Soap-Saddle? Murphy's?

[Newfman]

Hey folks,

I had taken my saddle apart (Bob Beecher Wade #30) and was giving it a pre-Spring cleaning. Growing up, my Dad was all about Saddle soap for leather. He had a tin of it, and would have me rub it into my baseball mitt to soften and preserve the leather. That was about 40 years ago. These days, my other half (an East Coaster) says you should use Murphy's oil soap on saddle leather. She is from the hunter/dressage side of the fence, and her saddles have a black coating. That, and she normally uses Lederbalsam, which I used on my saddle last year as a final dressing/preservative or whatever.

So, anyhow, I got out the Murphy's and at the last moment...chickened out and just gave my saddle a good rub down with Fiebings 4way cleaning care. My saddle is stamped but with a rough out seat. I didn't do anything to the seat. . .because I haven't a clue what to do. I did the olive oil thing when I bought the saddle last year, on a reccomendation, but don't think I will go that way again.

My real question is, should one use saddle soap or Murphy's on western saddle leather, stamped and or roughout, how do you use it, and do you rinse it off after or just let it dry? With the Murphy's, I was going to mix some arbitrary amount with a bucket of warm water, and give the saddle a scrub. I just couldn't get past the thought that this sounded somehow. . . wrong.

So, can anyone clear the air. By the way, the Fiebings worked just fine, the saddle looks great, BUT, am I preserving the leather as best I can for a lifetime of service? And what about that rough-out seat?

Thanks for the info. I know this has been kicked around a bit, but I haven't really found anything on the how to apply part, especially when it comes to Murphy's. My saddle leather, by the way, is in bretty good condition. The only thing "dried out" is the last 6 inches of a few of the saddle strings, and I have been trying a variety of things with that. They seem to be coming around.

Dennis

[mulefool]

I think there are probably a lot of good products out there but I have used either liquid glycerin saddle soap or Murphy's Oil Soap as cleaners for years. i've never thought of them as a conditioner, just a cleaner and then conditioned with neatsfoot or Pitchblend what ever the needs were. Since Montana Pitch blend came out with their new leather soap I have been using that pretty much exclusively. then I condition and protect with either their conditioner or paste. I really like the way it leaves the leather feeling.

The way I used the Murphy's was to put a dab on a wet sponge or brush, dip it in the water and then scrub up a lather. Then I would clean it off with a sponge til the water was clear when I squeezed it out. Not sure if that's "right" but it seemed to work for me. Chris

[Newfman]

Thanks Chris. There doesn't seem to be a lot of application info for it in regards to saddles. Floors, not a problem.

I think there are probably a lot of good products out there but I have used either liquid glycerin saddle soap or Murphy's Oil Soap as cleaners for years. i've never thought of them as a conditioner, just a cleaner and then conditioned with neatsfoot or Pitchblend what ever the needs were. Since Montana Pitch blend came out with their new leather soap I have been using that pretty much exclusively. then I condition and protect with either their conditioner or paste. I really like the way it leaves the leather feeling.

The way I used the Murphy's was to put a dab on a wet sponge or brush, dip it in the water and then scrub up a lather. Then I would clean it off with a sponge til the water was clear when I squeezed it out. Not sure if that's "right" but it seemed to work for me. Chris

[Saddlebag]

I use a variety, depending on the job. My two favorites are straight glycerin soap which I use mainly on english saddles and Fiebings for western as it has conditioners. You can do the backside of roughout but not the roughout. I also use lanolin bar soap for the dirty sweaty backside of the fenders. I've used Murphy's mixed with water in a spray bottle and mist a very dirty saddle first to help lift the dirt just prior to my soaping it.

[Newfman]

So it doesn't sound like 'rinsing' is necessary with these products, but maybe just wiping down with a clean damp sponge. My first cleaning with this saddle, since it was a bit dry as well, was Murphy's in a bucket of water, a scrubrush, and a garden hose. Since then, I don't let it get too bad and just do maintenance cleanings and conditioning. I can do that, in my kitchen.