Cracked veg tan leather

[Bodra]

Hi folkes , got a bit of an issue here...I started making two watch straps for a buddy as present and after they were finished i noticed that my leather started to crack/wrinkle when bent a little. I've done some other straps from that same piece and they turned out to be just fine.  Leather i am using is veg tan calf around 1.5mm thick ( 3-4 oz ) dyed with fiebings pro dye.

[alpha2]

Does that have any thick layers of Resolene or such? Any protectant needs to applied in thin layers, with some buffing between coats. Also, applying some neatsfoot oil before anything else will give the leather some flexibility. Just guessing. Did you do anything differently with this one?

Jeff

[chiefjason]

That does not look like cracked leather.  You can feel the crack when the leather goes.  I've had that happen a couple of times.  Straps were probably either old or dry, maybe both.  They broke when I went to bend the strap, even after applying oil.  

You can put too much finish on and the finish can crack.  

If you get a soft spot of leather the grain side will wrinkle when bent too.  

It looks like a combination of finish and soft leather from here.  

[charon]

Isn't that reaction just normal when you bend the grain side of leather? It gets better with treatment but I have that effect on all items which are bent on the grain side...