Thread: My new addition a certifyd 108

As the title suggests I picked up a decent looking Certifyd 108 Russia Shell strop with Irish Linen second on the bay. The linen was quite dirty and the back meeting the strop was stained red from the strop. The strop itself looked ok in the photos just a few marks but when I got it there was a small divit in 1 spot and a small nick in the edge. The linen was soaked for 2 days then scrubbed with a nail brush and resoaked for another week. After this second soaking it was scrubbed again and is as good as I think it will get. This linen is stiff and heavy. Even after a week in water it was stiff enough that you could lean it against something while standing up and it would bow a little but stayed upright. After all the cleaning a while still wet it started with a warm iron going over and over and getting hotter and hotter until it was dry and flat. While the linen was soaking I set to the leather first wiping down with a damp cloth to remove any dirt. I then set about sanding out the scratches and the small divit hole. The hole proved to be deeper than I thought but I got there and once that was done I proceeded up through the grits till at 2000 grit. I then wiped thoroughly with a wet cloth to remove and stray grit and dust. There were a couple patches where there were deeper scratches or the divit so I started to wet it down further and further but slowly over a night to swell the affected areas till it was flattening out then using a big glass Rubbed the snot out of it to flatten it. The next couple of night I did this in small bits and with a light sand or two on areas that showed to need more work. Anyway all done now and I know you love pics so here they are.

As I received it:

As you will see it has lost the logos from the linen and the leather is a little darker now its had a feed of 3 drops neetfoot oil and a very little dovo strop balm but is now much more supple and heaps smoother. Hope you enjoy.

Once finished:

Nice acquisition! I really like how the bottom's squared off with no handle. Looks better after the treatment, too bad about the linen logo though.

I knew I would likely loose the logo that is why I took plenty of pre cleanup photos. I prefer the barber ends. Have them on 2 other shell strops and find this style and length of strops is what suits me.

very nice looking Strop
how does the steel feel on it

Shell is great nice and slick. The linen is very stiff and zippy. Kind of like the Illinois 827 but much heavier. It is the heaviest linen component I have used and have only used it once so haven't made my mind up yet.

How is the leather, is it very stiff and hard? Have you tried stropping a razor on it?

I have a vintage strop that I've been messing with and can't seem to get it to soften up. It's very stiff and hard like Phrank has said. I've givin it 3 light treatments of neatsfoot oil ( 2 drops in my hand each time ) and it's still firm. I'm thinking I may need to do the sanding as you did with this one.

Great job by the way!

Originally Posted by HARRYWALLY

I have a vintage strop that I've been messing with and can't seem to get it to soften up. It's very stiff and hard like Phrank has said. I've givin it 3 light treatments of neatsfoot oil ( 2 drops in my hand each time ) and it's still firm. I'm thinking I may need to do the sanding as you did with this one.

Great job by the way!

I used zanolin which is a lanolin based leather food on a hardish strop I had and it seemed to work well, I treated it several times over a few days and it worked nicely. Though this wasn't a vintage strop so I don't know if age would make a difference. The strop is still quite firm but not so rigid if that makes sense. The firmness is probably due to the leather being reasonably thick.

This one is thick, and like stropping on glass. When I say that I mean the firmness of the leather, not the draw. Im really leaning towards sanding it, to get rid of that hardness it has. The thing is in excellent shape considering this is the only problem with it. The linen on it has a wonderful feel, and I use it before I switch to my Weiffenbach shell.