Thread: Vintage Chicago Shell strop

So today I was helping a buddy build his deck and we got done early. I was close to an antique market I had been to in a while and decided to stop in. I found 2 strops and I couldn't pass up 2 more Lignum Vitae lawn bowls. The first one I grabbed is the classic barber style at 2 1/2" and reads "Trade mark Guaranteed Lifetime imported shell." It has a picture of a rooster on top too. On the bottom it reads "Bresduck" and a bunch of other mumbo jumbo about the quality of the strop. Its still in fairly good condition with a nice linen weave strop too. Is this real shell or just tagged shell??? Any info on it would be great.

Next is the one I'm more excited for, and it reads "Weiffenbach MFG.CO. Chicago Shell Horsehide. On the bottom it reads "Famous" Brand trade mark. Im guessing this one is real Shell leather but I could be wrong. Its 2" and has a very smooth sheen to it. Someone was taking good care of this one. They had made a nice pine sheath for it to be stored in. Also any help with this strop would be very informative.

To clean them up im thinking a williams lather and a little Neatsfoot oil???? The linen I will hand wash and iron it flat. What do you guys think?