Cleaning an Antique Linen Strop

[cudarunner]

Hi All!

I just acquired a very old stop from a barber for $20. It's pretty plain Jane with no company logos, no brass connections and a very simple swivel connection etc. The barber said he didn't remember if the leather was cow, pig or horse. He then showed me the strop that he was currently using. It had the horse head at the top, but he himself pointed out that the stop he was selling me was a much better and heavier duty strop! The linen on the stop he was keeping was only about a 1/16 of an inch thick since it was only a single layer and fraying, while the one he was selling me is a little over 1/8 in thick because it has two layer and the edges were sound. The same is true about the leather! The leather on the one that I purchased is a little over 3/16" thick. Before the barber gave me the strop, he applied lather over the leather, rubbed it in, then used a straight razor to gently scrape the lather off. He said that it would help keep it from cracking.

When I got the stop home, I used a little rubbing alcohol to remove some of the 'Grime" at the end where you would hold it, it seems to have cleaned up quite a bit.

My question is this: Should the linen be cleaned in order to refresh the surface? The linen feels like it has some kind of wax or some kind of 'Build-up' on it. Since the linen is supposed to sharpen the blade and the leather polish the blade, I would think that there would be tiny particles of metal in the linen that should be removed.

Please let me know your thought on this!
Thanks!
RAD

[JimmyHAD]

I have many vintage strops, like any normal person, and the only time I've cleaned the linen is if it had been folded in a way that left lumps or creases. I washed them in cold water in a bucket with Woolite and let them dry flat. If they were lumpy I put a heavy weight on them to help flatten them out. If they are stained or have old strop dressing applied over the years I don't think it will all come out but IME enough to get them in service again. If you have grunge on the leather I think saddle soap is better for the leather than alcohol. A bit of neatsfoot oil after it drys is good too. A little goes a long way.

[cudarunner]

Thanks for the advice! I wouldn't apply alcohol to the leather unless it was a last ditch effort! As far as I can tell, the leather is fine! There is definitely something on the linen. I only used the alcohol on the very end of the linen to see what was underneath! I'll wait for other opinions before I try anything. Thanks again for the advice! I really appreciate it!

RAD

[Castel33]

+1 to JimmyHad's advice.

Most likly what you are calling buildup is some type of strop dressing used to keep the blade at its sharpest. There are many different paste, chalks, graphite, polish, ect that have small enough particals to be used everyday and had been used in old times. Here it is not generaly a suggested thing to do but as our forefathers used them and typically that stuff was passed down generation after generation I don't think it will harm your razor. My suggestion would be since you actually bought it in person from the barber go back and ask him if he remembers what he treated the linen with.

[zib]

+1 to the Saddle Soap, I've used it before, that and Woolite for the linen strop...
I also got an old strop from a Barber that must have allowed smoking in the shop.
Hoglahoo recomended "Tabac Shaving Soap" to clean and deodorize...It worked...!
The smell is actually gone...

[heirkb]

A picture might also help in figuring out what exactly is on the linen. I haven't felt too many vintage strops, but the older linens did seem waxier than modern stuff in general. Most that I've encountered seem to have been treated in some way by the manufacturer (almost like a fire hose type finish on the fabric)

[Magpie]

I have had the pleasure of handling honest to goodness "Irish linen" cloth, and it was very waxy feeling to my fingers too. It may not be coated with anything at all, but may be actuall linen instead of the more common cotton/linen or just woven cotten blends.

[cudarunner]

Thanks to all for your input. I have taken into consideration all of your advice and questions. Here's the update on where I am with the strop!

I ended up using alcohol to remove the residue from the linen and I'm glad that I did. As I applied the alcohol (using a soft brush), there was a steady stream of blackish residue coming out of the cloth. I carefully gathered this residue up and placed it in a glass container. I kept applying the alcohol and the residue slowly started to get clearer. I kept saving the alcohol/residue. I allowed the alcohol to dissipate in the container. Once all of the alcohol was gone and the residue was totally dry I stirred the residue up, I then placed a magnet in the glass container. Guess what! Most all of the residue were metal particles! I finished cleaning the strop by placing it in the top rack of my auto dishwasher making sure that it was very straight and running it through a deep cleaning with no extra heat for the water (120 deg) and no heat for drying. I placed the strop between two bath towels and placed weights on them to keep it flat. After several hours I suspended the linen from my shower curtain rod and clamped a weight at the end to keep it flat and straight while it dried. Once dry; It works GREAT

The leather has been a totally different creature. As I said the barber whom I purchased the strop from had applied some shaving lather to it and had said that by doing so would help it keep from cracking.

When I first posted about this strop, the lather was still wet on the leather. When it had dried, I found that there was something on the leather that was 'Sticky.'

I tried to use Saddle Soap but what ever was on the leather couldn't be removed by the Saddle Soap. I went to the Barber whom I'd purchased the strop from he was of no help! He told me that he had never used that strop, it had been given to him!

I resorted to using the alcohol to remove any and all residue/oil from the leather. I used paper towels to (Blot up) the excess. I then hung the strop from the shower curtain rod with a weight to dry.

Once dry, I used some linseed oil to start to re-condition the leather. However, I found that the feel/draw of the leather wasn't what I felt was Right. I then used Saddle Soap to re-clean the leather. Once dry, I applied some of my shaving lather to the strop and re-hung it and allowed it to dry. Once dry I used a glass bottle to rub it. I repeated this twice.

I now have a strop that works beautifully!

[cudarunner]

Sorry!

I meant to write Neatsfoot Oil!