Leather Conditioner

[Omar Swanson]

Howdy all. I work for Leather Honey which is a family owned business that makes a really great leather conditioner. I wanted to introduce myself and see what leather conditioner you use and if you have tried Leather Honey. We are pretty new to selling online and only have been selling online for less than a year, but have about 148 five star reviews on Amazon.com, with our largest competitor only having 28 five star reviews. I am also looking to expand my knowledge about leather. I know a lot about how to clean leather and how to condition it, but we had a comment on our leather conditioner forum regarding leather companies using leather sealers and whether that was good for the leather, espicially if they are sylicone based sealers. I know nothing about this and would love to know more about leather in general. I hope everyone is doing well. Check Leather Honey out here: Leather Conditioner Leather Honey

[Art]

Hi Omar,

For leather conditioning products, I have worked through the following:

Fiebing's Aussie,

Bee Natural Saddle Oil,

Pecard's Leather Dressing (Paste),

Montana Pitchblend (Oil and Paste).

All of these products have given me good service, but somehow I have gravitated to Montana Pitchblend and Pecard's (Pecard's if the customer doesn't like the light pine smell of Montana Pitchblend), so Montana Pitchblend is my primary. When product performance is relatively equal, the knowledge of exactly what is in the product and that it is pretty much natural does carry some merit. I have never seen or used your product, and while it may be very good, I am getting excellent service from the products I use and have no reason to change. Maybe I am too old to change, or more probably, I am a proponent of the if it ain't broke, don't fix it school.

Art

Howdy all. I work for Leather Honey which is a family owned business that makes a really great leather conditioner. I wanted to introduce myself and see what leather conditioner you use and if you have tried Leather Honey. We are pretty new to selling online and only have been selling online for less than a year, but have about 148 five star reviews on Amazon.com, with our largest competitor only having 28 five star reviews. I am also looking to expand my knowledge about leather. I know a lot about how to clean leather and how to condition it, but we had a comment on our leather conditioner forum regarding leather companies using leather sealers and whether that was good for the leather, espicially if they are sylicone based sealers. I know nothing about this and would love to know more about leather in general. I hope everyone is doing well. Check Leather Honey out here: Leather Conditioner Leather Honey

[evandailey]

Hi Omar,

For leather conditioning products, I have worked through the following:

Fiebing's Aussie,

Bee Natural Saddle Oil,

Pecard's Leather Dressing (Paste),

Montana Pitchblend (Oil and Paste).

All of these products have given me good service, but somehow I have gravitated to Montana Pitchblend and Pecard's (Pecard's if the customer doesn't like the light pine smell of Montana Pitchblend), so Montana Pitchblend is my primary. When product performance is relatively equal, the knowledge of exactly what is in the product and that it is pretty much natural does carry some merit. I have never seen or used your product, and while it may be very good, I am getting excellent service from the products I use and have no reason to change. Maybe I am too old to change, or more probably, I am a proponent of the if it ain't broke, don't fix it school.

Art

Art,

How do you apply the Montana Pitch Blend conditioner? I have been considering ordering some for use on holsters and gun belts. I'm not totally satisfied with the acrylic I have been using.

[marine mp]

Omar, Welcome to the forum. I've used several different kinds of conditioner, all store bought. I now cook my own up...all parts equal in WEIGHT....1) Beeswax 2)Pure neatsfoot oil 3)Parafin wax (canning wax). Melt it all on the stove and pour into a cupcake tin and let solidify. Rub into leather. Done. Now..I have heard of the Leather Honey of which you speak, but haven't tried it as I like my concoction. (Got the recipe from Dwight). If you would like to send me a free sample to try, I will give it my unbiased opinion. Semper-fi Mike

[BondoBobCustomSaddles]

Hi Omar,

Simply put, there are lots of people who work on leather on this sight, many with knowledge far beyond what you can gleen from any books, and they have garnered that know how the old fashioned way, with lots of trial and error, and many years of sweat working under the auspices of those that have gone before us. If you want knowledge this is the place to come, many will gladly and freely give their opinion and help here. We are a close nit group that love to see our craft perpetuated. As for selling your product, this is not a bad place either. Small samples are always appreciated and tried on the tons of scraps that our craft produces. While I like to stick to the "old ways", I am also personally always looking to find the better product so my customers can benefit. Currently, for instance, when reconditioning an old saddle, after cleaning thoroughly I use a mixture of pure neatsfoot oil, and extra virgin olive oil, heated and applied and worked in to bring the leather back to life. This I learned from and old time saddle maker who was in his eighties , who learned it from his grandfather, and when I met him and I was in my 40's, and that was some 25 years ago! That will give you some idea of the nitch' market you are dealing with.

Hope that helps you with your quest for knowledge and sales.

Good Luck

Bob

[Art]

Hi Evan,

I just rub it in with my hands.

Art

Art,

How do you apply the Montana Pitch Blend conditioner? I have been considering ordering some for use on holsters and gun belts. I'm not totally satisfied with the acrylic I have been using.

[Omar Swanson]

Hi Omar,

For leather conditioning products, I have worked through the following:

Fiebing's Aussie,

Bee Natural Saddle Oil,

Pecard's Leather Dressing (Paste),

Montana Pitchblend (Oil and Paste).

