Just picked up an old strop on the bay. I offered almost nothing and nobody else wanted it. It was very dirty so I took it apart and carefully went over it went saddle soap and very little water, think slightly moist sponge. Once clean you can read that it is a "Royal Colt, Genuine Shell, $2.00", with a very nice canvas/linen second strop which also cleaned up very well.

The leather looks good and clean now, but the surface is a bit hard hard and glossy. I don't like the way the razor sounds when it slides on it. Not sure about the next step. I have not yet put any neatsfoot oil on, although I am tempted. I have seen references to sanding a glossy strop carefully with some 400 wet to return it to life. When did the saddle soap, I gently used the green pad side of Scotchbrite pads to work up a goey slimy brownish muck, which I wiped off with lots of dry towels. The strop was then allowed to slowly air dry flat in my cool garage for a couple of days.

Before I ruin what looks like a horse shell strop with great potential I wanted consult with the experts here. Any thoughts about the best steps to bring this thing back to its former glory would be appreciated.