Thread: Dirty strop?

Red latigo does this. I didnt like the color coming off of the one i had. So 8 guess a few of us have delt with this.

I asked Mastro Livi what to clean the leather on his loom strop. He responded "lighter fluid" on rolled up toilet paper. I thought this was insane but he is the Mastro and I did what he said. Cleaned the leather with just a couple of strokes. I then tried it on my SRD modular leather and again, great results. I asked Mastro Livi what to condition his leather and he said extra virgin food quality mineral oil. Works great so I used it on other strops and it got similar results. Use very little. Isn't sticky.

I know what extra virgin olive oil is but I've never heard of extra virgin, or just virgin, mineral oil.

It's the naphtha in the lighter fluid that does the trick. It is harded to find naphtha so lighter fluid is substituded. I learned that from a saddle maker.
Also if using sadle soap, use it with very little water. Hope this helps!

I just looked at the bottle and it says Food Grade mineral oil which is natural and highly refined. I purchased Cutting Board.com on Amazon and it works great. It isn't sticky and is very light.

Originally Posted by Utopian

Before oiling any strop, which you should only need to do once every several years at most, you should hydrate it with a barely damp cloth. Wipe the strop with that cloth, wait ten minutes, and the wipe it with a dry cloth. That also should be done immediately prior to the application of any oil.
Also, for the application of any oil, never forget that less is more. Do not over-oil your strop.

AMEN!!
wise words here... mind them

Originally Posted by jkatzman

I just looked at the bottle and it says Food Grade mineral oil which is natural and highly refined. I purchased Cutting Board.com on Amazon and it works great. It isn't sticky and is very light.

Food grade mineral oil also can be found in any pharmacy or drugstore. It should be in the same area as laxatives and should be quite cheap.

Regarding it being "natural," it's as natural as gasoline. I've really just never considered using mineral oil on leather.

Originally Posted by Utopian

Before oiling any strop, which you should only need to do once every several years at most, you should hydrate it with a barely damp cloth. Wipe the strop with that cloth, wait ten minutes, and the wipe it with a dry cloth. That also should be done immediately prior to the application of any oil.
Also, for the application of any oil, never forget that less is more. Do not over-oil your strop.

In other words, wipe the crap off with a wet rag let it dry, then dust it off and apply oil!