Have I destroyed this strop?
I bought a beautiful 4"x24"x1/4" strop on ebay for a great price. The only imperfection was it was not straight on the bottom. It was curved slightly from shipping.
Now for my damage report. I had read somewhere that you could straighten a bent strop by placing it in between a damp towel and ironing it on low. It worked! Problem was it cracked the leather very badly. I mean it had more cracks than a geriatric yoga convention! More cracks than "This old plumber". It turned superdry. So, on to mistake number two.
I rubbed it with mink oil. Still had cracks, so I coated it with boot oil (Red Wing). :gth It turned soft! It's top layer became gelatunuos (sp?). So, I GOJO'd it and pumiced it. It still came off on my razor when I tried to strop it. So, I......
Covered it in kitty litter for a week or two. I took it out and alchohol rubbed it and this seemed to dry it great.
Problem is it has hairline cracks when I pull it tight. :confused:
Does any one have any advise? Or should I use it for knives and chalk it up to nievity and try to get another?