Strop restoration attempt

[rockviper]

This will be my first attempt at trying to revive a vintage strop. I picked this up from a fellow member as part of a "straight + strop" package, but it was really the straight I was after and the price was fair. So if the strop in a junker, I won't shed any tears.

My initial thought on the strop were that it is fast, with some discolouration and a few scratches, white spots and oodles of nicks by the handle. I sure hope that all of the previous owners still have all of their fingers. As you can see, the grip section is looking pretty worn, but the leather is around 1/4" thick and quite supple. The cotton component (I think it's cotton) is in half decent shape, even if a bit dirty. When I got it, the leather had been flipped around for stropping on the backside.

 

[rockviper]

I started with some 240 grit sandpaper and, golly gee, the grip section started crumbling, so I made sure to try to be very gentle there. Rubbing just my palm on the darker parts of the leather, it started to "roll off", sort of like if you have very dirty hands and just rubbed them together and the dirt started coming off. Nor really sure what to make of it right now.

Between 2-3 glasses of wine (I needed the empty bottle to help sandpaper with ) and about a hour of gently rubbing the strop with 240-grit and then 400 + 600 grit wrapped around the now empty wine bottle, the colour on the stropping surface became much more even. Happily enough, the "rolling" stuff I mentioned earlier stopped when i got down past the darker areas of the strop. Perhaps it was just too much oil and dirt build up over the years?

With the majority of the work done, here's what I have....

Much more even colour and texture along the majority of the strop.

Still two large, visible scratches, but I close my eyes and run my fingers around and can't feel them at all. In fact, the leather feels pretty smooth and, after working the meaty part of my palm on it for 5 minutes, I can't detect any nap or suede-like grain.

The grip section seems shot, but is still good enough to hold on to while stropping.

I made some Arko-licious lather to get some tallowy goodness to rub on the strop and my Omega B&B boar turned brown while gently brushing the lather on the strop. Happily, it rinsed clean and I gave it a good wash afterwards as well. The leather just socked up the lather pretty quick while I washed the cotton in the sink. The I palm rubbed the slight remnants of the lather into the strop (got my hand all brown just like the brush) and hung them in the garage to dry out.

We'll see how it fares tomorrow evening. I'm hoping it's usable, but if not... meh. I can still use the cotton and the backside of the strop appears quite serviceable.

 

[catherix]

Looks like a good start to me. (I have no idea what I'm talking about so don't take that as guidance of any sort)

 

[Bird_Flu]

Looks like a good start to me. (I have no idea what I'm talking about so don't take that as guidance of any sort)

X2!

Seriously though, nice work Sam, looks like you might have saved the front of the leather and the cotton looks like it's worlds better. What did you clean it with?

 

[rockviper]

Soooo, whatcha think?
The lather feels nice and smooth and the colouring is much more even than before. there's still two scratches visible near the grip (not shown), but I can't feel them with my eyes shut. The grip still feels a little off, but isn't crumbly any more and the cotton looks a great deal cleaner. Worst case with the grip is that I will either cut it off or shape it down put some electrical tape on it, if necessary.

I'll rum my palm heel on it a bunch over the next few days to help it out, but I think it's alive and not destined for the junk pile.


Before .....

and after ....

 

[Captain Pre-Capsize]

Hey Sam, if you ever decide to sell that strop...

 

[Shave_Rat]

Sounds like a nice win on the bringing it back! if the grip section feels off enough, you could always sandwich it with some good heavy leather, then chicago screw it together, maybe with a big D ring for a handle.

 

[rockviper]

Hey Sam, if you ever decide to sell that strop...

 

[chuckr9]

I think the wine bottle is the key - you need anouther bottle to finish the restoration!

 

[rockviper]

....the cotton looks like it's worlds better. What did you clean it with?

Nothing fancy; just liquid hand soap.

I think the wine bottle is the key - you need anouther bottle to finish the restoration!

Indeed, I've found that chianti bottles don't work well though

 

[rockviper]

After a few days of palm rubbing the leather 3x daily, I used it this morning. The verdict is that it works really well, but I'll probably still want to play with the grip area a bit more.