Could you put a little virgin olive oil on a strop for conditioning? or Honing oil?
Strop Oil
- Thread starter jeff_C
- Start date
Don't know,
I've used baby oil before with no detrimental effects
I've used baby oil before with no detrimental effects
I'm not sure I'd use a food oil. I understand many just use the oils from the skin on their hand. I use neatsfoot oil.
- Whip up a batch of tallow shave soap lather and smear it on the stropping surface.
- Let it sit overnight.
- Brush off the remnants in the morning and enjoy the fantastically restored strop feel.
I never liked the results oil gave my strops.
How often do you do that, Craig, assuming one strop, used daily? Thanks.
My understanding is that food oils like olive oil will eventually go rancid and petroleum oils will clog the strop. So, I also prefer linseed oil when I feel the strop needs it. Typically though, I just rub my hand on the stop a few times before using it and actually find this works well. I haven't tried the tallow soap trick yet, but am hoping that it might also clean the strop a little when I do eventually try it.
In France, I once had the chance to watch an expert razor-honer strop a blade to completion using a vintage IRSCO strop and a generous application of olive oil just prior. The strop was literally as flexible and saturated as a broad noodle just taken from the boil. Crox was on the backside of the leather. I can only speak from this example, so I know it works in principle.
Edit: this thread has inspired me. I've had this stiff-as-a-board modern-vintage IRSCO 361 just hanging unused for a while. So I just plastered it (removing the bogus stamped "linen" strop beforehand) with extra virgin olive oil and repeatedly rubbed it in until the strop didn't want any more. Then I wailed on it with a razor I've been working on recently, for around 70 laps or so. Prior to this, off horsehide, the HHT wasn't all that good, but this latest stropping definitely improved things. Perhaps it's the active viscosity of the olive oil? In short, to the OP, if you really want to experiment with olive oil, I would suggest finding an old, dried-out barber's strop, or the modern production 361, that you can dedicate to the cause, and stick with it for the duration. If the strop is used and applied with olive oil regularly, then the rancidity question will not be an issue (i.e., think salad bowls used with olive oil, or wooden knife handles maintained with walnut oil).
Edit: this thread has inspired me. I've had this stiff-as-a-board modern-vintage IRSCO 361 just hanging unused for a while. So I just plastered it (removing the bogus stamped "linen" strop beforehand) with extra virgin olive oil and repeatedly rubbed it in until the strop didn't want any more. Then I wailed on it with a razor I've been working on recently, for around 70 laps or so. Prior to this, off horsehide, the HHT wasn't all that good, but this latest stropping definitely improved things. Perhaps it's the active viscosity of the olive oil? In short, to the OP, if you really want to experiment with olive oil, I would suggest finding an old, dried-out barber's strop, or the modern production 361, that you can dedicate to the cause, and stick with it for the duration. If the strop is used and applied with olive oil regularly, then the rancidity question will not be an issue (i.e., think salad bowls used with olive oil, or wooden knife handles maintained with walnut oil).
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Whenever you feel the need to rejuvenate the draw on your strop. It really works great.
Oil always made my strops glaze up and get slicker, not increased draw.
I have restored a few strops using just neats foot oil from my local shoe shop. Soft and supple but I am sure other oils are just as effective.
Olive oil does go rancid in salad bowls. It's one of the reasons why the traditional wooden salad bowl is not always the best despite the fact that they may look nice
lol: I got that info from reading the Joy of Cooking - I have no idea why I randomly decided to read a whole section on salad bowls, but I use a well cleaned hardwood salad bowl when guests are over anyway). Walnut oil is less prone to go rancid than olive oil, and the walnut oil used to maintain knives is typically distilled and mixed with a wax.
Please keep us updated on the renewed strop. It will be interesting to hear if it keeps well. The olive oil obviously did good things to it in the short run at least.
Were you using neatsfoot oil? I feel like it increases the draw on my strops. I'll have to double check next time I use it.
Olive oil does go rancid in salad bowls. It's one of the reasons why the traditional wooden salad bowl is not always the best despite the fact that they may look nice
Walnut oil is less prone to go rancid than olive oil, and the walnut oil used to maintain knives is typically distilled and mixed with a wax.
Please keep us updated on the renewed strop. It will be interesting to hear if it keeps well. The olive oil obviously did good things to it in the short run at least.
Been following the Lee Valley instruction sheet on applying walnut oil to knife handles, and boy don't they look good after a few applications. Anyway, thanks for your remarks, here you go with an update:
Just shaved with the edge stropped on the modern IRSCO cowhide two nights ago and it was an absolutely wonderful shaver. A big improvement on how the edge was shaving before! Think I'm going to stick with the olive oil here for a bit. Basically, I take around 1/2 - 3/4 tsp. and lay this along the surface, then rub everything in. The strop is pretty thirsty in this regard. Once it has been swallowed up, I do it again and again. Afterwards, there is a very faint skim of olive oil on the strop surface, acting like a velours perhaps. It certainly doesn't seem to effect the draw--neatsfoot oil always slowing things down a bit from my experience.
As for the olive oil turning rancid, this may be the case; but then again, I am not going to eat my strop any time soon. I have seen recommendations to store peanut and walnut oils in the refrigerator after opening, but never olive oil. The Food Lover's Companion says that it will last up to six months on the shelf, protected from light. Beyond this, we are dealing with leather here, not metal, the recommendation to avoid vegetable oils there having to do with stickiness and oxidation on the metal, especially when it has been stored away.
Tried this on a used TM strop that was kind of sticky in the draw. Previously tried saddle soap with mild improvement. This was a big improvement. It works.
I just rub my hands on them from time to time - works fine.
But - I'm not trying to fix an issue or change the draw.
But - I'm not trying to fix an issue or change the draw.
Thanks Seraphim. This does work great. Made my strop feel much better and it is easier than having to find and buy some kind of oil. It really improved my stropping yesterday on a razor I tried honing with lapping film.
