Thread: Cleaning up sliced & diced Illinois 127

I was given this estate-sale orphan; it looks like some new shaver really learned some hard lessons on it, once upon a time. I would like to take it as a low-stakes opportunity to practice some strop doctoring.

There is one bad slice, located up near (and partly into) the embossing. I could easily avoid this area when stropping, but would like to repair it if I can. There is also a shallow "flap" located about two inches up from the handle, definitely into the business area of the strop. Above that, there are also a couple of light nicks.

The leather is pretty heavily spotted and streaked, God knows how, but it doesn't feel very dry: it is plenty supple enough to move it around without risking any cracking. The linen wants washing, which I'd like to accomplish without losing the red stamp "Fine Weave Linen Finish."

I have heard of using super glue and also liquid bandaid (Trimmy72's idea). If I sand, I'll want to avoid working sand into the strop, yes? How about suggestions for washing the linen without losing the red stamp? Any and all suggestions welcome. Pics follow.

Aaaand, here it is today:



I'll be stropping with it for tomorrow's shave, but for now, here is what I did:

Leather Strop:

1. I wiped it with a just-damp cotton cloth to remove surface grime. I tried to scrub at the dark spots and streaks, but they feel like dried amber (some kind of glue or epoxy?). Whatever it is, it wasn't used on the stop intentionally. It looks as if the strop was just an innocent bystander to some other project.
2. I began with the lightest nicks, sanding lightly (220 > 300 > 400 > 600 > 1000 > 1500).
3. I then Krazy-glued the flap near the handle and the deep slice along the embossing, flattening the repairs in a towel, under a breadboard weighted with hand weights. I then sanded the repairs using the same progression of grits. Since I chose to masking tape the embossing, the sanding there on the deep slice could only touch one "lip" of the join, and the results were only so-so there. My only goal with the deep slice was to hold the strop together and manage what cosmetic repairs I could. The flap near the handle smoothed out okay, but still felt bumpy on account of the Krazy-glue.
4. Attempts at sanding the spots and streaks were a mixed success: a few sanded out, but most felt hard and glossy, though not thick or rounded.
5. I washed the strop using saddle soap and a large sponge, and allowed it to dry flat in a towel under weights.
6. On an impulse, I took a second try at sanding the spots/streaks, and found that they sanded out easily now that the leather had been scrubbed.
7. I scrubbed with saddle soap again to wash out the sanding marks, drying as before.
8. I applied neatsfoot (baseball glove) oil, allowing it to work in overnight.
9. Finally, I applied a spare amount of Dovo yellow conditioning paste, drawing light Xes and working it in with my hand.

Linen Strop:

1. I wiped it with a just-damp cotton cloth to remove surface grime.
2. I covered the embossing with a sandwich baggie, taping it to the strop with masking tape.
3. Using Resolve spot cleaner for carpets, I washed both sides of the strop: after spraying and setting for five minutes, I blotted the cleaner out with a dry large sponge.
4. It was much cleaner, but reeked of cleaner and still had some grimy spots. So, I washed it with Resolve again, this time scrubbing firmly with a nylon brush. I then rinsed it thoroughly, blasting it point-blank along its length with the kitchen sink sprayer.
5. After drying overnight in a towel under a weighted bread board, the strop looked good (though I kept the dirt around the embossing). It was medium-stiff: not floppy like a napkin, but not nearly as stiff as my Illinois 206 2-inch linen strop.
6. I decided to try stiffening it with bees wax: I bought a candle and rubbed it on, using a hair dryer to soften and melt the wax. I rubbed the wax in with a drinking glass, then heated it again and worked it in further with a large sponge. On each side of the strop, I did two rounds: wax and glass, wax and sponge, repeat.
7. After cooling and drying on the table for a while, the strop was wonderfully stiff: more stiff than my purchased-new Illinois 206.

More pics of the repaired areas, and the final result: My repaired 127 alongside my trusty 206.

Very nice save deepweeds
I hope thats not a blood stain on the linen LOL
I didn't know the linen was meant to be so stiff, as mine is felt and it is no where near as stiff as the board you have there.
is all linen this way or is it just the Illonois brands way?
job well done

I'm really not sure about the linen. I see a lot written here on it, and nothing really conclusive about what stiffens some linen strops (chalk, wax) or what purpose it serves (protect against soiling, flatter surface, more glide). So the bees wax was an experiment here for me, though I do like the stable flatness of a stiffer strop.

I had hoped that was blood so that it might come out! Sadly, I think it's wood stain or lacquer or something.