Adding a little friction to a new strop with Neatsfoot oil

[Seveneighth]

Clay says in a whisper, "Hopefully @Tony Miller, won't read your post then!"

I've never bought a Tony Miller strop so he has no cause for concern, and now that you have highlighted my post he'll probably never sell me one now.

 

[Seveneighth]

Uh Oh ! Actually I am fine with people fooling with my strops if they have some basis and background as to what works for them. I just get so many beginners with their first strops, excited about the whole process that can't wait to add dressings or oils to them. Wait till you have experience and feel your strop needs something then carefully try something.

I once got one of my latigo strops back from a customer after a week or so of ownership. he said it just did not work well for him and seemed too sticky. One rarely asks to return any of my products but I said sure, no problem. I got back a very black and sticky oil soaked strop that had clearly been soaked in something the color of used motor oil or coal tar. Dark chocolate brown rather than the burgundy color it left as. I asked it he did anything to it and was told "no, just used it as you suggested". Still gave him a refund.

Oh that story just annoys me. If you do anything to a product after buying it, as a customer you should own what you've done. That's just not fair on the seller otherwise.

I visited a shop here in the UK and got chatting to the proprietor. He showed me an adjustable razor that had been returned to him after 3 years because it was "faulty". He's a nice chap and exchanged it but the razor... It was so thick with crud it was no wonder that it was "faulty" of course the dial wouldn't turn properly - it was cemented tight by the muck.

No, if I abuse a strop, it's my strop and I will live with the consequences of what I do to it. The interesting thing about leather is how resilient it is and how it will come back to life. My grandfather was a furniture restorer and showed me how you can bring damaged leather back from the brink. It was he who showed me the silver trick to burnish a strop.

I wonder if that strop your customer returned can be rescued? It would be a shame to think it is ruined. I hope you were able to do something with it.

 

[Seveneighth]

Rather than trying to change the draw on an existing strop, I suggest you trying purchasing another strop that has greater draw, if you can afford to do so. Use the strop with greater draw first and then finish on the fast bridle.

Although any strop improves the edge, I am of the opinion that different strops affect edges differently. Just as some hones are used for setting a bevel, some are used for refining that bevel and some are used for final polishing, I believe a sequence of strops works best. I have seen someone use a Suehiro G20K synthetic stone to go from bevel setting to final polishing, but it is a tedious process to do so. Using more appropriate stones for the bevel setting and intermediate steps and finishing on the 20K is less work. I feel the same way about strops.

I generally start my stropping sequence with 20 laps on a DIY linen strop to make sure the edge is clean. I then go to 20 laps on the fine cotton component of a strop by Griffith Shaving. It is my favorite cotton fabric strop. The cotton seems to do a good job of edge alignment. Then I do 20 laps on a "fuzzy linen" strop from Tony Miller. It seems to be rather abrasive and really gets the edge ready for leather.

I currently have the following leather strops in my collection:
Razor Emporium Latigo leather with fairly heavy draw. It is always the first leather strop in my sequence.
SRD kangaroo leather strop- moderate draw
Griffith Shaving English Cordovan shell- moderate draw
Tony Miller fast bridle cowhide- fast draw
Razor Emporium Horween Russet horsehide- very fast draw
Tony Miller- Notovan horsehide- very fast draw

My first strop was a Parker Latigo that got pretty beat up as I was learning to strop. I then added the Tony Miller fast bridle. Using the two in sequence really improved the edge. I later replaced the Parker Latigo with the one from Razor Emporium.

Although I could use either one of the strops alone, the only one that I believe I would be satisfied using that way would be the shell cordovan. With the moderate draw and enough strokes and the right strop tension, it could produce an edge that is both smooth and keen.

However, I love the edges I get when progressing up through a sequence using a minimum of four different strops with 20 - 25 laps on each. I generally finish on one of the horsehide strops. They really put a polish on the edge when used as the final step. I am not suggesting you need a sequence of four to six leather strops, but I do think having one strop with heavy-moderate draw and one with a fast draw used in sequence will improve your edges.

Each of the strops feels a little different, but that makes stropping fun. Even if I do 200 laps total on fabric and leather, the time passes quickly.

So true - I don't think I have tried anything so sophisticated but:

1) I have found similar with different cloth strops - that they seem to work better if you use a couple of different types in sequence.
2) Working up from a heavy draw leather to a lighter one seems effective with hanging strops. With paddles I prefer to reverse that.

You seem to have it to a higher level than me.

 

[RayClem]

So true - I don't think I have tried anything so sophisticated but:

1) I have found similar with different cloth strops - that they seem to work better if you use a couple of different types in sequence.
2) Working up from a heavy draw leather to a lighter one seems effective with hanging strops. With paddles I prefer to reverse that.

You seem to have it to a higher level than me.

I have a tough, fast-growing beard and a tender face, so I like my edges very keen and very smooth. I use pasted strops down to 0.1 micron CBN and then a lot of stropping on fabric and leather to get the edges I like.