Illinois 827 Strop preparation.

[Occam]

WARNING: The methods herein are not conventional. Please read this with that firmly in mind.


Hello Gents,

I picked this strop up as part of my hone order and as some may be aware it is a Russian leather which uses the inner suede side of the leather as the stropping surface. The surface is obviously rolled to compress it down. But as Dr Moss' earlier review of this strop stated its surface is far from perfect out of its wrapper.

In fact while I was happy with its feel it still had bumpiness that made for a not so satisfying feel.

I read up on various strop preps including Chris' own lather, pumice, and oil technique and others and was not convinced that the napped surface of the 827 would truly benefit.

The problem is that the surface has a definite nap having a with the grain and against the grain direction. This calls for very careful stropping and pressure control... it is however one of this leather's features so I didn't want to eliminate this altogether either.

What to do?

Well after I brushed the surface lightly with just the spine of a razor I found that the surface definitely had a speed bump effect with lots of surface irregularities that can't be good for the blade.

I decided to take a novel approach...

I firstly rubbed the surface 10 to 15 times with my DMT 325 Coarse hone. This lifted up quite a nap of fibres... The strop was flat on a table with the linen part removed. The hone was laid on top and moved up and down it. Some larger fibres were shorn off by this first rubbing.

I then whipped up a lather with my brush and Trumpers violet... any excuse for the aroma... and thouroughly lathered up the 827 strop with my hands working the surface in.

So far so good... then I took my Gillette Tech loaded up with an old Dorco blade and shaved the strop! First with the grain and then against. Great care is needed in this if you are considering trying it. The blade wants to dig in but you must control it so that the blade is planing off only the loose thick fibres causing the spped bump effect.

I then lathered up again and gave a final very light with the grain pass with the Tech... a beautiful surface already...

I let it dry and then treated the surface by rubbing the strop against the oil on my forehead and head. I also used 'nose oil' from my nose rubbed on my palms and worked into the surface of the strop.

The resulting surface is beautiful and unique. A light textured smooth surface with velvet softness. Very very nice and strops wonderfully. I can't wait to shave off this.

The parts near the brass fixatetors near the gold lettering were left alone. I can immediatiely feel the difference going against the grain in this area... I get an unpleasant sharp prickle on my fingers whereas on the shaved body of the strop there is a beautifully soft dappled smoothness that is hard to describe... very unique and only the finest fibres have survived the shave leading to a velvety feel against the grain. No speed bumps at all.

Note that I was prepared to trash the strop if this somehow failed. I'm happy to say that it has resulted in the most beautiful surface I've ever experienced on leather let alone a strop...

Never discount that YMMV...

Cheers,

[sebell]

Good heavens! Shaving a strop, `noise oil'...

I hope it works out for you Ben!

- Scott

[Dave_D]

Nicely done, cant argue with it if it works.
Ive gone through a similar regimen with a paddle strop that wasnt anything near flat and even, using wet and dry sand paper with a sanding block. It made the difference.

Dave

[drmoss_ca]

Hmmm. Neat's Foot Oil versus Occam's Nose Oil - you don't happen to have a nose that looks sort of, well.....hoof-like, do you?


Chris

[Heirphoto]

I've owned and sold a few of these myself.

My only question would be, if going through this much trouble to get a finely napped surface why not start with a smoother Illinois #127 and lightly pumice that? Same strop, just uses the other side of the hide.

With the 827 you are starting with the most coarse surface and trying to smooth it where I would think a more satisfying surface could be had going from smooth to slightly rough.

Just curious.

Tony

[Occam]

I've owned and sold a few of these myself.

My only question would be, if going through this much trouble to get a finely napped surface why not start with a smoother Illinois #127 and lightly pumice that? Same strop, just uses the other side of the hide.

With the 827 you are starting with the most coarse surface and trying to smooth it where I would think a more satisfying surface could be had going from smooth to slightly rough.

Just curious.

Tony

Hi Tony,

I wouldn't have got this except it was very cheap $29 US... and part of a larger order.

I had read Chris' favourable findings and thought what the hey... and it is a fine strop for the price. I just wanted to experiment a little

I agree with you that it's better to get a smoother strop in the first place if you want one, and an Heirloom is on the cards for me. This prepared 827 is something else again now...

[Heirphoto]

Well, that makes it an easy choice!

I did like the 827 when I got nice ones (I was a dealer for them) and paired them with a 127 for a rough/smooth stropping combo and added one of their "linen" components too.

The Illinois products can be very nice but inconsistant.

I was asking in case there was a specific reason you found starting with a rough one rather than a smooth one was better. I love experimenting with these things. I have used the back of my Latigo before but again, the reverse of any hide can vary a bit from piece to piece....not good on a commercial product.

Tony

[Occam]

I just wanted to post a quick follow up to this.

I've been rubbing the strop daily for about 5 minutes with skin oils for the past days and the texture just keeps getting better and better.

I did a trial stropping today with fast strokes on the 827 and the results are pretty amazing.

My conclusion is that the preparation above has not had any negative results. I can't say it is improved since I don't have a control, but I can confidently say that it is not inferior to what I have historically gotten from a smooth leather surface.

[Occam]

Hmmm. Neat's Foot Oil versus Occam's Nose Oil - you don't happen to have a nose that looks sort of, well.....hoof-like, do you?


Chris

Chris it is perhaps ironic that Neat's-foot oil is made of everything but the hooves...


Neat is a word which, in one of its more archaic uses, refers to cattle. Neat's-foot oil, sometimes referred to as neatsfoot oil by people who can't be bothered with punctuation, is made by boiling the foot and shin bones of cattle (minus the hooves) in water. The oil, which is yellow and fatty and comes from the marrow of the bones, is skimmed from the surface of the water as the mixture cools.

Neat's-foot oil is widely regarded as one of the best oils for the preservation of leather. Because it is relatively difficult and expensive to obtain pure neat's-foot oil, one usually finds it mixed with other oils. It is used in saddle soap, and is a principal ingredient in many leather polishes. It is often applied, mixed with lanolin, to leather bookbindings to keep them supple. Sometimes people use it to break in baseball gloves. It is also widely used in the process of tanning hides.

You can find neat's-foot oil at hardware stores and saddlery shops. It should be used sparingly, as too much of it can make leather soggy and limp.

[Heirphoto]

Occam,
Thanks. Oddly when I ask the manufacturer they decline to mention just what is it made from. They did mention they will sell it in 55gal drums if I need that quantity <g>.

Neat's Foot Oil is what we use as our Heirloom strop dressing. We use the pure stuff, not the blend and supply it free with every strop.

Been playiong around with buffing my smooth Latigo as well.

Interesting thread.

Tony