Thread: Flea market find, assistance requested

I found this strop, I'm new to SR's and figured this might be something good to learn on for $5. Is it worth using or are the few cuts in it better for throwing out.
Thanks for any information.
Christian

Looks a little buckled, but should be fine when you pull it taught. Looks like it's setup to use the darker side first, which I bet produces more draw, then the lighter side, but probaby produces less draw. Should work just fine. Rub your palm on the leather to warm it up before use. Can't tell from the pics, but if you need or want to clean it up first, use your brush and shaving soap to make a lather, and use that on the strop. Good luck, let us know how it goes.

Up front I am no expert on strops. Looks like it was stored folded and it is probably a little dried out too. I would first clean it with something like saddle soap and let it air dry. I can't tell how bad the cuts are from the photo but a site search will turn up a lot of info on strop cut repairing. You could start here Strop treatment and repair - Straight Razor Place Wiki . Once you get your repairs done I would rub the strop down with Neats Foot oil using it sparingly as a little goes a long way. The lay it on a flat surface with a board with some weights on top to see if you can take the bends out.

Bob