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What a lovely idea. And those bags are beautiful!

The tips are perfect actually. I can use them even now. But I want to take care of them first. So BLO and putty it is. Thank you for guiding me on what to do.

Hmm. Some lemon pledge! I washed it and scrubbed it to get rid of layers of grime. Any lemon pledge or anything else is long washed off. I read about it - lemon wood retains a mild scent for years and is noticed sometimes when the wood is wet. it disappear when it dries. @Beehive do you mean that I should rub it with BLO daily for a week, after an initial soak for a few minutes? I can do that. What about the crack? Can I fill it up now or after the BLO treatment? And staining? Sorry. I'm not a wood worker. Just pick up stuff as I go.

The wood seems to be lemon wood. I had to wash both handles because they were very grimy and when examining them closely, I realized that they smell of lemon.

@Johanna clearly, many here feel that the older appearance was warmer. Blue is an inherently cool color, so maybe , if you could just change the theme color to warmer ones, it might make a difference. You do not need to change the whole appearance while other, more vital things are being done, but just changing the theme color maybe?

I know but like the tools looking old. I like the patina. I have cleaned them to remove all the grime and rust. I do not plan to do much more to the metal other than oiling them lightly. The wood, I have cleaned as well. Maybe some putty to fill the crack and prevent further damage. Then some stain, my oils and conditioners. I want them to look well cared for, not brand new. These tools have 'lived' and should show that experience, albeit in a gentle way. I probably sound a bit ditzy when I say that but that is how I feel. I had not thought of that but that is a real possibility. I did not even notice it until I was scrubbing it and happened to twist the base. I plan to check all my old tools to see if any of them have the same. When I can, I will continue to search for information on that Star logo. Not found it yet but I am probably using the wrong search string. I hope someone here can give me some information on it.

This is how the stars appear. The tools are obviously old but I do not know how old. Could anyone guide me about this please? This website is still not fully recovered so search results did not give me anything. Edit: It looks like the star on Osborne knives, so is it an old Osborne? @bruce johnson has explained sometime in 2014 that Osborne added the star logo sometime in the late 1800s but not clear if the star appeared by itself without any words whatsoever. I expected at least the name and size to be present but I cannot find either. (As this site recovers, earlier information becomes available. Hurray!) Anyway, it would be interesting to know.

I found a couple of edge creasers with only a star on them. No name or even size shown. The handle opens up on one of them. It unscrews open and is empty inside. I'll put up some pics as soon as I can. Does anyone know which company that could be?

Oh Goody! I like that. Scientific information and explanations. Does it dissolve into the leather fibers? I should think it will only diffuse along the fibers. That is why we use waxes and other material which will not allow that, to water proof footwear, is it not? Wax being hydrophobic, technically allows water vapor to diffuse through, but in such small amounts that it is even used to seal food. So it should be minimal. In PVAc too, the water molecules move through between the polymer chains, in a similar manner, I believe. Sorry, I stopped reading after that because I am not really interested in synthetic materials, but thank you. If I ever need it, I will know to read this before using anything synthetic. And leather and pores. Saying leather is porous does not mean that there are tiny pores, like open channels on the surface, is what I meant. Unfortunately, many people do think that, like they think about our skin with pores that open and shut like windowpanes! Nothing like that. It just means that there are spaces in between the fibers through which water molecules can move. What we see as pores on the surface of leather is actually the points where hair follicles were. They are, fortunately or unfortunately, not little corridors from one side to the other. If only they were. That would make stitching so much easier. No need to use stitching chisels; just widen the 'pores' with an awl, like doing so when using pricking chisels! But I digress. This is about moisture permeability in leather and breathability. It can be used in a sensible way to achieve what we want. I use deerskin moccasins that I made for indoor use. The soles have a synthetic midsole and the outer and inner soles are both deerskin. I like to use a generic Gorilla glue for all my leatherwork. It is easy to use, dries to the color of wood, which is never visible anyway and is pretty strong. Are the soles permeable to moisture? Maybe, maybe not. But the rest of the shoe certainly is. The upper and the sides are all a single layer of deerskin and my feet are always dry. All through the hot summers here the moccasins get wet often but my feet remain dry. The moccasins dry as rapidly as well. I have never had an issue with moist or damp feet. So this means that the soles do not need to be permeable to moisture, which is a good thing. Like anyone who has a pet knows, accidents happen and I would not like to be wearing moisture permeable footwear when I discover one by stepping into it! So, my moccasins are certainly breathable, in a practical way. As long as there is a path for the water vapor to evaporate, the sides and top work as well because I am always moving and the water vapor molecules move as well... and evaporate. After all, water vapor rises anyway, so it will gradually come to the top of my feet and then evaporate through the deerskin upper. They keep my feet dry, the soles are soft and I do not step into pet accidents. And they are certainly far, far more comfortable than any synthetic material, or indeed, any store bought leather footwear too.. And if I want the 'earthing' experience, I do what I did as I was growing up - walk around at home barefoot; during the day, in bright light. You have provided some really interesting information. While I, being a scientist, albeit in Biology, understand, perhaps you could express the same information in layman's terms so that everyone can understand. e.g. instead of hydrophilic, saying 'water repelling' will make things more clear; the difference between diffuse and dissolve, what permeable means and so on. Thank you again for all the information. Coming to this site is always a learning experience and quite delightful.

