Travel strop storage box reskin??

Looking for recomendations on if it would be better path forward for this old travel strop box
as the box itself it in great shape pivot is tight & the closed fit up is spot on still but the now wood leather
is hard as & has curved tops to it
so would it be better to just give it a good neetsfoot rejuvinaion & lap/sand the leather back flat
or remove the leather (it looks only nailed on), clean it all up fully and fit some new quality leather?
any thought welcomed it is a great little box can hold 2 midium thickness blades but not the larger & thicker blades unfortunatly

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I'd keep it as original as possible & have the leather guys here give you advise on how to preserve it as is, maybe refurbish a little.
If you like the design,,then copy it with all new material.

I would lean towards trying to rejuvenate the leather first. If that proves unsatisfactory, you can always replace it later.

I want the wood to remain as original as possible just cleaned with no sanding etc, but my work bench would be smoother and softer than the leather on it at this stage
I will try the neetsfoot oil on the leather over the weekend and see how it goes unless another product is recommended like the saddle cleaner or something ?

It doesn't hurt to PM Hidestoart & run the leather question by him,,,,:shrug:

I would use liquid glycerin on it and burnish it some. I seem to be the only one that suggests that but it has worked on my leather for years. They don't sell turf soap anymore, I used to buy that by the gallon.

Would they have gone to all that work - and then nailed on the leather? I don't think so. That is probably a replacement piece of leather. It is evidently quite old, so it could well have had the leather replaced at one point or another. Besides, what has the leather got in it? It was probably used for travelling, and looks like it has banged about in many a bag. Who knows what sort of grit and detritus has been pushed into the leather or is lurking under the surface?

If the wooden lid has bowed, stripping the leather gives you a chance of sanding off the high parts of the lid, you could even leave some of the old leather to build-up the sides if it is still stuck (might fall off when the nails come out).

I have had a few boxes like this, and they did use nails, but the nails were tiny, more like brads, and the leather was really thinned out (skived) at the ends, and a tape was glued over where the nail heads were. Using whacking great nails like that looks a bit of a caveman-style fix, IMO.

Regards,
Neil

the nails in the lid part are actually bent over on the inside about 1/4"
a lot smaller head nails are on the back/bottom side holding the leather also but they are in the thicker end wood
the wood looks to be in very straight condition but the leather is curved down to the outer edges on both side and a good 1/8" plus thick in the centre long ways
I think your comments seal the deal to remove the leather Neil and replace with some fresh stuff
just another question, would the 2 sides have the same leather or slightly different 1 smooth & 1 rougher or heavier draw mayby?
as I have another small suspended fixed loom type strop & the leather appears to be 2 different grades on it?

A - that's crazy cool!!

B - I am with Neil on this. Those things were made to be used and replenished as needed. Better to have it functional than ornamental I figure.

But were you to just to have it as a keeps sake, all bets are off.

Either way, refer back to A. That's a cool box.

It's cool, but will lose all of it as it is messed with. Leave the patina. A fine display piece, IMO. I have several!

Do not fiddle with it.leave it as is,just display it,is a pce of old history.

It might be old, but it has seen a lot of use and they were 10-a-penny at one time. You still find a lot of them now, particularly on the continent, eg France.

I think you should use it as was intended - it was made as a functional piece, not a state-of-the-art trinket worth a million bucks.

The ones I have seen usually have just one leather side, but having two sides makes the piece more funtional - you just have to be careful about the surface you lay it on, otherwise you find yourself in the unenviable position of needing a bag or box to put your box in!

Most of the old paddles, especially the cushion type, had a leather final finish side and a velvety napped sort of side, usually this was meant to be coated with an abrasive and wasn't even leather a lot of times, just a thin sort of leatherette.

However, using a piece of the same leather for both sides, one that has hardly any oil content, and using a DMT to abrade one side and raise a fine nap will suffice.

The napped surface is usually a delight to strop on, but will go shiny over time, at which point you can paste it with something.

Regards,
Neil