Restoring a true antique (early 1800s) leather saddle

[AraFace]

Hello, I haven't ever posted here but this place seems like a wealth of knowledge. 

I came across the pictured side-saddle in an antique shop for a discounted down to $32. I'm currently putting together an "old west" themed bedroom and figured this would make a great decorative piece. 

It's obviously in very rough shape, and the leather hs hard and brittle. I want to do some work to it, not necessarily for pure restoration, but to give enough life to the leather that it doesn't just.... Turn into dust. 

Does anyone here have any recommendations for how to do that? I've done some leatherworking in the past but haven't dealt with anything old, much less 150+ years old, and most of my internet searching has led me to generally dead ends for what to do. 

I'm not worried about the item losing any value or anything like that. I want it to be able to survive for much longer as a personal collectable, and I feel that gently cleaning the whole saddle and getting some oil and flexibility into the leather might help that goal. 

Thanks for your thoughts! 

[Handstitched]

G'Day and welcome to the forum  

You're on the right track . As its  for ' display only' , I'd be starting with a good dose of oil, it will take a few applications . If you feel brave enough, you may wish to do any minor repairs if there are any parts that look like they're about to fall off. Thats a start   Some more experienced saddle makers  on here may be able to help you along .  

$32 bucks is a bargain. If that was  in an antique shop  here in Oz, they'd be charging $150+ just because it looks 'antique'.

HS

[AraFace]

On 1/20/2021 at 11:48 PM, Handstitched said:

G'Day and welcome to the forum  

You're on the right track . As its  for ' display only' , I'd be starting with a good dose of oil, it will take a few applications . If you feel brave enough, you may wish to do any minor repairs if there are any parts that look like they're about to fall off. Thats a start   Some more experienced saddle makers  on here may be able to help you along .  

$32 bucks is a bargain. If that was  in an antique shop  here in Oz, they'd be charging $150+ just because it looks 'antique'.

HS

Glad to hear I'm thinking correctly! Do you have an oil suggestion? I have neatsfoot oil that I could use, but I don't know if there are more specialized oils that would work better. 

I've seen "lexol" thrown around as well. 

[jcuk]

Hi before you use any kind of oil based product use a soft brush to remove any dust and dirt from the saddle secondly then clean it gently with saddle soap after it has dried off,  then apply Neats foot oil heat it up before you apply it (tepid) luke warm it helps penetrate the fibre better also with remember with NFO a little goes a long way you don't want to saturate the leather which will weaken already damaged parts of the the saddle. And not sure if you are going to do anything to the seat but if it just for a display and conversation piece i would leave it as it is, unless you know of someone who can do a sympathetic restoration. And yes its a nice piece of history.

Hope this helps

JCUK 

[AraFace]

2 hours ago, jcuk said:

Hi before you use any kind of oil based product use a soft brush to remove any dust and dirt from the saddle secondly then clean it gently with saddle soap after it has dried off,  then apply Neats foot oil heat it up before you apply it (tepid) luke warm it helps penetrate the fibre better also with remember with NFO a little goes a long way you don't want to saturate the leather which will weaken already damaged parts of the the saddle. And not sure if you are going to do anything to the seat but if it just for a display and conversation piece i would leave it as it is, unless you know of someone who can do a sympathetic restoration. And yes its a nice piece of history.

Hope this helps

JCUK 

JCUK - My plan was to do just that. Dust it off as carefully as I'm able, check its integrity and maybe do some hidden repairs if things REALLY look precarious. I'll have to get my hands on some saddle soap. Thanks so much for the tip on the NFO too. It'll just be a display piece, so I don't think I'll do anything with the fabric, at least for now. I hope to at least carefully brush some of the dirt/dust out of it and the canvas under the leather.