Sounds to me like you have most of a bottle of conditioner that you no longer need then phrank :)
With regards to handles or d rings, I prefer to hook my fingers through something, so it's rings or equivalent for me.
Printable View
The ‘washboard’ is the result of the way the leather was formed. It’s my understanding that it’s put into a press and the ridges are intentional!
Regardless it is a nice strop! As I said before it’s a real workhorse!
I’m sure that if Neil wasn’t recovering from phenomena he’d jump in with his vast knowledge of strops and fully explain the process!
If you’d like more from Neil and strops here’s the link to Obie’s interview with him:
Straight Razor Place - Conversation with Neil Miller
Sanfte Rasur, mein Klingenbruder!
(Smooth Shaving My Brother In Blades)
The texture is from the flesh side of the leather. Most things are used with the hair side of the leather facing outward to the world. I have made leather from the skins of animals.
That ridged inside is exactly from a roller-adds flexibility and makes a zip zip sound if you use it. Oh was that the texture to which you refer, maybe i miss read.
But the great hard slick of the Russian Shell leathers is hair side. The 827 is not this. not mine.
@Phrank, yes. Easy to tell it's been treated. Can see excess from the application.
From my understanding from what I've read on this site the Russian leather is a name given to leather treated in a certain way and not the actual leather as it was traditionally. If you do a search you can find the treatment method and how it differs from the traditional Russian leather.