Thread: Question on Linen.

I recently bought an old strop that was in near new condition and want to know if the linen should be hard as rock. The only other strop I have is an SRP Premium III with matched webbing. Since I have nothing to compare it to, I'm turning to you for advice/feedback.
The only photo I have is of the leather side.

IME, and I have quite a few vintage strops the linen is stiffer, more body than the webbed fabric on the SRD or a linen on any currently produced strop I've had. I don't know that I would call it hard as a rock but if it is new it might need some break in. Even then it will have more body than the current stuff.

Thanks Jimmy.
Yes, stiff would be a better way of describing it. My description, in hind sight, was a bit on the exaggerated side.
How do I break it in? Or is this simply by using it?

Yes just use it. Those old linens were darned good. If it has any lumpy spots you can wash it and dry it on a flat surface. I've gotten some off of the bay that were like that. I used a bucket of cold water and some Woolite. Dried on a flat table overnight. Softens them up a bit too. If it isn't lumpy I would just use it as is.

I've washed a few old linen strops by simply laying them out on a table and scrubbing them with a damp wash cloth. This way the strop does not get soaking wet but still gets cleaned and the strop stays flat during the process.

By all means use it, what a great find!

Originally Posted by nun2sharp

By all means use it, what a great find!

No kidding. I never seem to find decent old strops.

Much of the older linen was hard when new. I have a small stash of NOS (new, old stock) chalked linen and all of it is stiff enough you could hold it out horizontally and it would stay straight.

This likely happens during the chalking process. real linen, if wetted will dry hard as a board. You would need to flex it a bit to get it soft again. I am guessing the NOS chalked stuff was processed wet to apply the chalk and have it soak into the fibers.

Tony

+1 with TM flex it, or I have also used a stiff nylon brush DRY to break it in just a touch... If it is not dirty or clumpy I would try not to wash it...

I once tried washing one of those old chalked strops. I cleaned it up and all the chalk came out and it was nice and soft but I don't know that it performed any different than before. I probably wouldn't mess with it. if its dirty and you can't brush it out maybe you could look at dry cleaning as an experiment.