What On Earth Is Leading the Linen?

[duke762]

Glanced over this term some where and can't find a reference to it. Sounds like a gross, toxic and bad idea to me. Is it supposed to accomplish something? I assume who ever was doing this was using the metal lead. Has anyone ever seen or heard of this practice?

 

[LJS]

People used to use lead much more commonly for many purposes. Make-up, pipes, flashing, paint, auto-body, etc. I have heard of lead oxide (white) being used as an abrasive powder on strops similar to chromium oxide, iron oxides, jewelers rouge, etc.

I think most would caution you away from lead and to the many other alternatives due to health concerns obviously.

There may be other uses of this phrase but this is what I think of when I read your question.

 

[Srdjan]

Seen? No, thankfully.

Heard? Yes, of course, but these were oooold times. People used to strop on newspapers as well, when lead was in the print. They still do today, but it’s less effective I think.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[bluesman 7]

I know of a few people who claim to do this. I think that they're nuts.

'When you're dead, you don't know that you're dead and it's only hard on you're friends and family. Being stupid is the same'. Paraphrased from Samuel Clemens

 

[DrStrange]

You can read an old reference to it here:

Full text of "Essay on barbers' razors, razor hones, razor strops and razor honing .."

 

[duke762]

Thank you Dr. Strange! That was even grosser than I thought it could be. Lead is bad enough but cottonseed oil??? A staining black gummy mess. That has to be like handling carbon paper or burnt candle wicks.

 

[DrStrange]

Thank you Dr. Strange! That was even grosser than I thought it could be. Lead is bad enough but cottonseed oil??? A staining black gummy mess. That has to be like handling carbon paper or burnt candle wicks.

You think that's bad?!

Read a few paragraphs further to Russian Leather and Horse Hide:

"To break in leather strops try the following course : If not already
done, grind the grain side to smooth it down, soak in urine a couple of days, draw
out, let dry a day, stretch on a board, fill with shaving soap, rub with bottle in same
manner as canvas, apply lead and rub until ready to use."

 

[kohalajohn]

The bad old days were really bad.

And not that long ago. Up to ten years ago I was crewing on a racing yacht and every year would help the owner scrape off the anti fouling paint from the bottom and repaint. I got covered with that stuff.

One year the skipper shows up with a new can of paint and he's furious. The canadian govt had "banned the good stuff".

Since then he has to wash algae and barnacle growth off his boat. With the "good stuff" nothing every grew on the hull, absolutely nothing.

Also since then, marine life has returned to our marina.

 

[2bit_collie]

When I first volunteered to crew on a racing sailboat, my “entrance exam” was to spend a few hours helping to repaint the anti-fouling paint on the bottom of a J24.

 

[kohalajohn]

When I first volunteered to crew on a racing sailboat, my “entrance exam” was to spend a few hours helping to repaint the anti-fouling paint on the bottom of a J24.

And where was that?

 

[2bit_collie]

Cleveland. I spent 3 seasons crewing on a J24 on Lake Erie, mostly foredeck. One of the unique elements of sailboat races in Cleveland is that we often had the giant 800ft ore carriers crossing our course mid-race as they headed towards the Alcoa and LTV plants that were just up-stream from the mouth of the Cuyahoga River. Our skipper was very firm on this point - never try to cut in front of an ore carrier!