First Saddle Restoration

[Jaimi]

Hi! This is my first post on the forum, but from lurking the last few days I have learned so much already!

I am planing on trying to salvage my first really bad saddle. It was my great-grandfathers and is in pretty rough shape, inc. missing fenders and the fleece...

I know it probably never be ridable, but I would LOVE it it could be at least a display piece because of its history in my family.

I went to the store and got some "Liquid Glycerin Saddle Soap" in a spray bottle and a jug of 100% pure neatsfoot oil. Is there anything else I need to get started?

Like I said, the saddle is in pretty rough shape, but the tree is solid and none of the leather is really torn that I am aware of right now (its been sitting in various barn lofts for the last 20 years, still there right this second; getting it down today to really start really working on it)

Anyway, wish me luck! Ill be sure to get some pics before I start and let yall tell me if its even worth trying to save.

[dirtclod]

Jaimi, be real careful when and if you take anything off of it. Because i'm guessing it's pretty dry. When their like that it's real easy to tear things up. As far as the cleaning and oiling don't over oil it or you have a mess. I would put a light coat of oil on it after cleaning and let it set for at least a month before i applied another coat maybe longer. If it's really dry and brittle no amount of oil will help. John

[Jaimi]

Thanks for the tips!

I just got it down and dusted off, and it really in much better shape then I was expecting. The fleece and strings are rotted and some straps are gonna have to be replaced, but all the leather is actually in good shape. No deep surface cracks or scratches except for a few dents on the swells. I think its gonna be ok, hopefully!

There are some VERY unhappy spiders living in it right now though haha

I'll post pics tonight

[dirtclod]

Put it in a closed room with bug bomb and get rid of the spiders. They make a nasty place if you get bit and they take a long to heal up to.

When you get ready to oil it test it on a place that's real visible because it turn the leather darker and see if you can live with color change. Good luck on your project.

[Jaimi]

Put it in a closed room with bug bomb and get rid of the spiders. They make a nasty place if you get bit and they take a long to heal up to.

I got a handheld vacuum and sucked them out haha

Uploading pics now after the first cleaning

[Jaimi]

Sorry the quality isnt very good, they are from a cell phone.

Question: There are no marks on it ANYWHERE. Does anyone have any ideas as the who/where it may have been made? It is from at least the 40s because my g-gfather bought it used out west (so ive been told) then brought it back to Alabama in the early 50s. Have a pic of him in it on a big paint horse dated "Summer '51". The horn is brass and the tree appears to be leather-wrapped wood. No tooling unless it was on the fenders that are long gone. Have the stirrups tho

Before:

After (still slightly damp):

[Harfindel]

I will add my two cents here on reconditioning the leather.

If the leather is really dry and inflexible, I would clean it with a good paste saddle soap, dissolved in water in the usual way, or a glycerin spray soap. While the leather is still moist from this, I would apply a light coat of pure glycerin and let it soak in. Then I would apply a light coat of a 1:2 mixture of neatsfoot oil and pure liquid lanolin. After that soaks in, then I would finish with one or more coats of the sort of thinned wax-based conditioners mentioned in the threads here, as often as the leather needs to drink it in. When that is done, clean the residue off the surface with a lightly oiled rag, and buff.

If the leather has been sitting around for a very long time without being cared for, it likely has both a poor water moisture and oil content, and will not withstand handling much. If the internal structure of the leather is not disrupted, though, after reconditioning it should be pretty good. This process will take a span of days and, except for setting the leather in the sun to get it warm, you really can't rush it much.

Good luck. ^^

Edited June 2, 2010 by Harfindel

[Saddlebag]

With a dry saddle I'll give it a good cleaning with saddle soap, allow it to set 2 or 3 days, then soap it again to help replenish the moisture. Then it it warrants it I'll quickly brush neatsfoot oil on while the leather is still damp and the pores are open. This then sits a week before I do anything else. The waiting times give the moisture and oil time to work deeper into the leather.