Thread: Lathering a strop

Hi guys I would just like to inform you all about a strop that I bought of flea bay for a £5 it is a Scorcher No 153 Real Horse Hide it has 2 leather strops in one, the finishing side is a normal strop that I cleaned up with baby wipes then gave it a good treatment with neat foot oil. I think that this strop hasn’t been used in a long time as it has started to crack. However the other side is what interests me it was jet black when I tried to clean this up I noticed that it there is about 1/16th inch thick of stuff on top of the strop. I have had a good look at this and I think that it is lather with soot in it. Any way after about a week of gentle cleaning most of it came off. After reading this thread about leathering a strop I thought why not. I can honestly say that the strop is still jet black but it’s like a new strop. It has a lovely draw to it and the little nicks that were in it have gone and most of the cracks have healed up. I tried the strop with the soot before I cleaned it and it didn’t harm the blade however the strop had some very uneven draw because of its age and condition so that is why I had a go at cleaning it. I can honestly say that I will now be looking at cheap strops on the net and having a go at this on them.

Hello Exile!

The black stuff most likely was soot - very fine soot was frequently used for its mild abrasive power, chiefly for imparting a shine to the blade. Candle-snuff and tallow was supposed to make a good dressing. Chimney soot has often been used too.

Be careful of the cracking on old strops - no amount of dressing, lathering or compound will get rid of a deep crack - it's dead leather, it can't heal! Most likely the cracks were just surface crazing.

Regards,
Neil