Cleaning and restoring strops questions

[Wolfster91]

Hi there,

I have just bought a second hand horsehide strop which glides beautifully with the razor. The strop itself has a shiny finish to it which feels really smooth with the ends of the leather feeling more like normal leather than hasn’t been shined and isn’t as smooth.

I have just cleaned it with sadly soap as I noticed a couple of bits of dirt that have gathered up and lint and although cleaner, I am worried that the shine won’t come back. When cleaning, I noticed my cloth had bits of leather pigment on it. It feels smooth but not as smooth as it was.

Any thoughts?

 

[PLANofMAN]

Is it horsehide or is it shell horsehide? It makes a difference. Either way, the slickness and shine will return as you use it.

A good rub with your hand will put oils back into the leather, if you do it every day or so. This is the long approach.

I'm a fan of the dubbin dressing for leather care for strops. Something with coconut oil, lanolin, and beeswax is near ideal for shell strops. There are various recipes and pre-made versions.

 

[Tanuki]

I clean old gunky linen components with a nylon brush (think kitchen sink brush) and liquid laundry detergent. I scrub them on a flat surface, rinse under a cold water spray, repeat. And continue repeating until you are happy with the result.

Afterwards some are fairly white, but all still have some staining. Importantly, they all come out clean but are still flat and retain their stiffness. I do not flex or (horrors!) wring them out. I let them dry slowly on a flat surface, usually the top of the dryer.

 

[duke762]

I'm always focused on getting the white stuff out of the weave. The stuff is creepy and slimy.

I have been soaking messed fabric components in Oxyclean White Revive, some times for weeks. There are plenty of similar products and there may be things that work better. I also use chlorine bleach to try and get the crud out. I've kinda' melted fabric by using too much bleach, they were headed for the trash anyway. No loss. Some have cleaned up quit nice and get frequent usage.

 

[H Brad Boonshaft]

The trick to washing linen, especially vintage flax linen, is soaking in a mild soap, Dr Bonners, Woolite or similar soap. Do not use harsh bleach or cleaners, vintage flax once wet is brittle, using harsh soaps and chemicals will weaken the fibers. Soaking overnight will loosen the dirt in between the fibers and weave. I use a 5-gallon bucket.

Scrub with a stiff brush, I use stiff fingernail brushes. Then soak in clean water with a couple tablespoons of baking soda again soak overnight, repeatedly until your rinse water is clear. Baking soda will help release the soap and grit between the fibers.

On dirty strops like yours posted may take up to a week or more of soaking and rinsing before it is clean. It has years of dirt and grime and abrasive imbedded in it and can take some time to remove it.

If your strop is flax it will stiffen up/swell when wet, be careful with it when hard, you can easily crack it, but as it drains and dries it will become soft rather quickly and can be manipulated.

Rolling on a hanging rolling pin can greatly speed up the cleaning process by loosening the fibers and weave, it will also stretch the strop, so it does not shrink as much, expect some shrinkage. Roll when damp not wet or dry, again be aware/careful about cracking.

Google (Fanned Oak English Shell, Adrian Michigan) for a photo tutorial. Post 52-56