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@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.

@fredk Your old piece of beech looks more comfortable to use. This thing is barely an inch or two across. Tiny!

LOL. I came across it by chance. It burnishes edges. You keep your leather flat on a surface and run the glider against the edges to burnish. https://www.etsy.com/listing/1807397541/the-edge-glider-tabletop-leather?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=edge+glider&ref=sc_gallery-1-2&frs=1&sca=1&sts=1&search_preloaded_img=1&plkey=1191c7b762f34dafc7052fc501f9ebbce7ae325f%3A1807397541 The URL below is for the prototypes, in case anyone wants to purchase one. https://www.etsy.com/listing/1859316067/edge-glider-prototypes?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=edge+glider&ref=sr_gallery-1-2&frs=1&cns=1&sts=1&content_source=9755d8b3a776149bd74b0a078e36c3a52a48ec53%3A1859316067&search_preloaded_img=1&organic_search_click=1 Thanks @Dwight. I was trying to get video to show it here. It seems very tiny to me.

Just noticed that the prototypes are selling on Etsy for about a tenth of the price, in case anyone wants to try it. Nearly sold out though.

I saw the edge glider on Etsy. It seems a good product, prima facie but it appear to be rather small. Also rather expensive. it is supposed to work for most edge finishing. Has anyone tried it?

I agree that when one makes Vinegaroon, the pH will change as iron acetate forms. I also agree that the pH of tap water is never exactly 7. How can it be? It will have salts dissolved in it that will affect the pH. All of it is approximations, which works fine, really. It's a folk method, is it not? Used for generations, and working fine all through.. I prefer not to use a baking soda dip after vinegaroon though That will be far more basic than tap water. I do not think that that basic a solution is needed, even if the vinegaroon is made with 10%acetic acid. A few more minutes of running water to remove the vinegaroon, maybe. After all, Vinegar mixes in water and will be easily rinsed off and that is all that is needed. The chemical reaction is between the iron acetate and the tannins. Running water also helps if the leather has also been re-tanned with tea etc. Otherwise, loose iron tannates rub off or bleed if the leather gets damp. Like I said, running water works for me. I have used it Vinegeroon for leather caps and no complaints about smell from the wearers. To each his own, though.

Actually, pH does matter. Approximations will do though. Soaking in Baking soda might damage the leather. Just be careful you do not turn your leather too alkaline. Leather needs a pH of about 5, so a bit acidic. Household vinegar is 5%acetic acid and the pH of the vinegar is about 2.5. Rinsing the leather under running water, which will have a pH of about 7, should balance the pH out. You don't need a pH-meter to determine that. Too alkaline a pH can damage the leather just as much as too acidic a pH.

When dyeing with vinegaroon, I always rinse with running water immediately after I dip the leather in vinegaroon. That balances the pH and removes excess vinegar. To get rid of the smell, I just keep it in the open for a few days. It works for me when I use vinegar rinses on moldy leather.

@jrdunn You have seen the real ones. I grew up only knowing about them from the cartoons. So naturally, the real ones were different. Just saw them a couple of times while driving across the country. I'm sure they are as appealing as you say they are.

A leather scented soap might be just the thing for all those chrome tanned leathers which smell of anything but leather.

I should think that if you don't want to use any plastics of synthetic materials, wood is the way to go.

@fredk, Yes it could really be any type of canine species, isn't it? And, in spite of living in the US, I have not seem coyotes either. Like you, only from those cartoons. When I first saw road-runners though, I was so disappointed!

@toxo, Thank you. I plan to use them as much as possible. Maybe somewhere on the way, I will become reasonably good at tooling.

Fox it is then. I like how the person who made the stamp did not try to make the face symmetrical - gives it a charming, quizzical look. I know! Isn't it wonderful? I'm envious. To have the ability as well as the talent to make the stamps so well. They are really well made and the impressions are sharp and clear. Yes there are. A couple of unusual ones too, at least to me. I can't wait to use them... once it is less cold and I do not mind wet hands. Right now, I am busy shivering! Probably something similar. There are some large ones in this lot but some small ones too. I put the rubber bands to prevent them disappearing in that stand. On the large ones, to protect the carved ends when they are on the nail side. Those are really impressive - small and so well carved.

Up close, the animal is even more appealing. Coyote perhaps?

Here they are. The stand was included with them. This will go over several posts. Huh? Not getting uploaded, for some reason. Will try a while later.

It's cold in our area today. Cold enough that USPS says they cannot deliver due to dangerous weather conditions! So stuck at home but happy as, as I heard them say in Idaho, 'a pig in muck'. I love that phrase. So eloquent! Happy because I found a set of old hand made stamps - all carved onto nails of different sizes, including one that I cannot decide whether it is a coyote or a dog. In Evaporust right now. I'll put up pics as soon as I get them clean. really do not care whether they are old or vintage or from last year. Their value is in the fact that they are all hand-made. Someone made them, used them and took care of them and now I will do the same.

I started working on my sets of leather pieces and then realized that today and next week, the temperatures are going to be unusually low for this area and the leathers have not been exposed to such low temps. So I postponed my updates until after the temperatures rise to a reasonable level (for this area) next week. Let's see how they react to such temperatures. I will check on them when the temperatures are low as well.