Thread: Softening up old dried out leather

Hi folks,

I've got a couple of older vintage strops and while they appear to be in pretty good shape, the leather is a bit dry. What would be the best way to soften the leather up?

Ed

I don't know so don't jump too quick but I suggest a waterless hand cleaner. That by itself would be my first choice. Wait for others though, they may suggest some kind of oil.

I just finished refurbishing two old strops I got from ebay, I had to completely restitch the handle on one of them. I cleaned first with a leather cleaner by Blue Magic' then I used the cream conditioner(same brand). This products are similar to Lexxol. For the cleaning process you can use a semi stiff brush to gently work the cleaner in to the leather and open the pores. Don't be afraid to repeat the process it is better to work it in several steps than trying to deep scrub on the first time especially wen you have and old strop. Also you don't want to scrape the top layer. I used a wet microfiber towel to wipe the soap, the small fibers do a great job of picking up dirt, plus it is gentle on the surface. This products are emulsified and do not leave an oily residue. You can also try the leather lotion from Kiwi, is intended for shoes but it worked very well on my strops.

My favorite leather cleaner and conditioner is Bick. Its different than all the rest. Its ph matched to the leather and the cleaner is kind of like a gel that you work in and wipe off no soap or petrolium base. The conditioner is a vinegar based concoction. Works wonders. Far better than lexol. Its hard to find. You might have to search for it on the web.

Thanks for all the suggestions. I was thinking about using saddle soap but I'd heard that if you don't get all the soap out, it can dry out the leather even more, so I was looking toward the products made for a car's leather upholstery (like Lexol). I'll give the Bick product a try if I can find it.

Not that I've ever noticed. Saddle soap is extremely oily, with lots of lanolin.

Yeah, it would probably make the strop very slippery and leave gunk on the razor.

No if the razor is dry, it will soak right in and help make it supple. Saddle soap is also quite alkaline, which could be handy because alkalinity makes steel less susceptible to rust.

I think Mink oil is what you need or whatever the stuff is that comes with a strop from Tony.

No....you don't put a mink in the blender

Gary

Gary,
The stuff I use is basically similar to Lexol. It works well as does Neat's Foot Oil but remember, not all dry leather will come back. I have vintage strops that restored well, other that seemed to self destruct once any conditioner was applied.
I still buy a few older strops but won't spend any more than I am willing to lose just in case <g>.

Tony