Thread: Can I use the back side of these strops??

Hey Guys

I got a bunch of really old strops and was looking at salvaging pieces to use for some paddles I've got that are missing their leather, but actually while cleaning them off I noticed that while the front of two of them where the 'genuine shell' is embossed are all cut up and rather useless I imagine, the back sides are pretty much perfect and just about as smooth as the fronts. So my question is can I just take an ultra-fine grit paper to smooth them off and then just oil and use?? I know some leathers have a rough and a smooth side, but these Shell strops seems really smooth on both sides

Also the darker strop you'll see in the images has what looks like black paint on the back side.. it's really smooth but almost too hard and smooth with this coating on it, whatever it is.. Again, could I just finely sand off this coating to reveal the smooth leather underneath, and then just oil and use?? I want to re-attach the hardware with these two pieces showing off the backsides so as to make a double sided strop..

Any advice or suggestions are greatly appreciated.
Thanks.