I have been picking up some used strops recently, with the idea of restoring them. Here are two examples from different ends of the spectrum. The top one in the picture is an Illinois Razor Stop Co. #3354. It appears to be a Latigo main element with a Russian Leather second element. Its in pretty decent shape, and was picked up as part of a lot on the bay. The second strop is on the bottom. It was purchased as part of a lot by @Darkbulb, and he posted about it here. It isn’t in as good of shape. The top leather was marked with a different brand than the linen element. The linen is marked Scotch Heather. Let’s start with the condition on the Scotch Heather strop. It had a couple of small cuts that could have been worked around. However there is also a large crack about half way down the strop. When I took the end of the leather and folded it, looking at the back of the leather, it was pretty clear the leather was shot. The Linen was pretty dirty, and has a couple of small cuts on it.
The Illinois Strop was in much better condition. The only issues with it were that the leather was a little dry, and cracking and flaking off the back of the second handle. For the Illinois Strop, I simply cleaned it with a damp cloth, and conditioned it with a leather conditioner. Note that this is not oil or saddle soap. I put a decent coat on all sides of it, and let it sit for a minute or two before wiping off the excess. I did a little extra conditioner on the part of the handle that was flaking. The key with conditioning leather, is to let it dry completely between coats. I hung the Illinois strop up and let it sit for 24 hours before doing anything else. For the Scotch Heather strop, I took it apart. I put the linen and the hardware in a tub of cool (don’t use hot, it will shrink the linen,) water with Oxy Clean, and let them soak for about five minutes. (Sorry, didn’t get any pictures of this part.) I used a tooth brush to scrub all the green corrosion off the hanger. I didn’t want to polish it up, because I like the patina. I rinsed the Oxy Clean off the strop as I brushed it lightly with a tooth brush. I didn’t brush it hard enough to get all the chalk off, but did get most of the mess. Unfortunately, part of the logo rinsed off as well. It’s still there but lighter. I took the now clean strop, and carefully straightened it out. I then hung it to dry. For the leather on this strop, I needed something thick enough to use without a handle. I measured it to match the linen, since the original leather was not quite the same length. I used the highly scientific method of seeing what leather I had that was thick enough and long enough, and settled on an American Tanned leather from Herman Oak tannery in St. Louis, MO. This is a pure vegetable tanned leather, and I put no finish of any kind on it. I started work on the piece by rounding all the edges with an edger that was made over 100 years ago. This gives a round edge to the leather instead of a square one. Then I burnished the edges to keep them round. My next step was to get the leather wet, and using a special made tool, compress all the fibers from both the top and the back. This gives a denser, more uniform surface for stropping. After I put my logo in the leather, I worked some saddle soap into the back of the leather and the edges, to help keep the fuzzies slicked down. In the pictures below, you can see the raw piece of leather, cut to size, slicked and edged, then a closer shot of the burnished edge.
One of the important things on working with leather is to give any product or water enough time to soak into the leather before going to the next step. I let these sit for a day and a half to dry before I assembled them. I added horse hide hangers to both. I am going to oil the Scotch Heather one with olive oil to soften the leather a little bit, but will be adding it over the course of a few days to let it soak in and penetrate.
Thank you! I will send you a PM, as my intent with this thread wasn't to sell anything. I have had multiple members ask me about old strops they have purchased, and what it would take to get them usable again. I am going through the 8 used strops I have right now, and will be reconditioning and restoring them so folks can see what steps might work for that. At the end of it, I will put a thread together with things to avoid when purchasing used strops. Happy to hear from anyone on if this seems helpful to the forum or not.
I think it is both helpful and interesting, I appreciate the details and the pictures. The results are amazing. I know your intent was not to sell anything but I could not help but ask.
I have to restore my rolls razor strop plate. I may just replace it if I can remember where I put my leather working tools. May need to make a Tandy order.
Incredible work and real nice to see the old strop I had was given a second life. I would also love to see your continued work posted here - it's great to see these old strops being put back to work.
Great thread going here. I have a few vintage strop that I have acquired that need some love and this may allow me to brave the project.
That's what I was hoping to help with. Start a thread for them, and if you need any help I will be happy to chime in!