All of these products have given me good service, but somehow I have gravitated to Montana Pitchblend and Pecard's (Pecard's if the customer doesn't like the light pine smell of Montana Pitchblend), so Montana Pitchblend is my primary. When product performance is relatively equal, the knowledge of exactly what is in the product and that it is pretty much natural does carry some merit. I have never seen or used your product, and while it may be very good, I am getting excellent service from the products I use and have no reason to change. Maybe I am too old to change, or more probably, I am a proponent of the if it ain't broke, don't fix it school.

Art

Hey Art,

"If it aint broke, don't fix it" Is a great quote to live by and def respect your stance. I'm not really here to peddle Leather Honey but more to learn about leather so I can bring that knowledge back to our growing leather community on our site. Thanks for the list of leather conditioners you use, I have not heard of some of these so now I can put them on my radar. Do you know of anything that cleans leather better that Murphys soap? Also How do you deal with mold? We use Apple Cider vinegar to clean it off but would love to hear any other tips.

[Omar Swanson]

Hi Omar,

Simply put, there are lots of people who work on leather on this sight, many with knowledge far beyond what you can gleen from any books, and they have garnered that know how the old fashioned way, with lots of trial and error, and many years of sweat working under the auspices of those that have gone before us. If you want knowledge this is the place to come, many will gladly and freely give their opinion and help here. We are a close nit group that love to see our craft perpetuated. As for selling your product, this is not a bad place either. Small samples are always appreciated and tried on the tons of scraps that our craft produces. While I like to stick to the "old ways", I am also personally always looking to find the better product so my customers can benefit. Currently, for instance, when reconditioning an old saddle, after cleaning thoroughly I use a mixture of pure neatsfoot oil, and extra virgin olive oil, heated and applied and worked in to bring the leather back to life. This I learned from and old time saddle maker who was in his eighties , who learned it from his grandfather, and when I met him and I was in my 40's, and that was some 25 years ago! That will give you some idea of the nitch' market you are dealing with.

Hope that helps you with your quest for knowledge and sales.

Good Luck

Bob

Bob,

Yeah I think I found a gold mind in terms of knowledge. I just asked Art this but what do you use to clean mold off of leather and to clean leather in general?

Omar, Welcome to the forum. I've used several different kinds of conditioner, all store bought. I now cook my own up...all parts equal in WEIGHT....1) Beeswax 2)Pure neatsfoot oil 3)Parafin wax (canning wax). Melt it all on the stove and pour into a cupcake tin and let solidify. Rub into leather. Done. Now..I have heard of the Leather Honey of which you speak, but haven't tried it as I like my concoction. (Got the recipe from Dwight). If you would like to send me a free sample to try, I will give it my unbiased opinion. Semper-fi Mike

Thanks for the warm welcome. You guys are serious about leather and I love it. I will let you know about getting a sample shortly I have to talk to the team. Thanks for sharing and I hope you are well.

[Spinner]

I just asked Art this but what do you use to clean mold off of leather and to clean leather in general?

Denatured Alcohol works great for retarding/killing mold spores, then to clean the leather (and lighten if necessary) Oxalic Acid, aka Wood Bleach, or pure lemon juice works great. FWIW, the best lemon juice is straight from a lemon. The store bought bottled stuff is sometimes watered down or has additives that will greatly reduce the lightening effectiveness. Just my 2 cents.

Chris

[Art]

Hi Omar,

Mold is pretty easy. The trick is to let whatever it is on get very dry, like furnace room for a couple of days dry. When dry, wipe the mold off with a dry cloth, if you have a really moldy piece, you might want to put a mask on. Just keep after it till it is gone. I then use Murphy's Oil Soap and clean the whole piece, optionally I use Lexol Cleaner. After the piece is dry again, I apply Montana Pitchblend, the pitch and beeswax are antimicrobial and the mold stays away.

Mildew is another animal entirely. Sometimes it is just tough to get out. Handle as above, but if any is left after cleaning, use oxalic acid (good hardware store will have it), about 3 or so tablespoons in a pint of water, go at it to get the mildew out, but you might have to again do the whole piece because the acid might lighten the leather. Neutralize the acid with a baking soda and water bath, and then just water, and then wipe off and let dry. After dry, Montana Pitchblend. A really bad saddle can be every bit of a day's work. If they let it get that bad, check for rotted leather and everything else too.

Art

Hey Art,

"If it aint broke, don't fix it" Is a great quote to live by and def respect your stance. I'm not really here to peddle Leather Honey but more to learn about leather so I can bring that knowledge back to our growing leather community on our site. Thanks for the list of leather conditioners you use, I have not heard of some of these so now I can put them on my radar. Do you know of anything that cleans leather better that Murphys soap? Also How do you deal with mold? We use Apple Cider vinegar to clean it off but would love to hear any other tips.

[BondoBobCustomSaddles]

Between Art and Spinner, they pretty much nailed it. I use the same methods, also I have experimented with a product called simply green. It seems to also give good results.

Bob

[TwinOaks]

Addressing the other part of the OP, the part about cleaning leather, I thought I'd share a bit I read on Leatherchemists.org. From what they were discussing (in a thread about a realllllllly old saddle) using saddle soap that is alkaline (uses lye as one of the ingredients), it's entirely possible to change the pH of the leather to the point that it can crack and/or rot. Leather is slightly acidic, and changing the chemical properties of it will lead to changing the physical properties as well.

It's also possible to wash the tannins out (presuming veg-tan) and have the leather revert to semi-rawhide, which can rot.

Interesting stuff to read over there, but you do need a pretty deep understanding of the actual chemistry.

http://www.leatherchemists.org/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=68&KW=century