Thread: Heavily damaged strop...

I bought a lovely strop a while back. It`s from the early 1900`s. As soon as I saw it I got onto the seller and told him I would be needing a refund. It has such bad cuts in it (That can`t be accidental?!) that it is useless. After a little discussion I was refunded. It was sold as useable. Anyway, he didn`t want it sent back to him, obviously knew he couldn`t resell it I suppose.
Anyway... It`s a beautiful thing and I haven`t got the heart to cut it into "soft jaws" for my workshop. Is there any way of fixing such a badly damaged strop? It has cuts that go very nearly all the way through and also really bad scuffing in one place. I had heard of puncture repair kits being of some use, could I fill the cuts and sand it flat or something? I really don`t want to risk a razor but I`m as torn as the strop, it`s a thing of beauty and I can`t bear to throw it away..... I`ll post a picture or two later...

Pics will help to assess the damage, but there is a repair method you can try as long as the slices dont go all the way through.

First, clean the strop with saddle soap and warm water, then leave it on a flat surface to dry. This will make it easier to see the slices and ensure theres no gubbins on the strop that will stop the glue from bonding.

Glue the flaps and slices of leather down with rubber cement and then, once the glue is dry, give the strop a light sanding (800 - 1000 grit paper) to make sure that the area is totally flat. TBH if there are lots of little scuffs all over the place, it might be worth sanding the whole strop lightly to clear all of that stuff as much as possible, and get a uniform surface.

After that, work some Fromm strop dressing in to it with your hands and give that a day or two to soak in properly. Then give it a try!

Good luck and keep us posted!

Are there any particular brands of product you would use StuBear? I don`t suppose you could furnish me with a link or two if there is?
Right, here are some photos. Firstly the scuffing...

The worst of the cuts, they don`t go all the wat through but they really aren`t far off. The other side is fine, it`s just this side. If that glue will really hold it together, I bet I CAN fix this thing up just fine! It would be such a shame to not make the effort, it`s so nice....

wow thatss cut up real bad.

i have no idea if you can fix it up but i would love to see if you do!

With all the cuts it has and some of the deeper ones I wouldn't waste my time trying to fix that.

Use some superglue to stick the two sides of the gash together, trim, sand or shave the abraded edges. Clean it with saddle soap, give it a few days to dry without hot air or direct sunlight, after this dye it black, let it dry again and then give it a liberal coat of neatsfoot oil and let it dry. It will still look very "used", but will be usable.

I appreciate why you`re saying not to bother but to be honest, I have time on my hands and I like fixing things! It would have to be a bloody good fix for me to even think about putting a razor on it but we`ll see. One side of it is ok anyway so I want to at least use that side anyway. I`m starting to have favourite strops already, longer is loads better than shorter for me and two inches across does me just fine I wouldn`t have thought super glue would work? I was planning on using rubber type stuff like in a puncture repair kit.. we`ll see, any suggestions are very welcome ! I`ll be making a list of things I`ll need to buy based on thie thread.....

Originally Posted by Feebo

I appreciate why you`re saying not to bother but to be honest, I have time on my hands and I like fixing things! It would have to be a bloody good fix for me to even think about putting a razor on it but we`ll see. One side of it is ok anyway so I want to at least use that side anyway. I`m starting to have favourite strops already, longer is loads better than shorter for me and two inches across does me just fine I wouldn`t have thought super glue would work? I was planning on using rubber type stuff like in a puncture repair kit.. we`ll see, any suggestions are very welcome ! I`ll be making a list of things I`ll need to buy based on thie thread.....

What does the reverse look like.

Either way clean the heck out of it with an old brush and
saddle soap. The big cuts can be helped with a rubber
contact cement that shoe repair guys use. The glue needs
to air dry for 20+ minute then as soon as the two sides touch
it is glued. Clamp with a little extra pressure to be sure and it
is good for a long time.

The shredding nicks are why I asked what the back looks like..
They look cumulative to the point that the leather that
was in some places is gone. They do not look shallow
enough to sand down.

The rubber contact cement should as flexible
as the leather and softer than super glue and
not catch the leather.

Do make a template/ pattern of the leather for the case
you find leather at a cobbler or a hobby shop like Tandy.

Considering what you can get a decent strop for these days to me at some point you have to decide is it worth the effort and expense. Even after repair it will still be an old beat up strop.

Yeeeeah you`re right there. Expense wise and quality wise it really doesn`t seem worth it does it? I just really like it lol I`m a sucker for old tools, any decent tools actually ! I once found a solid lump of rust the size of a butterdish when I was out metak detecting. I could see that it used to be a lump hammer head. I removed every last bit if rust and then made a handle for it. It`s not a beautiful lum hammer that gets used often. I love the thought that it was hidden inside a field, further hidden in a LOAD of rust and had been there for who knows how long?! Until I came along and gave it a new life Good karma that was....