Thread: flattening a linen fire hose

working on a new fire hose strop and wondered if any one has tried using a iron on one. I have tried wetting an then placing weights on it but it isn't as flat as i'd like. my next step would be to wet it again and hang it with weights on it but i thought a iron might be faster. Any one tried an iron?

Probably needs to be stretched, check with geezer on this. He and a few others are very good at this.

I have used an iron w/steam on my last two with success. I iron like any other article. Then I put under weight to dry. It does stiffen up a little.

I wash the material with mild detergent. Then rinse well. Washing machine is OK. Getting the strop stretched flat is the secret. I then hang the material from wood hangers one on each end to the bottom one I attach a five pound weight. If the material is long enough to fold over the hanger to make two strips with a bit left over. Old style locking trouser cuff hangers are best for precut lengths.
Oh yeah... The length for no handle barber strops is 27 inches. And a final cutting to length after putting in the two piece grommet. A bit of super glue to seal the but end and...voila' .
~Richard

Yes, the trick to fire hose is stretching, cleaning and RINSING it free of soap. Stretch it damp, let dry and stretch again. My hose was, new old stock, I washed it several times and each time, a lot of dirt came out. I think I washed it 6-7 times. Each cycle takes a couple days.

Once clean and stretched a fire hose will be soft. limp like a sock and lay perfectly flat.

I use a thrift store ball bearing rolling pin, hung from the ceiling, well my garage door actually. Here is a post I did on my firehose strop. (Oak Fanned English shell) post 52. Post 56 shows my rolling pin set up and how I use it.

BTW, they are super aggressive strops, lots of work, but worth doing…

Originally Posted by Geezer

I wash the material with mild detergent. Then rinse well. Washing machine is OK. Getting the strop stretched flat is the secret. I then hang the material from wood hangers one on each end to the bottom one I attach a five pound weight. If the material is long enough to fold over the hanger to make two strips with a bit left over. Old style locking trouser cuff hangers are best for precut lengths.
Oh yeah... The length for no handle barber strops is 27 inches. And a final cutting to length after putting in the two piece grommet. A bit of super glue to seal the but end and...voila' .
~Richard

Can ya post a photo?

thanks for the replies. this one i got from ebay and was pre-washed, seems clean so i think i can skip the washing step. I'll try hanging it with weights.

Originally Posted by Mvcrash

Can ya post a photo?

Like this:



~Richard

You might want to soak it in some detergent and see if any dirt comes out in your rinse water. I was amazed at how much dirt was in, a NOS hose. Dust gets in the weave and unless you work the fibers, it will remain there.

The dust/dirt is abrasive of random size and grit and will defeat the goal of stropping on linen.

Originally Posted by Euclid440

You might want to soak it in some detergent and see if any dirt comes out in your rinse water. I was amazed at how much dirt was in, a NOS hose. Dust gets in the weave and unless you work the fibers, it will remain there.

The dust/dirt is abrasive of random size and grit and will defeat the goal of stropping on linen.

Thanks, I did just that even before your post, thought it couldn't hurt and i needed to get it wet anyway. on the down side, it shrunk an inch (and i'd already cut it to length with the matching English bridal strop already done) hoping a praying it will relax and stretch back to length when it dries.