Thread: Illinois 6506 - Help fixing a nick and cupping

I was gifted this lovely Vintage piece a while back. It really has been my go to strop for quite a while. I think its size and slickness have won me over. Well, I was playing with a blasted Gold Dollar and of all things...this is what nicked the strop! I was working on my stroke with not using my wrist and whammo. I can't wait until the next meet in my area so I can see first hand how to correct some of my mistakes. Meanwhile, is there a better way other than my non-working superglue to fix this? The superglue is what made the dark mark.

While I'm at it, how do I get rid of the cupping?

If this posted twice, I apologize. I was trying to post it and lost connection. I was practicing my stropping on this Illinois 6506 which was a nice gift not long ago. The strop is vintage. It has held up well being one of my favorite and most used strops for a number of reasons. I just like the darn thing. Well, fearing I would end up with carpal tunnel or whatever I decided to try and learn how to strop without moving my wrist. That's hard to do! In doing so and in trying to get some sort of shavability from a blasted Gold Dollar...I did this. Gold Dollars cut leather really well.

AFAIK rubber cement that you get in a bicycle puncture repair kit is normally used as it sticks but still allows flex, although it may not be strong enough to hold a slice of that magnitude. May be better for sticking down a flap.

Perhaps a small stitch in the edge (side of the strop, not on the stropping surface) may be possible to add strength to a repair.

Out of ideas now.

Good luck

Jim

Usually when you cut a strop like that it's toast. If its at the end you can cut that part off and have a shorter strop. If you tried to super glue it I doubt you could get it really smooth enough though I've never tried it before. Certainly it's worth experimenting repairing it. glue it and sand it out and let us know how it is.

As far as cupping goes I don't know any reliable way to fix that. You can try rolling it with a rollingpin or bottle and you can try hanging a weight from it and the nuclear option is to soak it in water and let it slowly dry.

I couldn't get the superglue to hold, but I didn't have a way to apply pressure. So, I was holding it in mid-air waiting for it to dry. Not successful. I said it'd be best to lie it between a table and books, but I was afraid of the strop sticking to one of those hard surfaces. So, that is why I didn't go that route.

I may try the rubber cement deal and see what happens there. Rubber cement smells good anyway....

I am pretty sure Rubber Cement will not work, however perhaps Contact Adhesive???
I use that to glue leather to wood for bench strops, but I have never tried it leather to leather....

Originally Posted by gssixgun

I am pretty sure Rubber Cement will not work, however perhaps Contact Adhesive???
I use that to glue leather to wood for bench strops, but I have never tried it leather to leather....

Where can you get that?

Damn, I had that strop for over 20 years before I gave it to you. It treated me very well and hoped the same for you.

I would try using the AFAIK rubber cement with a thin leather piece on the underside (rough side) of the strop and see if that works. Super glue drys hard making it a bad option.

In the Wiki under Strop treatment and repair it talks about using rubber cement and contact cement on small nicks and gouges. But nothing like the cut you inadvertently made.

Strop treatment and repair - Straight Razor Place Wiki

Nevertheless, it looks like you might have enough of a lap joint where contact cement might hold. Don't forget to sand the repair smooth. My understanding is that any useable repair must be as smooth as an undamaged strop.

BTW--what kind of super glue were you using? Liquid drops or gel? The gel that comes in a bottle with an applicator brush (like fingernail polish) will work on leather and other porous materials.

Good luck with the repair.
Namaste,
Morty -_-

Originally Posted by Bayamontate

Damn, I had that strop for over 20 years before I gave it to you. It treated me very well and hoped the same for you.

I would try using the AFAIK rubber cement with a thin leather piece on the underside (rough side) of the strop and see if that works. Super glue drys hard making it a bad option.

Yeah....I feel pretty awful about it. The fortunate thing is this is down towards the bottom of the strop so the strop is still quite usable, just don't go down as far.