If air and moisture go in and out, it means that water can as well. So leather is either water resistant or breathable. Or, the leather does not absorb water but it lets the water in, through the 'pores' that people seem to be talking about online everywhere. So your shoes are safe but your feet are wet but will dry because of those very same 'pores'. Or am I getting everything wrong @Eelco? Of course, for indoor use, this should not be a problem.

What is meant by breathability?

I find the French edge skiving tool to be the easiest to use and, for me, the safest. I keep them very sharp but can take care not to take off too much leather at one go. The skiving knives I'm always afraid I will skive off too much. The safety ones? They are imitations of rough heel shavers - you get similar ones for removing rough skin from one's heels - yes human ones. That's all they are good for, to me. I can never get them to shave anything off the leather, no matter how sharp and new the blades!

The 2nd part of the experiment: This has leather pieces soaked in one of the following: Lanolin Tallow Cod liver oil Mixture of mineral oil and coconut oil Smoothness: In this set, the pieces treated with the oils, whether cod liver oil or the MO-CO mix, for the most part, are smoother and softer than the ones treated with Lanolin or tallow, although only marginally so. But it is seen across all the locations. However, in spite of being smoother, they feel a little more dry than the leather treated with Lanolin or Tallow. Shape: The lanolin treated leather maintained its shape the most across locations, closely followed by tallow. The leather treated with the oils showed a small amount of warping. This is a slight change, but it is present in the leather in all locations. Stiffness: The leathers treated with tallow and lanolin showed a slightly greater degree of stiffness than the ones treated with oils. The cod liver oil produced slightly more stiffness than the MO+CO which produced barely any stiffness at all. Smell: None of the products used maintained their smell. The smell of lanolin, tallow, cod liver oil and coconut oil are completely absent in all the leather pieces, across the board. The pieces kept outside showed significantly mor darkening, drying and stiffness than any other pieces. The darkening was very similar across all treatments, being marginally more in the CO+MO treated piece. The dryness was similar across treatments as well, as was change in shape but Lanolin did not cause any change in shape at this point. All the treatments produced slight stiffness except for the MO-CO mix. That piece of leather is still soft and pliable. The smells of the Lanolin, Tallow, Cod liver oil and Coconut oil are completely absent in all the pieces. The following information is mainly about the leather pieces kept in locations other than outside: The leather pieces treated with Lanolin have maintained their flat shape across locations. They are less dry than the oil treated leathers although they do not feel as smooth. The difference is slight but present in all locations. They are also slightly more stiff than the oil treated leathers, although less than the Tallow treated ones. Tallow has made the leather pieces stiffer than any of the other products. The pieces have darkened slightly as well and are the stiffest of all the pieces in the different locations. They have maintained their shape for the most part, except in the outdoors sample. Cod liver oil has darkened all the pieces slightly and uniformly in all locations, significantly more in the outdoors sample. The pieces are all holding their shapes reasonably well although less than any of the pieces treated with Lanolin Tallow or the MO+CO mix. The pieces are also slightly dry and slightly stiff. MO+CO: These pieces darkened slightly and show some extent of dryness, the extent depending on the location, but they remain soft and pliable and are holding their shapes reasonably well. The dryness and color change is comparable to cod liver oil but the latter pieces show a slight change in shape in all the locations that is much less in the CO+MO. Mineral oil and Petroleum Jelly for water resistance - a short report this time. My 2nd leather piece treated with petroleum Jelly (PJ)+Mineral oi (MO) seems to have disappeared as well. All the pieces remained outside, in the heat initially, then rain and freezing temperatures. They are all, pliable and reasonably soft. They are all also very dark, the MO and the MO+PJ treated ones more than the PJ treated ones. I kept a drop of water on each of the pieces and waited. The Control absorbed the water at once. The MO treated one absorbed the water in about 2 minutes. The leather piece treated with MO+PJ has the water droplet unabsorbed 10 minutes later, but the edges may be slightly fuzzy. The water droplets on the leathers treated with only PJ seem to show the greatest water resistance- the water is completely unabsorbed, edges clear. A half hour later, astonishingly, the water drops on the PJ treated ones are getting gradually absorbed and are flat now but the droplet on the PJ+MO one, is still virtually unabsorbed. So clearly, PJ provides good water resistance on leather. When put together with MO, it might work better. However, since I have only one sample for this, I will need to test this on more samples. But it is promising.

