Vintage strop question

Dr Watson

James
Okay, so I recently won a vintage 'Roma №41' strop on fleabay... It arrived this morning and I've just got around to looking at it.

Despite the linen being a bit grubby it appears to be completely unused (I just removed the tissue paper wrapper!) Compared to my regular strop (Dovo Prima Rindleder) it feels quite different, I dont think its dry as its quite supple but in use the razor makes a lot of scraping noise as if being drawn across a hard surface... when using the Dovo strop its virtually silent apart from a slight 'swoosh'.

My experience with hanging strops is minimal, this is my third, ever. So I'm wondering if this is normal on some strops depending on the leather type or if it needs some type of oil treatment or something as its so old?

Roma on the left, Dovo on the right:

DSC01181.JPG

DSC01184.JPG

DSC01188.JPG

DSC01189.JPG


Crap pictures but may give an idea of what I'm working with here...
 

Britva

Eats steel for lunch
Perhaps you can take a photo under direct sunlight, so the surface is more visible...? This way, being a dark piece and all, it’s difficult to see it properly.

I would say, if you believe it’s supple enough, then it doesn’t need any oil.

If you feel any roughness on the surface, then it might benefit from some fine sanding (like 600-800 grit) and a good rubbing with a soft, sightly damp cloth. If you decide to sand the leather, please check it thoroughly afterwards, as grit may get lodged in the strop surface. Generally, a good rubbing will remove any loose grit. The surface of the strop should end up slick and even, and develop a nice sheen. Perhaps you can achieve this effect without even using sandpaper (I would certainly recommend trying).

It there’s no roughness, then just try rubbing with a palm of your hand to smooth it out some more. Some leather will be “louder” than other, I don’t think this is an issue, as long as your SR edge doesn’t degrade with use.


Good luck, it’s a fine looking piece indeed!
 

Dr Watson

James
Perhaps you can take a photo under direct sunlight, so the surface is more visible...? This way, being a dark piece and all, it’s difficult to see it properly.

I would say, if you believe it’s supple enough, then it doesn’t need any oil.

If you feel any roughness on the surface, then it might benefit from some fine sanding (like 600-800 grit) and a good rubbing with a soft, sightly damp cloth. If you decide to sand the leather, please check it thoroughly afterwards, as grit may get lodged in the strop surface. Generally, a good rubbing will remove any loose grit. The surface of the strop should end up slick and even, and develop a nice sheen. Perhaps you can achieve this effect without even using sandpaper (I would certainly recommend trying).

It there’s no roughness, then just try rubbing with a palm of your hand to smooth it out some more. Some leather will be “louder” than other, I don’t think this is an issue, as long as your SR edge doesn’t degrade with use.


Good luck, it’s a fine looking piece indeed!
Thanks Britva, I know... When taking the pictures I knew they would come out badly :happy: I'll try again in sunlight.

There is no roughness and the surface is flat, its just really loud which I'm not used to. As you say the proof is in the pudding so I'll keep rubbing it with my hand and use it for my next few shaves and see how the razors edge fares... The linen side has a larger weave compared to the dovo which also seems to give louder feedback... Sounds like opening and closing a suitcase zip over and over, I gave it a quick test and made the dog bark :laugh:

A couple of interesting things, it came with a Roma branded instruction sheet which recommends occasionally rubbing olive oil into the leather, I've not heard of that before? It also recommends dipping your razor in water after stropping... Hmm, I may ignore that :headshake:
 

Britva

Eats steel for lunch
The thing with oil is, it can help if the strop is dry, but if it isn’t, then it just takes away from the polishing power. Maybe you could use a tiny bit, but without actually holding the strop, it’s difficult to say whether it needs any.

See, this is supple...


This could probably be more supple:
 

UKRob

Forum GOD!
To my mind, more noise suggests a less smooth surface. What does your feel (fingertips) tell you if you compare your normal strop to the new one? Is the surface cracked on the new strop? If so, you need to sand off the layers until you reach a level that is capable of being smooth. Some strops are just too dry and old for this to be possible.

If leather has been allowed to dry out completely then no amount of restoration will make it usable again. I would suggest a light sanding of the surface to establish what is underneath, and then a very light coating of ballistol oil, to the back rather than surface of the strop, if you think it is worth saving.

I’ve done this on lots of old paddle strops and achieved surprisingly good results.
 

Dr Watson

James
The thing with oil is, it can help if the strop is dry, but if it isn’t, then it just takes away from the polishing power. Maybe you could use a tiny bit, but without actually holding the strop, it’s difficult to say whether it needs any.

See, this is supple...


This could probably be more supple:
Comparing my two strops I have to revise my initial assessment, The Roma isn't as supple as the Dovo, in fact your pictures almost perfectly represent exactly how they behave. Another thing I completely forgot to mention is lack of draw, there is none whatsoever, like stropping on glass.

To my mind, more noise suggests a less smooth surface. What does your feel (fingertips) tell you if you compare your normal strop to the new one? Is the surface cracked on the new strop? If so, you need to sand off the layers until you reach a level that is capable of being smooth. Some strops are just too dry and old for this to be possible.

If leather has been allowed to dry out completely then no amount of restoration will make it usable again. I would suggest a light sanding of the surface to establish what is underneath, and then a very light coating of ballistol oil, to the back rather than surface of the strop, if you think it is worth saving.

I’ve done this on lots of old paddle strops and achieved surprisingly good results.
It feels perfectly smooth to the fingertips, no stress or cracks visible to the naked eye, it does have a visible grain unlike the dovo which is comparatively suede-like. I dont think its dried out completely as its still quite supple and not hard at all... My intuition is telling me its dry more than anything else, could be wrong (often am!)

So to summarize: The leather surface is smooth, noisy and has no draw, I'm going to go with my gut and oil the bugger... If no joy I can always sand later. Its only a cheapie so no worries about ruining it :happy:
 

Dr Watson

James
I've oiled it... The leather soaked it up quicker than I could rub it in but its made a huge difference, now feels much more supple. Will give it another try later once its settled.

DSC01215.JPG
 
Last edited:

Dr Watson

James
Just had a quick strop with it, totally different beast now. We have light to medium draw and the sound has changed, its now closer to what I would expect... Still different to what I'm used to but I put that down to different types of leather. Thanks for the input chaps, even if I didn't listen :happy:

I'll use it exclusively for a week or so and see how my edges fare.
 

Britva

Eats steel for lunch
You’re welcome, it’s good to hear you’re making it work! It’s really difficult to give advice without actually handling the leather, but you can try different things and judge for yourself, no harm there. You will probably notice the strop will change again in about a week or so.

If you over apply oil, that’s also not a problem. I hear there’s a good way to remove excess oil from a strop by giving it a nice bath in gasoline hehe [emoji12]
 
Top