Thread: Restoring an old strop

Hello fellow traditional shavers! I've been reading SRP for the last couple of days and decided to move from DE to SR shaving at least for weekends when I have more time. I was given an old unused strop that requires samo restoration work. Here are the problems:

There are quite a few mildew dots/spots on it and it smells a bit stale but otherwise is unused. What do you think should I use to treat it? I've heard that it's not a very good idea to wet it. I bought a 200 and a 400 grit sandpaper and also a pumice stone. How should I procede? There is also a cloth/linen/canvas strop attached to it that has no mold but has acquired the same smell. Maybe I can wash that with cold water and soap? Thanks!

As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words so that's what we need.

sanding is for strops with nicks and deterioration. if that's not the case some cleaning with a good leather cleaner like bick is in order. Some use saddle soap. Then after it's all clean see what it looks like and how it feels.

Ops, forgot to add the pictures. Sorry! Strop - Imgur

yea, I'd just clean her up real good and see the result.

Thanks! I've ordered some saddle soap as nobody imports it in Bulgaria. When it gets here I'll clean it with it. I'm not in a hurry as I'm still waiting for Larry from WD to find me a 6/8 sight unseen razor. I'll also get some Neatsfoot oil from him as with saddle soap, I can't seem to find it here.