Thread: Water damage strop

Hey guys,

I have a really nice TM stop that Been using and I love it. Recently, I had a bathroom disaster at my house and now my strop looks like it got water strains all on it. My question is how do I clean my strop and bring it back to its former glory? Can I use saddle soap? I saw they had a can of kiwi I think at walley world for 5 bucks will that fix the problem? If not what?

Greg

I'd take a cotton wash cloth, wet but not sopping wet, and rub the strop until the surface is a uniform wetness/color. Then let it air dry naturally for at least a day. If the strop warps, just re-moisten it and put it between two boards with some weight on it and let it dry.

Cheers, Steve

If it was me and I had spent up on a good strop I would contact the maker and ask him. Sure he would give the best advice for the leather used and the best methods for fixing it. Sure you could contact by email and get a reply quickly.

Other than looks.I dougbt water spots on a strop will have any effect at all

Some kind of strop conditioner or oil might blend in to it enough to get rid of the stains, if it's rubbed in evenly throughout the strop.

I know of no way to get true water stains off a strop. It's not the water itself but the reaction with the tanning agents. If Neil chimes in he would be the expert here. The stains are only cosmetic though.

If anything saddle soap will lock it in I think. Some of them have wax in them and I wouldn't want that on my strop either. I can't think of anything you could do except wait and see if it fades.

no strop looks new anyway after you use them for thousands of laps ,, its cosmetic , and if you've been using it I,m sure the finish is already marked up some ,, so its ok ,, but pup is right saddle soap will not be the answer ,, tc

Originally Posted by thebigspendur

I know of no way to get true water stains off a strop. It's not the water itself but the reaction with the tanning agents. If Neil chimes in he would be the expert here. The stains are only cosmetic though.

I agree - the spots have set off a reaction, compressing the leather, darkening it, making it coarser. Adding more water after it has dried will make the whole strop harder and kill the fine nap. If I was the OP I would live with it - over time the nap is lost/darkened/oil-grease rises to the surface and the whole thing will need some sort of overhaul - wait until then if you can.

Like the Bigspendur says, the droplet marks won't do any harm.

Regards,
Neil

Originally Posted by Neil Miller

I agree - the spots have set off a reaction, compressing the leather, darkening it, making it coarser. Adding more water after it has dried will make the whole strop harder and kill the fine nap. If I was the OP I would live with it - over time the nap is lost/darkened/oil-grease rises to the surface and the whole thing will need some sort of overhaul - wait until then if you can.

Like the Bigspendur says, the droplet marks won't do any harm.

Regards,
Neil

Neil that is an interesting statement especially as 1 strop maker reccomends wiping the strop down with a damp rag till the water has penetrated a bit to remove grease/oil and refresh the strop. Could this be damaging the leather and what sort of overhaul do you reccomend for strops. Thanks