Double Horsehide - What is the intended use?

I picked up a "double" horsehide hanging strop from that auction place the other day. It is an old IRSCo (Illinois Strop) No. 67. What seems to be unusual is that it lacks a linen or canvas strop. Instead, this has one length marked shell horse and another length also labeled horse (not marked shell) but is stamped "Sharpen on this side". I can't see or feel any additional compounds or different finish to the sharpen side after light cleaning.

Both strips have a very light, smooth draw. Substantially different than my quite abused "poor man's" strop from Whipped Dog.

Any thoughts as to how these were intended for daily use? Am I better off removing (and saving of course) one of the horse and replacing with a linen?

I don't know the definitive answer to that. Keith DeGrau, who made the old HandAmerican strops, sold them with two leather components. He told me he had nothing against the old linen but didn't find any around nowadays that he liked. He would use a finishing method on the second horse component to take the place of the linen. Sounds like that is what Illinois has done with their strop. If I had that strop I would try it like it is and see how I liked it. I'd go ahead and get a separate hanging linen and use it too. I like linen BTW, the old stuff and linen currently available works well for me.

The side marked "sharpen" was covered with a very fine abrasive grit, then passed under rollers to press it into the leather. Over time the grit diminishes and they no longer sharpen. You could just dust it with chrome oxide and it would still serve its original purpose.

Regards,
Neil

Thank you Neil and Jimmy. Very helpful. I'm going to try this without additives for a time to see how it performs. It's such a pretty piece of leather that I am reluctant to adulterate it with chrome oxide if the original dusting has worn off.

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Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

I don't know the definitive answer to that. Keith DeGrau, who made the old HandAmerican strops, sold them with two leather components. He told me he had nothing against the old linen but didn't find any around nowadays that he liked. He would use a finishing method on the second horse component to take the place of the linen. Sounds like that is what Illinois has done with their strop. If I had that strop I would try it like it is and see how I liked it. I'd go ahead and get a separate hanging linen and use it too. I like linen BTW, the old stuff and linen currently available works well for me.

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I've wondered if some thick knobby finish silk would work like the old linen.

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Originally Posted by thebigspendur

I've wondered if some thick knobby finish silk would work like the old linen.

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It's funny, I've been looking at a range of materials for doing my own linen strop to supplement the double horse strop. Silk may have desirable properties, but may lose out to just ordering a replacement material strop from one of the regular vendors on this site and adding hardware. I shudder to think what I would do attempting to sew a piece of material. Bragging rights for the first silk strop 'bout'?