I killed another strop!

[bluefoxicy]

I left an SRD Red Latigo strop hanging in my bathroom! It has mildew spots on it, little black bumps on the surface!

Augh!

Luckily it's an $80 strop but it's $35 to replace the leather material I've managed to kill. Maybe I'll replace the webbed fabric with rock hard wool too when I get around to it.

I need to start storing stuff in my bedroom instead of my bathroom, I swear. This is mostly from washing my hands, water splattering out of the sink and hitting the strop. The drops turn into black spots eventually.

 

[Prince]

If it's just hanging in the open, I wouldn't think it was mildew.

 

[holiday]

I keep mine in my bedroom. There doesn't seem to be anywhere in the bathroom that avoids getting splashed. I don't like the idea of it being in a damp room.

 

[bluefoxicy]

It may be staining then. I don't know.

I may be able to sand it out with some 200-400 grit sandpaper, too. Some research suggests I can do things like that with little nicks.

I tried to apply Cr2O3 paste to the webbed fabric, with no good results. I may replace this with a 2 inch wide black latigo leather and webbed fabric from SRD, rather than a 3 inch one one day... maybe I can restore the leather strap and possibly replace the webbed fabric with something unpasted, maybe rock hard wool. And then trade it away for some money and get a 2 inch wide one.

 

[professorchaos]

Why don't you try some saddle soap before sanding it?

 

[bluefoxicy]

Why don't you try some saddle soap before sanding it?

Because I have no idea what that is, and I have some heel cuts in the leather where the razor dipped in a tad. Just at the very end of the strop though.

It's also notable that the red coloring comes out easy; I got some lather on the strop and it turned pink immediately.

 

[professorchaos]

Because I have no idea what that is, and I have some heel cuts in the leather where the razor dipped in a tad. Just at the very end of the strop though.

It's also notable that the red coloring comes out easy; I got some lather on the strop and it turned pink immediately.

Really? I've used saddle soap on one of my older TMs. While the towel I used to clean it was discolored, the strop itself didn't change color.

You can find saddle soap here. It is also good for cleaning shoes - all things leather really.

But hey, if you've got a tasty case of SAD, don't let me stop you. I probably have ten of them .

 

[The Knize]

You can probably wash the CrO out of the fabric strap if you are not liking it.

 

[Lavaine]

It's also notable that the red coloring comes out easy; I got some lather on the strop and it turned pink immediately.

I've noticed the same with my SRD strop. When I am done stropping, I will have a line of red across the spine of the razor. I'm not familiar with the tanning process, so i don't know if this is considered normal on not.

 

[Kees]

It's also notable that the red coloring comes out easy; I got some lather on the strop and it turned pink immediately.

I have the same with my TM strop. It shouldn't affect the quality of the strop though. Most leather conditioners have some antifungal in them that stops mildew. You could try that instead of neatsfoot oil. Especially the more liquid conditioners are great. I leave both my TM and Kanayama strop in the bathroom without problems. Do you ventilate your bathroom / keep the door when you're not using it?

 

[Kees]

I've noticed the same with my SRD strop. When I am done stropping, I will have a line of red across the spine of the razor. I'm not familiar with the tanning process, so i don't know if this is considered normal on not.

I have the same with my TM strop. I consider it normal. After a couple of years' use you will find the leather starts to fade a bit where it is in direct contact with the razor.