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I just bought an Illinois strop in "new condition"- and its not quite. It has a couple dings (small and into the leather- are these a problem?) but more importantly it seems warped and lumpy, though the leather is not old. Will I be able to solve this by "breaking it in" with neat's foot oil and a glass bottle to try and smooth it out? Or is that bad for the strop? Any other ideas? Thanks!
Warped = uneven strop
Lumpy = Uneven strop
Nicks are not bad you can work those out with emory.
You could try neets foot or beeswax and see if it relaxes a little. If you bought it new, I'd call the supplier and complain and send it back for a replacement.
You could also try Williams or Colgate soap lather. *CAUTION* that methods pulls oil out of a strop but it does wonders for the leather.:shrug:
I haven't had much luck with the glass bottle thing.
I can't recall where I read it but I've seen instructions on breaking in a strop with lather and the bottle. I don't think you even need the lather but water would suffice. Wet the strop and roll it out with the bottle. Leave it dry and then apply the oil. A little goes a long way so don't overdo the oil. I haven't tried this myself and I'm repeating this from memory so before you try it you may want to wait until someone who may have done it confirms that it works. IOW, proceed at your own risk. :w