Don't replace it yet. I had several that needed freshining. I soaked them in a 10% bleach mix and some Dawn detergent. Brushed out the dirt, rinsed and dried it. it was quite stiff. I used the handle of a butter knife to work the strop and it softened nicely. I have several linen strops one is very supple and one is still a bit stiff. It looks like a 1 1/2 inch fire hose flatened. nevertheless. Just work with them.