Thread: Cleaning the Linen (Canvas)

OK, I did a brief search, and didn't see anything that was very helpful.

I picked up a vintage Strop from E-bay, and the leather is in decent shape - and I've got a pretty good idea on where to start with getting it into serviceable condition.

However....

The canvas side is crazy. Well, I think it's canvas. It's so caked with what I can only assume is a paste of some sort, that it nearly looks like the leather.
Is there a preferred method of cleaning it?
Should I clean it?
Would it be better to just wipe off what I can (it's not "wet" at all), and re-paste?
Should I just try and use it as is and see what it does?

Thanks!!


LANCE

what i have done is to start by soaking the linen/canvas in a bowl of water with a little laundry detergent in it... i usually let it sit overnight. then i take it and scrub it lightly with a brush to make sure i get the strop clean. then a good rinsing in cold water and let it set overnight in water again, rinse again and then let partially air dry. then i iron it flat and let it hang until dry. once more to the iron and then it is ready to reattach to the leather portion of the strop.

you might want to wrap it in a towl for the first ironing. this is my method nad it has worked well on 6 vintage linen stops, YMMV.

I'd vote for using it as is. I would just be too curious what honing properties it would have. Many daily users honed very little and stropped with the linen impregnated with some polishing compound. I think it would be neat to try and figure out what it is and how well it worked.

Originally Posted by AFDavis11

I'd vote for using it as is. I would just be too curious what honing properties it would have. Many daily users honed very little and stropped with the linen impregnated with some polishing compound. I think it would be neat to try and figure out what it is and how well it worked.

I was really thinking about this as well. I believe I will go this route first, and if my results are poor, I'll try the suggestion above for cleaning.

Thanks guys!!!

When I was on this vintage strop kick I would just soak in hot water with some detergent and scrub with a scrub brush. They came out looking new but lost most of the starchyness they had before. I don't know if that came from paste applied of the way they were treated. Either way they serve their purpose.

I was able to clean my linen by using my left over lather a few times and passed the brush over it. I followed with an clean towel and rubbed the lather in. Th strap cleaned up nicely and extra lather was put to good use.

I have used one as is - yes, it had something and it did work well (maybe ash?) but it is a bit icky, at least to me

So unless they are really fairly clean, I soak and scrub as described already, and air dry (no irons). However, I also add beeswax to some and I do use an iron for this

Cheers
Ivo