Pearlduck Strops

[Honedright]

Forgive me if this has been covered previously but…

Does anyone know what was the “Scientific treatment” applied to Dubl Duck razor strops? Of course if I knew any Barber who owns one, I’d ask them first…but I don’t.

 

[Wombat ESQ]

Nope

but I will go with poetic license?

Like :- "may contain tree nuts"

 

[Honedright]

I’m assuming it was something like that. Kinda like Ivory Soap, “it’s 99% pure… “ Pure what? Soap? And the other 1% is air.

But kidding aside, did the strop manufacturer use some special tanning formula? Or maybe it was just a standard tanning formula that was just hyped up.

 

[Wombat ESQ]

I’m assuming it was something like that. Kinda like Ivory Soap, “it’s 99% pure… “ Pure what? Soap? And the other 1% is air.

But kidding aside, did the strop manufacturer use some special tanning formula? Or maybe it was just a standard tanning formula that was just hyped up.

Tanning, I started my working life as a Tanner chemical tanning, thats one reason I'm stuffed now, no WH&S or OH&S in them days
Ye Olde tanners were not very popular people, hides were tanned in dog doodoo
I watched a dude [video on y t] veg tan [tan bark] a skin, took him 3months before the liquid had penetrated completely just soaking it. In a commercial tan drum there are wooden pegs to 'work' the hide ... like scrunch it bend it work the chemical in, in two days.

Yes the tanner [veg or chemical] could have added a cup full of ''special scientific goo'' to a batch of leather, the basics are chemistry and early chemistry could be construed as ''scientific'' if some dude chucked a cup of salt in his tan liquor?

 

[Honedright]

That’s interesting. So, as a former tanner, do you know what ‘goo’ could possibly be added that would make strop leather better for stropping?

 

[Wombat ESQ]

That’s interesting. So, as a former tanner, do you know what ‘goo’ could possibly be added that would make strop leather better for stropping?

errrr, no.
I was on the front end of tanning, right after the cow was peeled not the back end of the finishing or post tanning processing. As a side thought, we dealt at times with hair on peeled Kangaroo's that were exported then re-imported as Koala Bares [toys/souvenirs], ludicrous that!!

but from reading, it could even come down to simple pork fat, or a prelude of something like chromium oxide impregnation as in strop dressing paste? [ as an aside, chromium (III) hydroxide sulphate, is the most controversial used stuff in chemical tanning, creating a storm in a teacup over toxicity.][wet blue, from the bluish green color of the leather right after tanning before dying]

Chemical tanning is scientific chemistry in three stages, 1- de-hair/lime/sulfide, 2- de-lime/ammonium sulphate/sodium metabisulfite, 3- the tan stage salt/sulphuric acid/chromium h/s, 3.1 is bicarb to neutralise the acidity. [as another aside, if a hairy cow peel is dropped in stage 3 liquor[on the tan floor, or poorly washed tan drum] the hair becomes fixed, and the de-hairing stage has no effect]

Veg tanning can be as simples as lime to loosen hair, then tan bark. So any advancement on a simples process could be construed as scientific?