Thread: Got a vintage strop

Up to now, I've had an Illinois strop I bought when I got my first razor, and it's been a good one to learn on.

Over the weekend, a nice old strop caught my eye and I bought it. It's got 3 pieces, one's leather of course, the second looks like a canvas strop, and the third is a white fabric that I would call linen. The canvas is a course heavy weave, and has a green color, not just in certain areas, but uniform throughout, so I'm thinking it was either coated at one time on both sides uniformly with green paste, or, probably more likely, made from fabric that was just green, sort of like a pale or faded army green.

The leather strop is thick and smooth, no nicks or imperfections. It's very old. It doesn't have a handle, it's 2 1/2 inches wide and a full 24 inches of what looks like horsehide to me. At the top it's got an emblem embossed in gold onto the leather, and it says "Best Quality" in English, and there's a round medallion that has Russian (Cyrillic?) printing in four words, and in the center there's an insignia of what I'd call a two-headed creature with wings like an eagle, and the heads look like dogs or bears, with a crown floating above the two heads, and on the creature's chest there's a shield with a picture of a man riding on what looks like a big bear. At the bottom end of the leather are the words "Oklahoma Barber College" and at the very bottom inside a diamond outline is the number "600 C".

I've cleaned it with saddle soap and treated it with neatsfoot compound. It was very dry, but not cracked or hard at all. It's pretty supple, but the leather doesn't have any draw, so I'm thinking if regularly rubbing it with my hands and stropping my razors doesn't improve the draw, maybe I should get some 220 or 320 sandpaper and give it a light going over to take the sheen off. I'm not in a hurry to do that.

I would be very interested in any observations, facts, or words of wisdom from all of you guys regarding the best way I can put the old strop to good use, and suggestions about how to best make use of the two fabric strops, such as whether any kinds of pastes might be needed or other words of advice.

Gary, I think it goes without saying - we want to see pics of that bad boy!!!

Originally Posted by FatboySlim

Gary, I think it goes without saying - we want to see pics of that bad boy!!!

Photos added above.

This is another "pretend to be Russian" strop. Yes, it is Cyrillic, written Nizhniy Novgorod (Нижний Новгород - city in Russia), best quality (лучшее качество). There are 2 spelling mistakes and wrong "chicken". However, this is one of the best leather available! Congratulations!

I decided to gently sand the surface to break through the shiny shell. After sanding I rubbed it thoroughly with my hands, then honed a razor on it. The strop has a pretty good draw now.

I have a vintage Dubl Duck strop. It has that shiny protective coat on it, or Scotch Shell as it say's. I've been reluctant to take it off. It's probably what kept it so pristine over the years. It's more of a collector's piece than functional.

rich, don't sand it! that shiny top layer is the best part.

I was asking for that advice in my OP, and nobody said anything, so I figured it didn't matter. I must admit I don't know how a strop works any better if it has a hard shiny shell on it. As an unused collector item, I guess it sort of keeps it that way for the future museum curators or something. Why would anybody want a really good strop that they were scared to use? I did sand mine after I'd cleaned it and treated it with neatsfoot compound and it has a lovely draw now.

If the same folks are interested in sharing any strop advice, I'm still wondering what's a guy supposed to do with two different kinds of fabric strops. Any words of wisdom in that area? I could use it!

well, i don't read all the threads in all forums, but i would've suggested you don't sand it if i'd seen your thread earlier.
there are some images from old catalog in the wiki if you want to read about different horsehide strops from when that was the norm.
i don't know why you'd need two pieces of fabric. I suspect that the extra one came from another strop. you could put two different abrasives if you want (the surfaces that touch will be contaminated, so you can't do more).