This'll be my last new thread for the night, I promise. I'm posting this for anyone who has thought about giving life to an old strop (in my case, my Great-Grandpa's Shell 3355 strop that has been sitting in a box folded in half for over 40 years). The process takes some time, but thanks to @Drygulch I am seeing new life in this heirloom that I never thought it could have! Hope ya'll enjoy the read (and pics)! I apologize in advance for this pic heavy post... having said that, I'm not very sorry because everything is turning out wonderfully. To start out, I will introduce my strop as originally posted (from my newbie post). The leather of my strop was very dry, and I will be completely honest I was really worried about moving it into many positions other than straight because I knew it had been sitting in a box for over 40 years. I ordered neatsfoot oil from Amazon for a meager $13, I personally think it should be more expensive haha. I followed the steps given to me by @Drygulch and the first thing I learned was that this is seriously a labor of love, no need to rush anything. The outcome (probably 90% finished now after 3-4 days)! (product placement, and you can see that the ends are probably going to need more oil even when the rest of the strop is complete.) (much cleaner, so much more life, much more flexible leather, all coming from someone who really doesn't know a lot about leather, it's just amazing to see the transformation) (5 seconds after the newest, light coat of oil) (45 seconds-1 minute post coat. Here you can see the portions of the strop still thirsty for more, and the parts near the middle and top that are pretty much done) (last. Took this picture to show how much more flexible the leather is. It also happened to be a great shot to illustrate how not-flexible the dry leather is on the right side) I cannot thank Drygulch enough for his help. If anyone else is planning on doing this by themselves, the best advice I can give is to as drygulch for some advice on the process and take it nice and easy. This is definitely a "slow and steady wins the race" fulfilling moment.
I've never been a fan of the feel or look of neatsfoot oil (it darkens the leather too much in my opinion, a personal taste thing). I use Dr. Marten's Wonder Balsam, which is a mixture of beeswax, lanolin, and coconut oil. This is definitely a case of many paths to the same result. I love seeing new life being breathed into old strops, and family heirlooms even more so. Good job!
I have heard of lanolin and beeswax mixtures as well Thanks! I'm going to buy a beginners strop in the next couple days because I really don't want to ruin this one Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Wonder Balsam is made for Dr. Marten's shoes and boots, but I also use it on strops. ...and you will nick your strop at least once while learning, everyone does. Getting a starter strop is a wise choice.
Oh cool! That's good to know haha. I went straight for the neatsfoot oil option cuz a buddy of mine uses it on his saddles and then the next day it was recommended here haha So a many things to learn. And I'm mostly looking at the whipped dog poor mans strop Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I don't put this on the forums much, but I use Extra Virgin Olive Oil for almost all of my leatherwork and tack maintenance. It's more a preference of scents for me. I use neatsfoot for very old and dry stuff. Before anyone brings it up, I have never seen leather going rancid from olive oil, and that's with using it on saddles my entire life. It works on stops as well.
