Mandelstam

Yea, I want to rescue it too if possible. Hope Im able to.

Cool! Any pics?

Excellent! Thank you!

Ok, yea cod liver oil I've heard about. My grandma used to tell us kids how she was forced to drink the stuff when she was growing up. Maybe it is nicer to leather... So you just apply it like any other oil?

Yea, Sweden here! Cod oil?? I have some cod but how do I get the oil from it? I found some while googling that seems to be a food supplement for dogs.. Is it the same stuff? Made from cold pressed cod.

Ok, thanks for the tip! I'll try it out! That is definitely an idea worth thinking about. The basic concept I had of the one I wanted to make from scratch was actually a lot like this one. Just couldn't help myself when I saw it. I think I'll try some first aid on this one and if it doesn't work out go down the scratch built route. Thanks for the input guys! /karl

First off, hi everyone! First post here. I've done some tinkering in the leather arts here and there but not very much. So I'm glad to be part of this community! I like to fish. For big fish. And to do that you sometimes need a rod belt to rest the butt of the rod in when you are fighting the fish. The modern belts for sale nowadays is horrific pieces of plastic that look aweful. I've been thinking for a long time of doing my own rod belt and as I was browsing the net for some inspiration from old vintage belts I stumbled upon this old belt on a big auction site we all heard about. And it was mine for $10 so i couldn't really argue with that. I actually love it! Obviously the belt is long gone and it's just the butt rest left, but a simple belt isn't too hard to do. Now to my questions. I think this butt rest has been lying in a box in a shed for a loong time. It's really dry and when I gently try to bend it I can see small surface cracks in the leather. What is the best way to breath some life in to this? I obviously need to clean it with soap and water to get it real clean before doing anything else. But what is the best way to approach this? Another thing is that I live in Sweden and don't have access to all the commercial products you guys have over there. So if I can use some natural products that I can find over here it would be nice, like lanolin, beexwax, neatsfoot oil, etc. Is raw linseed oil to any use when it comes to leather? I happen to have a bottle that's why I'm asking. Anyway, glad to be here! /Karl