How to take care of leather ?

[Peter Wiking]

Leather.
Belts, y-straps, holsters, straps, etc...

How do you preserve it, and stop the drying?
I use leather oil used for horse equipment. I soak the outside of the leather using a cotton cloth. I dont do it on the inside as it would darken the light, natural leather there. This on holsters.
How do you deal with belts and y-straps ? I once used leather oil on the back of a belt in mint condition (although a bit dry). The front was black and the back was light tan. Soaking the back made the light tan color change to a more brown color Should i have used a grease instead ? I try not to use black shoe cream as it takes away some of the aging.

Help me here collectors.
Peter Wiking

[Johnnie]

I use a good quality mink oil. A misleading name, as it isn't actualy oil, but processed animal fat that come in a can like shoe polish. In my experience so far, it will darken light colored leather for awhile, but when it "dries" the original color returns.
Just my experience,
Johnnie

Leather.
Belts, y-straps, holsters, straps, etc...

How do you preserve it, and stop the drying?
I use leather oil used for horse equipment. I soak the outside of the leather using a cotton cloth. I dont do it on the inside as it would darken the light, natural leather there. This on holsters.
How do you deal with belts and y-straps ? I once used leather oil on the back of a belt in mint condition (although a bit dry). The front was black and the back was light tan. Soaking the back made the light tan color change to a more brown color Should i have used a grease instead ? I try not to use black shoe cream as it takes away some of the aging.

Help me here collectors.
Peter Wiking

[Jim Maclean]

Peter,
Have a look at www.pecard.com some good info including how to care for your whips.
It can also be purchased from the UK which might be slightly quicker for you.
www.antiqueleatherdressing.co.uk

Best regards
Jim

Leather.
Belts, y-straps, holsters, straps, etc...

How do you preserve it, and stop the drying?
I use leather oil used for horse equipment. I soak the outside of the leather using a cotton cloth. I dont do it on the inside as it would darken the light, natural leather there. This on holsters.
How do you deal with belts and y-straps ? I once used leather oil on the back of a belt in mint condition (although a bit dry). The front was black and the back was light tan. Soaking the back made the light tan color change to a more brown color Should i have used a grease instead ? I try not to use black shoe cream as it takes away some of the aging.

Help me here collectors.
Peter Wiking

[Luftm40]

Actually, if you keep your leather items in a somewhat climate controlled environment, out of sunlight etc...they will out last you. Oils, waxes and the like normally end up doing more damage than good and make an item much less desirable as a collectible

[Jean-Loup]

I agree with Andy. If the leather is kept in proper conditions, it will stay like new.
JL

[hcliffe]

That is good advice for leather that is currently in decent condition. What about leather that has already dried or hardened when you get it? Any way to restore it? I used vaseline once on some rucksack straps with good results. However, attempts on future items did not succeed. I've tried Pecards and had similarly average results. I've heard that Dr. Jackson's Hide Rejuvenator works very well, but I have not tried it. Has anyone used it on already dried leather? Here is a website where it can be purchased. www.austinleatherworks.com

[Adrian Stevenson]

Hi Guys, I use Connoly Hide food, but only if the leather needs feeding. In fact I was only using it last night on a Britsh ATS leather jerkin from my wifes collection that had got dry. It is very good stuff.
Cheers, Ade.

[Luftm40]

On very dried out leather...there is really no way to restore it IMO. Even an item like that will not deteriorate if stored properly. Most restorative products leave the leather waxy, oily or discolored. I personally would rather have the dried, "original untouched" look

[Peter Wiking]

Thanks for the input guys.

Peter Wiking

[olivyaya]

I use "sapo" which is the name of some sort of orange greassy wax used to take care of all leather related to horses (saddles...) .. it is just perfect and turns an old crusty leather into a fresh old one !! I'll try and make a pic of the tin later on this weekto show you !
best regards ;o)

[Pieter Verbruggen]

...nothing, nothing and nothing again.
Leave it like it is. And when you cannot live with it's condition, just do not buy it, like I do.
Yust my opinion!
Pieter.

[nutmeg]

Some of these leather preservatives (oils and particularly neatsfoot oil) will also rot the stitching. You can use Ph neutral wax but nothing is best. Some of so called remedies like British Museum Leather Dressing and Pecards make the item sticky for decades and may in my opinion (and lots of others) do more damage then good. Rotted and dryed out leather cannot be revitalized. You can make it soft again but that's not better, as it becomes more likely to fall apart in a few years. I collect accoutrements also from the 18th and 19th Century and have seen it happen long term when guys apply that stuff.


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