Thread: Dubl Duck Russian Strop no. 53

Originally Posted by 10Pups

The cracks are probably because the leather is dried out. If you sand too much you will have suede. The layer you use is thin so be careful. Going by how you describe it , I would wipe it down with liquid glycerin and maybe burnish it with a glass bottle or something round and smooth. Other can chime in on there experience using one. I sold mine a long time ago and didn't use it.

Thanks 10pups. Your suggestion of rubbing with glycerin seems to have worked. The strop is much smoother. I think one or more applications over the next week or two will improve it even further

Originally Posted by Neil Miller

Russian is cowhide, not rhino.

The flesh side was removed using razor sharp wires at 45 degree angles originally. The diamond pattern was used on later strops to ape the original. It was a stiff leather anyway, rolling the pattern into it made it even stiffer, so it had to undergo a long and intense break-in period, originally.

The other traits of old time russian tannage was a red colour and birch and other oils to give an aromatic smell and protect the leather from damp and insects.

The Illinois russian strop still uses the reverse or flesh side of the leather, not that you can spot it easily after the mechanically applied finish and the dye.

Cracks in leather are where the leather has dried out. Leather fibres contract in the dry and elongate in wet conditions, hence the need for annual treatment. Left too dry for too long and the fibres will never elongate again.

Lathering heps as does neatsfoot oil and glycerin and other treatments. Help to hide the damage that is, not cure it. It can never be cured, Treatments may trap moisture in the leather, promoting an overall swell, but tbe fibres will not self-repair. They are dead, and have been for a long time.

A foul night troubled with thunder and lightning, kites on metal wires flown high up into the eye of the storm and the services oh Herr Doctor Stroppenstein are a last resort.

Be aware that the reanimated strop may go berserk, drowning young maidens in deceptively calm lakes, before meeting its maker for the second time in a furiously burning windmill while the townsfolk cheer.

Are you ready to release such a perversion and affront to God the maker on an unsuspecting world, my friend? My head tells me No! but my poor, tattered heart which once believed in the supreme good of mans eternal, divine, soul, makes me wonder...

Alas, my time here on this Vale of Sorrow and Tears is almost done, so perhaps I shall be spared the full horror of a reanimated, blood hungry zombie strop stalking the land.

Neil (Its alive, I tell you!) Miller

ahhh, Thanks Neil. I think

This is a back up strop I really only wanted the linen. I use your strop for every day use.

Originally Posted by Neil Miller

A foul night troubled with thunder and lightning, kites on metal wires flown high up into the eye of the storm and the services oh Herr Doctor Stroppenstein are a last resort.

Be aware that the reanimated strop may go berserk, drowning young maidens in deceptively calm lakes, before meeting its maker for the second time in a furiously burning windmill while the townsfolk cheer.

Are you ready to release such a perversion and affront to God the maker on an unsuspecting world, my friend? My head tells me No! but my poor, tattered heart which once believed in the supreme good of mans eternal, divine, soul, makes me wonder...

Alas, my time here on this Vale of Sorrow and Tears is almost done, so perhaps I shall be spared the full horror of a reanimated, blood hungry zombie strop stalking the land.

Neil (Its alive, I tell you!) Miller

Good God Neil, Bravo!