Resuscitating chrome tan leather that was soaked and dried out

[unionattic]

A couple years ago I made a leather tote bag for a friend with some chrome tan leather in a beautiful shade of blue.

Somehow a water bottle dumped a liter of water into the bag, soaked it, and when finally discovered, the lower left quarter of the bag was dried out hard as a rock.

Unfortunately I don't have that blue anymore, so I can't rebuild the panels.  So I have been trying to bring it back to life with conditioner.  Someone recommended not using neatsfoot oil, fearing it would darken the leather, instead suggesting a product called  "Leather Honey."    So I bought a bottle of that.

First attempt I just applied from the grain side and tried to rub it in.  Achieved nothing after multiple coats.

Next I was suggested to soak the bag in some warm water to re-loosen the leather fibers, then reapply.  I did this, applied more coats, and still little/no improvement.

I also tried warming the leather with a hair dryer as I rubbed in the conditioner. Also pointless.

So I bit the bullet and tore into the liner, flipped the bag inside out, so that I could apply directly to the flesh side.  

So last weekend I rubbed quite a bit into the flesh side and let it sit for the week. I came back to the workshop this weekend, and there is little trace of the conditioner and I can't say that I notice a ton of difference in the "(not) suppleness" of the leather.

So, enough asking AI and getting nowhere.  I recovered my old password to leatherworker and though to ask real Flesh and Blood for advice on where to go from here. The leather is roughly 1.8mm thick (just under a 1/16").