized bit onto my fingertips and taking care to evenly distribute it, rub into the surface.

I've also had good luck with a little ballistol, which is apparently mineral oil in solution and it is recommended for leather. Same application method.

Go slow, if one aplication of either doesn't do the job, I like to wait about a week and repeat. Continue at weekly intervals until the leather behaves itself.

Cheers, Steve

 

[Eveningcoffee]

I had a horsehide strop like that but drier and used saddle soap (Feibings) to bring it back. It's sold in a shoe polish can, but I believe it is glycerine soap. Before that I used neatsfoot or jojoba oil, sparingly, though they helped but didn't sove the underlying problem.

 

[Lmarkow]

Thanks for the suggestions, guys. I have some saddle soap, so I gave it a try over the weekend. Worked like a charm, I think; at least it didn't show wear after stropping one razor.

Thanks again.

 

[sskim3]

Thanks for the suggestions, guys. I have some saddle soap, so I gave it a try over the weekend. Worked like a charm, I think; at least it didn't show wear after stropping one razor.

Thanks again.

Saddle soap is typically used to clean leather. I find just saddle soap application a bit drying on the leather. I would go ahead and use some neatsfoot oil to make sure you hydrate that thing as well. A few coatings and you should see it come back to life. Keep us updated.

 

[Slash McCoy]

If your strop can be disassembled, swap ends. Put the right side edge on the left side. That will help balance out the wear.

Neats foot oil is great. If you use too much, sawdust or kitty litter will absorb much of the excess.

 

[Lmarkow]

Saddle soap is typically used to clean leather. I find just saddle soap application a bit drying on the leather. I would go ahead and use some neatsfoot oil to make sure you hydrate that thing as well. A few coatings and you should see it come back to life. Keep us updated.

I used some neatsfoot after I soaped the strop. It looked worse after application, almost like the oil wasn't absorbing properly. So I re-soaped the strop and let it dry. Looks great now again, and was really nice to strop on.

Thanks for the suggestion, Slash, but I don't think this is "wear." It's more like the leather is drying out too quickly.

 

[sskim3]

I used some neatsfoot after I soaped the strop. It looked worse after application, almost like the oil wasn't absorbing properly. So I re-soaped the strop and let it dry. Looks great now again, and was really nice to strop on.

Thanks for the suggestion, Slash, but I don't think this is "wear." It's more like the leather is drying out too quickly.

Interesting... If you want to do a light application, I like doing the following with neatsfoot oil:

1. Dab a little bit of neatsfoot oil in my palm.
2. Rub both palms together to distribute the oil a little bit.
3. Rub palm on strop like you would normally do.
4. Wait a few hours and see how the strop looks.
5. If needed, try another application.

This ensures that I get a pretty thin layer of the oil and the heat from palming helps absorb the oils a bit. It also makes sure I don't get areas of the strop that get saturated a bit more since it could leave oil marks.

Hope that helps.

 

[Lmarkow]

Thanks, Tom, that's how I apply oil too.

 

[Bobski]

I read elsewhere, where the dryness situation was a concern along with the issue of changing the draw of the strop. It was suggested to treat the back side of the strop, place your oils or conditioners onto the non stropping side, the flesh side, and is readily absorbed into the leather, and from all accounts has worked well. Worth a try I guess.

 

[Lmarkow]

Yes, I've tried applying oil from the rough side. Didn't help.

 

[Jnatcat]

I have brought back a dry strop by first using saddle soap applied to a damp wax pad ( the kind you use for applying car wax ) I basically rub the damp pad in the tin of saddle soap and lightly work it in ( not soaking wet just damp ) then I let it dry for several hours then took a small cotton cloth and applied a generous amount of Bickmore Bick 4 leather conditioner with several drops of Neatsfoot oil mixed in with it and worked it into the leather and let dry, at first the draw is very heavy but after a few day the leather gets softer and the draw lightens alot and becomes a medium velvet draw.