I have veg tanned leather that is over 20 yrs. old. I just wet it down and tool it after letting it come back up to a natural looking case. Haven't had a problem with it. A bit of neat's-foot oil after tooling and prior to any dye, or antique seems to work well for me. I am still using old calf and goat lace from that era as well. Lexol on the lace seems to do as well.