Thread: cleaning old linen strops

I recently bought 2 old strops, and while the leather i can get back into shape, the linen is a newer arena for me. the red imp linen, it rather stiff and kinda grundgy looking, and on the other strop, when i use the linen, i get what appears to be a white powdery film from it. my question is can i was them, and if so how to go about it.

Warm water and soap is always good, then lay it flat wrapped in a towel with a couple of heavy books on top. That way it'll dry flat.

Dont use any harsh chemicals though, no point in risking the strop!

I have had really good results with Powdered Laundry soap, warm water, and a stiff nylon scrub brush, follow Stu's advice on drying them

this may sound strange, but i should ask, since swmbo and i make our own laundry detergent, which contains fells-naptha as a cleaner, would that be a problem. i dont know if that is a harsh soap or not. the other 2 ingrediants are borax, and arm and hammer super washing soda. good or no good.

When my Neil Miller natural linen strop was very dark from repeated use over time I asked Neil for a tip on cleaning. I simply sprayed some carpet spot cleaner and lightly scrubbed with a soft brush. Let it dry completely and laying it taut used my shop vac to remove all the grime. The strop looked and performed llike new.

A couple pointers from Emmanuel on coticule.be was to soak in water containing wood ash (maybe just a mild lye solution?), and use a strong magnet all over to remove as much swarf as possible.

What I did with some vintage linens that were not only dirty but kind of lumpy was wash them in a bucket of cold water with Woolite and a scrub brush. Let them air dry flat on the porch. They came out fine. That white film you're getting is probably some old strop dressing. A few of my old ones off of ebay had the red dressing on the linen.

well considering that i have 2 that need done, i guess i try 2 different methods, and see which one works best, now i wish i was at home to try it, but alas, im at work. so it will have to wait till my next day off

Jimmy has it nailed. Use Woolite and you won't hurt the fabric. I have cleaned up 4 linens that way. It works well.

Jerry

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

What I did with some vintage linens that were not only dirty but kind of lumpy was wash them in a bucket of cold water with Woolite and a scrub brush. Let them air dry flat on the porch. They came out fine. That white film you're getting is probably some old strop dressing. A few of my old ones off of ebay had the red dressing on the linen.

+1, This is exactly what I did with my vintage linen's