I have a lot of store bought tools but recently I bought some hand made ones - stamps - and I see the difference. The hand made ones are so much better. The images are cleaner and so much more sharp. The sad thing is that I paid a pittance for them - about a twentieth of the price of 'good' tools sold in stores. I feel sad about the loss of such handmade tools that are not bought by people who will value and treasure them. Many don't look as bright and shining as branded tools - mine are made from large nails - and they probably get junked. Tsk. They should be treasured!

Saddles in dusty barns, boots, handbags, belts horse gear etc. are a completely different matter from what appears to be intricate and old embossed leather on walls, with unknown embellishments and finishes. Trial and error is fine with the former, with the latter it would be a pity if the trial caused problems, even in a small trial area. Finally, its up to the OP.

Quite possibly!!

Who knows? We had high winds too. It's supposed to be hot here, so sub-freezing temperatures are a shock. Add winds to that and I go into hibernation. If you see a square piece of leather tossing around, you will know what it is.

@fredkand @chuck123wapati are of course, correct. This is an excellent way to clean leather. But saddle soap leaves a residue because it is not washed away completely.. So how will that affect the finish of the embossed leather, short-term and long-term? What is that finish? We do not know. And it is old. I think it is a bit of a risk to use anything without consulting experts who can examining it closely. Else, @laurenjohnstone if you can put up photographs of the embossed leather from up close, the experienced people here might be able to guide you better. Rather be safe than sorry, is it not? Just my two bits.

It looks intricate. Not much of that is clearly visible in your photograph. Any advise you get here might not work or be completely correct because here, we cannot exactly see the embossed leather and its condition. Embossed leather is specialized and how it is treated will depend on how intricate it is, whether it has paint, what type of paint and so on. Have you consulted locals on this? There might be people there who can guide you or even do it for you. Meanwhile, you could dust it clean gently with a soft brush like the one used to dust computer keyboards. That cannot damage it and it will at least be dust-free. You could ensure that the humidity is about 50% there so it does not dry out. Any higher and you will need a dehumidifier to maintain the humidity at about 50%.

Flew across the Atlantic?

I do exactly that. I got the idea from @fredk and I think @Sheilajeanne said she used the same too. Sometimes, I put a sheet of paper in between the wax and the leather to prevent sundry wax particles from sticking onto the flesh side of the leather.

Thank you.

