Thread: Strop replacement?

When do you know its time to replace your strop?

Reason I'm asking is a guy I work with collects straight and he brought me one of his strops he has for me to use with my straight... It looks pretty rough really and I didn't know if I should use it or save my money to buy a new one. This is my first strop BTW. It has 2 strips of leather, one dark brown side and a black side. Which is what? There appears to be a "Keen Kutter" stamped very faintly on the end of the brown side... May be also on the other? Is there any way to bring it back into shape? Sorry, in a hurry leaving work and have to get ready for the XMAS parade...

Under normal circumstances a strop should last a lifetime. Of course if its all cut up or the finish isn't smooth anymore or it's really dried up then you shouldn't use it. The question is the degree of issues. Minor ones often can be corrected up until a certain point.

Keen Kutter was good stuff back when but like TBS said, if it isn't smooth, if it is dried out and cracking, or cut up to where there are spots that will catch the edge it is no good.

You might try some saddle soap first and clean it up to see what you've got. If it looks salvageable a bit of neatsfoot oil should restore some of the suppleness. Some guys sand the top layer and come up with a usable strop. Post a photo or two of the surface for better advice.