Thread: Pattern forming on surface of my strop

Originally Posted by welshwarrior

Gents,

I'm starting to notice a pattern forming on my heirloom latigo. It looks almost like a slightly darker, almost grey, fine fur and is forming in a sort of tiger/zebra pattern. It is very slight.

Should I be worried or taking any action? I did think I'd oil it to see if it disappeared, but on second thoughts I'm not in a rush to do that as it is still flexible enough.

Fur-like spots? Is it just on the surface, and can you wipe it off easily? If so, perhaps this is mold or mildew.

Not sure how Ireland's climate is, but here in Florida, if we don't run the air conditioner or a dehumidifier in our house during the more humid times of the year, we can see the grey fur-like spots of mold start to appear on surfaces. I just found it on my leather shoes in a closet the other day. Had to open up the closet and left air circulate in there.

If this is indeed what it is, it should just wipe off. If if continues to grow back, as it did on the gourd of a calabash pipe I have, you will need to wipe it off with something that will kill it. I used a clorox bleach cleaning wipe on the pipe, and it hasn't returned, but I doubt this is the right thing for your strop! Maybe Tony could answer that one. I wouldn't use it on my TM heirloom latigo without being told it is safe to do so. You should also consider storing it in a less-humid environment.

Andrew