Longevity question

[Chief Filipino]

Hello All,

So I am not sure quite how to word my question but it is something that I haven't been around long enough to know the answer to. As my leather goods that I make age, is there something that will prevent a customer from using saddle soap and other products on the item? ... I guess what I am asking is what advice I should give them for the care of their product over the years. Is it the same for all leather finishers/sealers or does it change for each one? 

I mainly use acrylic resolene, some super shene, and on a few items I use carnauba creme. Is the method for caring for items the same for all of these or is it different? 

[NVLeatherWorx]

You need to explain to them how to take care of their leather goods in as simple, yet thorough, way possible.  I tell each of my clients that their leather item is going to change color over time as that is natural and I also explain to them that when an item gets wet that it needs to dry completely, and naturally (no forced heat/drying) before you can recondition it.  I tell them that they need to recondition it with Pure Neatsfoot Oil to keep it soft and flexible and that they should do this once every year if possible.  I make it very clear that they are to apply a thin treatment of the oil and not saturate the leather as it will become spongy and stretch out.  I also educate them on the actual use for saddle soap as being that of a cleaner and not a conditioner (as so many mistakenly believe it is) and that the chemicals contained within saddle soap (and other over the counter leather cleaners) are actually harmful to the leather over time.  Just recently I created my own blend of Pure Neatsfoot Oil and Beeswax that not only gives the leather the perfect amount of oil, it also is water repellent from the beeswax having sealed the grain.  I offer each new customer a small .5 oz. tin of my conditioner with the purchase of a new leather item (larger items primarily) and also offer it for sale to anyone who wishes to give their leather some real care and not that which comes from a bottle of the "latest greatest" thing on TV.  

Education is really the only way to try and get it through to them but the reality is that they are going to continue to do what they do and I also have answer for that one.  As part of my lifetime guarantee I make it clear that this applies as long as the item is used as it is intended to be used and that is properly cared for and maintained with proper conditioners; any use of a chemical based compound or product will void such guarantee.  That typically opens up the door for the question, "how should I care for it and what should I use?" which is when I go into the details and acceptable products.

[Chief Filipino]

Awesome NV thank you! However my question pertains more to the finishers/sealers that I am using. So for example would I use the same process you describe regardless of whether I use resolene, super shene, or carnauba creme? I have been using acrylic resolene on my masks to try to give them some waterproofing. Does the resolene seal the leather off so thoroughly that it will take some time/use before any neatsfoot will even soak in? 

3 hours ago, NVLeatherWorx said:

You need to explain to them how to take care of their leather goods in as simple, yet thorough, way possible.  I tell each of my clients that their leather item is going to change color over time as that is natural and I also explain to them that when an item gets wet that it needs to dry completely, and naturally (no forced heat/drying) before you can recondition it.  I tell them that they need to recondition it with Pure Neatsfoot Oil to keep it soft and flexible and that they should do this once every year if possible.  I make it very clear that they are to apply a thin treatment of the oil and not saturate the leather as it will become spongy and stretch out.  I also educate them on the actual use for saddle soap as being that of a cleaner and not a conditioner (as so many mistakenly believe it is) and that the chemicals contained within saddle soap (and other over the counter leather cleaners) are actually harmful to the leather over time.  Just recently I created my own blend of Pure Neatsfoot Oil and Beeswax that not only gives the leather the perfect amount of oil, it also is water repellent from the beeswax having sealed the grain.  I offer each new customer a small .5 oz. tin of my conditioner with the purchase of a new leather item (larger items primarily) and also offer it for sale to anyone who wishes to give their leather some real care and not that which comes from a bottle of the "latest greatest" thing on TV.  

Education is really the only way to try and get it through to them but the reality is that they are going to continue to do what they do and I also have answer for that one.  As part of my lifetime guarantee I make it clear that this applies as long as the item is used as it is intended to be used and that is properly cared for and maintained with proper conditioners; any use of a chemical based compound or product will void such guarantee.  That typically opens up the door for the question, "how should I care for it and what should I use?" which is when I go into the details and acceptable products.

