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Care and feeding of a hanging strop?

Ok, not so much feeding, but more of a question of "how to care for" a hanging strop. Should I be taking any special precautions with the environment of the strop? Specifically, should I make sure that it doesn't get the occasional water droplets on it from hanging near the sink?

Right now, I only have an inexpensive starter/travel strop from Razor Emporium, so even if I mess it up, I'm not going to be kicking myself, but I'd like to form good habits early.
 

EclipseRedRing

I smell like a Christmas pudding
It may not be the most hygienic but I occasionally rub my palm on my forehead and then rub the strop leather. I find the oils from my skin keep the leather supple. I do not keep my strop in the humid bathroom as it has a canvas backing which I prefer to keep in a dry environment.
 
Water is not a good idea on your leather and I do not keep my strops in the bathroom to ensure I can avoid it. Outside of that leather care varies wildly depending on location and type of leather. Latigo for instance is nearly bulletproof and might require a few drops of neatsfoot oil once every few years. In general leather takes far less than people think. Kept indoors in moderate humidity and out of the sun, my veg tanned leather wants a few drops of neatsfoot oil once a year. Same for my cordovan. With latigo, a few drops may or may not ever be needed. I live in Florida and my average indoor humidity is 45%. Strops kept in Vegas with their average humidity of single digits to teens requires more frequent maintenance. (I used to live in Vegas) The most important concept is to use tiny amounts of neatsfoot oil. If it needs more that is easy. If you get to much on removing it is a giant pain. There are plenty of folks that never do more than palm rub their strops and they get many years of service with no problem. What works for me is 4 drops of neatsfoot oil in the palm of one hand. Then I rub my palms together briskly and rub one palm briskly on the strop once a year. It is amazing to me that just this tiny amount keeps my strops looking new, but quality leather is amazingly durable.
 
Don't leave it in a room that has crazy high humidity (IE don't keep them in a small bathroom you shower in). Don't hang them where they're in a bright sunbeam all day. Don't hang them right over a heater vent.
That's about it. Maybe rub it with a clean palm every now and then.
 
Away from direct sunshine and away from any moisture.
Hand rub regularly and if needed, a light wipe from a damp rag or towel to clean.
If it becomes dry for some reason then some neetsfoot oil in moderation. Thats it.
 

Slash McCoy

I freehand dog rockets
I don't take any great pains with my strops. My usuals are hanging in the bathroom. They are a Kanayama, a compressed cowhide, a buffalo and a black steerhide. Oh yeah and a "theexbay". Whenever I make a strop, I treat all the ones in the bathroom to a few drops of neatsfoot just cause I have it out. I'm not liking other than the compressed cowhide and the Kanayama these days; the others get little love. Those two get hand rubbed regularly, usually before every use. The cowhide especially responds to the hand rubbing. I always rub a strop with a cupped hand so as to give the edges just a slight stretch so it never cups. Not needed on the Kanayama of course, since it is hung from a single point and is narrow.
 
It's funny to me that so many are warning against moisture. An occasional wipe with a damp washcloth is an important part of my strop maintenance. It does great things to my strop. I do live in dry Colorado, so that may be a factor.

I think that Kanayama also recommends an occasional wipe with a damp cloth.
 
My strop maintenance in order of frequency.

1. Palm rubbing. I do this daily with clean hands before using the strop.

2. Damp washcloth. I occasionally do this after I'm done using the strop for the day, but only if the strop is starting to glaze.

3. Lather or Saddle soap. I only do this if the damp washcloth is not keeping up with the glaze.

4. Mink oil. This is a very light application to the dampened back side of the strop. I am the most cautious of this and only use it if the strop is stiff and dry. It takes a while for the mink oil to work it's way to the strop surface, but it does penetrate through. Eventually (years) I feel that I'm trying to get the mink oil off of the stropping surface with the above methods.
 
It's funny to me that so many are warning against moisture. An occasional wipe with a damp washcloth is an important part of my strop maintenance. It does great things to my strop. I do live in dry Colorado, so that may be a factor.

I think that Kanayama also recommends an occasional wipe with a damp cloth.

I think the warning about moisture is more about constant moisture where the strop resides. This is not good for any leather.
I mentioned above about wiping with a damp cloth.
 
I always keep my strops away from water and moisture too. In the wintertime, when it’s drier, I find rubbing in some strop dressing or solid leather balm to help with suppleness. And this is coming from someone who strops both for shaving, and just for the heck of comparing the draws between leathers.
 
I have a few strops, a couple that are newer and some vintage strops I restored. I hang them in my closet and only rub my palm on the strop I plan to use that day to warm it up. The minimal amount of oil from my skin seems to condition them well.
 
I used to palm rub my strops, but I watched a video on YouTube with an older (must have been in his late 80's or 90's) professional barber giving a shave and he rubbed his forearm on the strop before stropping, so I started doing that!
 
I used to palm rub my strops, but I watched a video on YouTube with an older (must have been in his late 80's or 90's) professional barber giving a shave and he rubbed his forearm on the strop before stropping, so I started doing that!
I'd love to see a link to that video :biggrin1:
 
I hang my strops from nails in a warm dry dark kitchen closet with good ventilation and air space. I have had problems with leather jackets and shoes getting moldy in tightly packed bedroom closets. I have had a strop stored in a basement draw also get moldy. I have had leather book bindings get dry, brittle, and faded when exposed to direct sunlight. I will clean a leather strop with a damp cloth on occasion and then dry it. Mostly I hand rub the strops which works well, unless they start to build a deposit on their surface. The damp cloth rub is to clean the surface and restore the expected normal draw. I think that prolonged dampness is the issue as it promotes mold growth, or perhaps saturating the leather with water.
 
Here you go... He rubs the strop at 1:52 and I noticed he does go to his palm and back to forearm. When he strops his razor, he really uses a lot of pressure pushing the razor into the strop, something I wouldn't do.


He uses a lot of tension to keep it tight too. Some pressure is needed.
He looks like a good old school Barber. Thanks for the video.
 
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