Firstly, I am 4 months late with this report and I apologize. Secondly, I also apologize because I seem to have lost one of the pieces of leather, the control kept in the car. I will make a new one but it will affect the results. I searched for a couple of days but it probably fell out somewhere. I will make a new one but it will affect my results, unfortunately. These are my results for 29th Jan., 2025 The leather pieces showed some differences from my earlier report. Smoothness indicates the surface feel – silky smooth or rough. Shape indicates how the shape of the pieces hold – whether the corners curl or the edges curl or even curve in a wavy manner. Stiffness indicates how easy it is to bend or fold the leather. Smoothness: Across the boat, the leather pieces treated with mineral oil continue to be the most smooth. Neatsfoot oil is next, followed closely by coconut oil. The leather treated with coconut oil and kept outside exposed to the elements is as smooth as the mineral oil leather and both are smoother than the controls The pieces treated with mink oil continue to be the roughest in each of the areas where the leather pieces are kept. Color: The leather pieces treated with coconut oil have been gradually decreasing in darkness. The coconut oil pieces are, in fact, comparable to the mineral oil one kept inside. The darkest, across the board, are the leather pieces kept outside. With the exception of the pieces kept outside, most of the pieces have a more or less similar color, regardless of the location and oil treatment.. Shape: The mineral oil pieces continue to be the least warped in each location, now followed by the Neatsfoot oil ones and then the coconut oil leathers. The mink oil pieces continue to be the most warped in each location The control pieces show quite a bit of warping as well. Stiffness: The stiffness differs according to location, with the pieces kept outside being the most stiff. The mineral oil pieces have softened and are now comparable to the coconut oil pieces in all but the outside locations. Surprisingly, the mineral oil pieces kept inside and in the car are stiffer and comparable to the mink oil ones. The stiffest, across the board, are the leather pieces kept outside. The coconut oil pieces have gradually lightened in color until they now are approaching the colors of the pieces treated with all the other oils. They show the least stiffness across the different locations although mineral oil is comparable in the garage sample and the other two oils in the car samples. The exception is the piece kept outside which is still the least stiff in its location. The mineral oil pieces are uniformly colored except for the piece kept outside. They are all a bit softer than they were in the previous report. They are slightly less flat but not enough to have curled edges. The neatsfoot oil pieces continue to be moderate in everything – color, smoothness, dryness but they are a little stiffer, approaching that of the mink oil treated pieces. The mink oil treated leather pieces are the driest, roughest of all the leather across the different locations and they continue to be the stiffest as well – but not as much as the pieces kept outside. The mink oil treated one kept outside is the stiffest of that location though. The pieces treated with all the different oils and kept outside exposed to the elements are the darkest, driest, stiffest and most warped of all the pieces. So, keeping leather outside in the heat and cold and rain and snow causes significant damage, regardless of the oils with which it is treated. Of course, this is one and a half years after treatment. Next winter, I will treat a new set of leather pieces with all these oils and check whether treatment just before winter sets in, protects the leathers better. At this point, the leathers treated with mineral oil, coconut oil and neatsfoot oil all seem to be reaching similar characteristics – in color, stiffness and smoothness. The mink oil treated ones though, are rough, stiff and changing shape, sufficient to wonder whether it is worth using on leather. I will repeat the experiment with a different source of mink oil because it is has a long history as a leather conditioner and I would not like to say otherwise without confirming the results. Of the other oils, up to now, I find mineral il to be the most useful. It smoothens the leather, does not cause warping or dryness and it is virtually inert. Coconut oil is next – it surprisingly does not leave a rancid smell, softens without turning the leather to mush and smoothens as well. Neatsfoot oil in small quantities should work, as it has been doing for centuries now. I will put up the results of the other oils within the next couple of days.

I, for one, really don't care how it looks. Yes the earlier appearance was nice but after a hack, getting the site up again must have been a complicated job and it was done pretty promptly. I think @Johanna worked non-stop overnight to get it up and running again. So kudos to her and a big thank you. I am just glad it is up and running again. The rest will come. Let's have a little patience, people.

I often punch my stitching holes on a slab of old wax. I just melt candles, odorless ones, in an old pan and and let it cool. This makes a good base and the chisel ends go into the wax and slip out smoothly. Whenever the wax gets too rough on the surface, just melt and cool again. This is usually on thicker leathers or multi layered ones.