Thread: How important is pasting/oiling your strop?

Mods, please move to Strops if necessary, but I'm asking as a beginner who has never bought strop paste. Is this a necessary step, or a step that some love and some don't bother with?

Are there some that treat their strops and some that don't? Or does everyone do it and I should pick some up?

Originally Posted by HopChugger

Mods, please move to Strops if necessary, but I'm asking as a beginner who has never bought strop paste. Is this a necessary step, or a step that some love and some don't bother with?

Are there some that treat their strops and some that don't? Or does everyone do it and I should pick some up?

You don't need to paste your strop. People do this for touching up a razor. Plain leather and linen is fine for a shave ready edge before shaves. I keep my strop in tip top shape by rubbing it with my palm daily. Good luck.

Originally Posted by S0LITARYS0LDIER

I keep my strop in tip top shape by rubbing it with my palm daily. Good luck.

Great tip. Thanks. I oil my razor daily and kind of wipe the oil off on the strop too. I don't know what I'm doing, but whatever. I got a ton of shaves off my first razor, so that's good.

There are two types of uses for strops and there are two types of pastes for strops.

A regular strop is for the maintenance of a razor to re-align the edge. A strop coated with an abrasive paste is intended to slightly remove steel in a manner to sharpen the razor.

There also are strop pastes, or dressings, that strictly are for conditioning the strop.

For your everyday strop you can either rub it with your palm everyday to keep it oiled, or you can use a leather conditioner on it every few months. You just want to keep the leather supple not soaked in oil. I treat mine with mink oil about twice a year and palm rub it when I remember to.

On a strop meant for maintenance, it will be pasted with CrOx or diamond or iron oxide. Not everyone uses a maintenance strop, but a lot of people do.

I never heard about rubbing the Strop with your Palm, but this seems to really work well.

I use Saddle Soap a couple times a year to clean and condition my strop.