Softening The Back Of Herman Oak

[Rylas]

Hi guys,

I'm fairly new to leather and I recently got some 5-6 oz veg tan Herman Oak. I'm pretty happy with how it takes dye, but the back side of the leather is very rough. Almost like sandpaper. Is there a way to soften this?

Thanks!

[King's X]

Try some Neatsfoot oil or a leather conditioner. Cut a small corner piece off and try out each one of these to see how they react. I have used both of these products before especially on belts. I am sure other will bring up some other ideas that have worked for them

Good luck

[Aggiebraider]

I think what you are seeing is just the flesh side of the leather and how it always looks. What you want to do is burnish this surface using something like gum tragacanth or a wax. This will align the fibers and smooth things out. If you search for burnishing in the forum, you will see a ton of posts about burnishing edges, and the concepts are the same. You will probably want to do this to things like belts that dont have a lining attached to the back side. If you already understand how to burnish something and this is a legitimate problem associated with the leather being too hard, ignore what I said.

Hope this helps,

CW

[bruce johnson]

The last couple sides of HO I got were pretty crusty on the back side too. I am not sure if it is a tannery issue or a splitting problem. Most all of my stuff is lined so the appearance isn't a big deal. It was kind of hard cutting too.