 

[Chief Filipino]

3 hours ago, NVLeatherWorx said:

You need to explain to them how to take care of their leather goods in as simple, yet thorough, way possible.  I tell each of my clients that their leather item is going to change color over time as that is natural and I also explain to them that when an item gets wet that it needs to dry completely, and naturally (no forced heat/drying) before you can recondition it.  I tell them that they need to recondition it with Pure Neatsfoot Oil to keep it soft and flexible and that they should do this once every year if possible.  I make it very clear that they are to apply a thin treatment of the oil and not saturate the leather as it will become spongy and stretch out.  I also educate them on the actual use for saddle soap as being that of a cleaner and not a conditioner (as so many mistakenly believe it is) and that the chemicals contained within saddle soap (and other over the counter leather cleaners) are actually harmful to the leather over time.  Just recently I created my own blend of Pure Neatsfoot Oil and Beeswax that not only gives the leather the perfect amount of oil, it also is water repellent from the beeswax having sealed the grain.  I offer each new customer a small .5 oz. tin of my conditioner with the purchase of a new leather item (larger items primarily) and also offer it for sale to anyone who wishes to give their leather some real care and not that which comes from a bottle of the "latest greatest" thing on TV.  

Education is really the only way to try and get it through to them but the reality is that they are going to continue to do what they do and I also have answer for that one.  As part of my lifetime guarantee I make it clear that this applies as long as the item is used as it is intended to be used and that is properly cared for and maintained with proper conditioners; any use of a chemical based compound or product will void such guarantee.  That typically opens up the door for the question, "how should I care for it and what should I use?" which is when I go into the details and acceptable products.

Also, being a newbie to this I don't know that I could tell the difference between leather that has been taken care of the proper way, and leather that has been mistreated/conditioned improperly. I would love to give a lifetime guarantee too, but I don't know that I am at that level yet. Does it just take experience to know? How would I even start researching what it looks like? 

[NVLeatherWorx]

23 minutes ago, Chief Filipino said:

Awesome NV thank you! However my question pertains more to the finishers/sealers that I am using. So for example would I use the same process you describe regardless of whether I use resolene, super shene, or carnauba creme? I have been using acrylic resolene on my masks to try to give them some waterproofing. Does the resolene seal the leather off so thoroughly that it will take some time/use before any neatsfoot will even soak in? 

 

The acrylic finishes will eventually wear off over time so that is why I have started using my blend as it doesn't wear off easily; in fact, it takes quite some time before you would have to treat it again, unless it got soaked of course.  You can actually apply oil over the top of the Resolene and it will soak through into the leather, it just takes a bit longer when the sealer is fresh.  In my experience, after about 6 months of solid use, the Resolene has thinned enough that the leather would be more receptive to absorbing more oils, which it does naturally anyway through normal use.  I would never suggest to any of my clients that they should then apply a sealer after conditioning because that would just toss them for a loop and end up with some issues that may not be able to be reversed.

[fredk]

Believe me, you will know the difference between cared for leather and not-so-well cared for.

Cared for leather will always be supple, easy to hold, feel good in the hands, look almost like it was made last week

Not-so careful looked after will show signs of drying out, cracks along the edges and in bends & folds. It will look old and feel old even tho it was made recently

A chap I know has saddles made 200 years ago. They are looked after; they look like they were made just recently. Not too long ago I was passed a saddle to see if I could 'restore' it. Not carefully looked after but not neglected either. It looked terrible. Turns out it was made less than 25 years ago.

When I have to advise someone how to look after anything I've made I just tell them to give it a good going over with any of the top commercial leather care products. How often depends on usage; items used by sports persons to be done before and after everytime they've used it. Re-enactment people; before the season starts, a couple of times during and at the end before packing it away.

