Thread: How to make this Scotch Lassie pretty again

The leather strop is in pretty good shape with only one real nick/flap. The leather is pretty supple, feeling a bit dry at the ends but pretty supple overall. The linen is in great shape except for some fraying at the edges. Here are my questions-

1. I assume contact cement is best for the nick/flap, correct?
2. What would be best to treat the leather with?
3. Will I be able to get the leather back to a more uniform color?
4. Is there some way to stop the fraying on the linen?
5. Are there sources for hardware that would be similar to what was original on the strop? It came with the linen and leather just tied together with twine.
6. Any other tips?

Thanks!

Good luck with your restore! That looks like an awesome strop and I hope you can bring it back to much of it's glory. I just did a restore on a strop so I can canswer some of your questions solely on my limited experience.

1) For the cuts/nicks, yes, contact cement worked best for me. DAP brand contact cement gave me good results. Use a toothpick as your applicator and let it get "tacky", or "set up", for 5-10 minutes before gluing pieces back together. Afterwards , only if needed, lightly sand with high grit sandpaper.
2) My experience has been negative with saddle soap. It REALLY darkened the leather so if you wish to keep the appearance, lightly dampened rag to clean surface and then lots of single application light coats of neatsfoot oil. (BTW, do your gluing/nick repair before conditioning.)
3) Springfield leather is a great source for lots of hardware. For a nice metal top plate, check out Whipped Dog, he has a nice chrome one.
4)Linen......I got nothing
5)Good luck and enjoy the journey. I admit, my ADHD makes me really piss poor at any restoration as my attention span is about long as a lightning flash! My advise is to take your time and go slowly and your results will be much better than trying to rush it!

Nice find!

1. I assume contact cement is best for the nick/flap, correct? Yes.
2. What would be best to treat the leather with? Start with clean cool water on a rag. Clean it up, and let it dry between rounds. Once it's clean if needed, use very light coats of Neatsfoot or Extra Virgin Olive oil, letting it soak in and return to its normal color before applying more. (only if needed.)
3. Will I be able to get the leather back to a more uniform color? Probably not. Vegetable tanned leather develops it's patina partially from UV exposure. Meaning you can sun tan leather. Other stains and items will change the look as well. Function is more what you are looking for. Just get the surface smooth.
4. Is there some way to stop the fraying on the linen?- No idea.
5. Are there sources for hardware that would be similar to what was original on the strop? It came with the linen and leather just tied together with twine. Whipped Dog has the hangers of this type.
6. Any other tips?- Take your time. Going too fast with oils or saddle soaps will permanently change the feel of the leather. Any liquid or oil you put on the strop needs at least 24 hours to be absorbed.

Don't forget to post pictures as you work on this.

Oh and yeah.......I meant to add.......consult with member @Drygulch

Its all been pretty well answered so I will second cleaning with a damp rag and have used neetsfoot oil and proper strop dressings (dovo or fromm come to mind ). Go slow and light with the dressings. Do a search on strop cleaning and reconditioning there are plenty of threads with heaps of info

There is a product called Fray Check that can be found in fabric stores, probably Walmart as well, that can be used for the edges of your linen strop. Apply carefully, try to keep it off of the stropping surface, it is basically a glue.
Experiment a bit on on the end of the strop, before tackling the edges in the stropping area, to find out what will work best.
I would try to tuck the loose fibers and apply the fray check to the inner surface right at the edge if it is frayed through and a thin bead on the outside edge if it isn't.