[NVLeatherWorx]

22 minutes ago, Chief Filipino said:

Also, being a newbie to this I don't know that I could tell the difference between leather that has been taken care of the proper way, and leather that has been mistreated/conditioned improperly. I would love to give a lifetime guarantee too, but I don't know that I am at that level yet. Does it just take experience to know? How would I even start researching what it looks like? 

You can get a good feel for how well the leather is retaining its conditioning by looking at whether or not there is any obvious cracking and/or dry feeling areas, if small cracks start to appear when you bend the leather, and also how stiff it is; even belt/strap leather should have some suppleness to it when you move it around.  If you have any one (or all) of these issues then you can pretty much guarantee that the leather has not been conditioned/cared for as it should be or that it has been subjected to excessive heat or misused.  Make some mental notes on your next piece before sending it out to a customer and take good note of how soft and flexible it feels then compare that to a fresh piece of the same leather that hasn't been conditioned yet.  Even better, compare that feel to a piece that has been cased for stamping/carving and then has dried, you will notice a big difference in what is conditioned and what is not.

[Chief Filipino]

4 minutes ago, fredk said:

Believe me, you will know the difference between cared for leather and not-so-well cared for.

Cared for leather will always be supple, easy to hold, feel good in the hands, look almost like it was made last week

Not-so careful looked after will show signs of drying out, cracks along the edges and in bends & folds. It will look old and feel old even tho it was made recently

A chap I know has saddles made 200 years ago. They are looked after; they look like they were made just recently. Not too long ago I was passed a saddle to see if I could 'restore' it. Not carefully looked after but not neglected either. It looked terrible. Turns out it was made less than 25 years ago.

When I have to advise someone how to look after anything I've made I just tell them to give it a good going over with any of the top commercial leather care products. How often depends on usage; items used by sports persons to be done before and after everytime they've used it. Re-enactment people; before the season starts, a couple of times during and at the end before packing it away.

Awesome! Thank you! I would love to get into saddle making but I do not ride and I'm not part of the culture so I don't know that I'd ever make them to my satisfaction... plus I know nothing of saddles other than they are made of leather, have padding, and are beautiful. I appreciate the input!

 

3 minutes ago, NVLeatherWorx said:

You can get a good feel for how well the leather is retaining its conditioning by looking at whether or not there is any obvious cracking and/or dry feeling areas, if small cracks start to appear when you bend the leather, and also how stiff it is; even belt/strap leather should have some suppleness to it when you move it around.  If you have any one (or all) of these issues then you can pretty much guarantee that the leather has not been conditioned/cared for as it should be or that it has been subjected to excessive heat or misused.  Make some mental notes on your next piece before sending it out to a customer and take good note of how soft and flexible it feels then compare that to a fresh piece of the same leather that hasn't been conditioned yet.  Even better, compare that feel to a piece that has been cased for stamping/carving and then has dried, you will notice a big difference in what is conditioned and what is not.

Awesome thank you! I will go see if I can find some leather that my dad has and see what that is like. He is horrible at maintaining things other than his truck and lawn mower lol. 

[NVLeatherWorx]

2 minutes ago, Chief Filipino said:

Awesome! Thank you! I would love to get into saddle making but I do not ride and I'm not part of the culture so I don't know that I'd ever make them to my satisfaction... plus I know nothing of saddles other than they are made of leather, have padding, and are beautiful. I appreciate the input!

 

Awesome thank you! I will go see if I can find some leather that my dad has and see what that is like. He is horrible at maintaining things other than his truck and lawn mower lol. 

I once was a Saddlemaker and it was a good time.  But, as with everything, once something starts becoming mass-produced, the value of your skills begins to fade and the concern for quality (on the consumers part) becomes all about the price.  At least I had several years of doing the "normal" leather stuff to fall back on.  I can honestly say that I have done an awful lot in my more than 40 years working with leather and I have some fond memories of some of the things I made, and enjoyed making them too.