Is this water damaged satchel beyond repair?

[Noydini]

Hi folks,

I wondered whether I could seek some advice from users of this forum. My grandfather recently passed and we discovered my father’s old school satchel when we were clearing the garage. The satchel is over 50 years old and, as you will see from the images below, it is in an extremely sorry state; it’s been water damaged at some point and some of the leather panels are very hard and brittle. A lot of the hardware has rusted and some of the rivets and studs are literally disintegrating into rusty dust.

The item has some sentimental memories for my father so it seems a shame to just toss it in the rubbish. I said I would take it away and see if anything could be done to restore it.

I’m no expert but this satchel seems too far gone - I’m guessing no amount of saddle soap or neatsfoot oil is going to get this back to serviceable condition? I wanted to check with some experts before I make my next step. If it is beyond repair, I was planning on passing it to a leather crafts person to see if they can use the bag as a template to create a replica (or maybe even incorporate some of the salvageable panels into the new bag).

I would really appreciate any advice and many thanks in advance!

https://ibb.co/64NVyLy 
https://ibb.co/cQWVHKM
https://ibb.co/D4883qq
https://ibb.co/BnT6xBn

 

 

Edited October 17, 2021 by Northmount
Downloaded and posted photos

[bland]

Unfortunately that looks too far gone to ever be a serviceable satchel again.  Maybe clean it up as a conversation piece.   I think somebody could pattern it and make a replica.  I don't think there are even any salvageable panels.  Cool bag though.  

[Northmount]

@Noydini Please post photos here in the future.  Third party hosting often results in the pictures disappearing and renders the thread useless for future reference.  Third party hosts change policies, users delete photos from their account or close the account, etc.  I have downloaded your photos and pasted them into your post.

 

[Mulesaw]

The rusted rivets and the missing buckles for closing could be dealt with.

My suggestion is to clean it first with some saddle soap, then once it is dry again, give it a try with some neatsfoot oil or some other oil. The worst thing that can happen is that you have spent a bit of money on the oil and used a bit of time. 

It probably won't ever be as soft as the day it was made, but if it becomes usable with a bit of scars to reflect its age - well then I think it is worth doing it. I don't think it looks all that bad, but getting the grime of and giving it some oil will let you assess whether the leather is too brittle to continue with. 

Replacing the rusted rivets shouldn't be much of a problem, To me it looks like there is missing a strap to carry the satchel over the shoulder, and there's also missing two buckles to closing the front. The front "pocket" seems to need some stitching in the lower part, but that's about it as far as I can see.

Sentimental value is hard to valuate, but I would guess that a school boy satchel sees a lot more rough handling than the satchel of an elderly gentleman, so it might not need to be 100% as sturdy for your father to use now as it was 50 years ago. 

If you write in your profile where you are located, it makes it a bit easier if anyone is living near you that might have a chance of vetting the piece in real life.

Brgds

Jonas

 

 

[Squid61]

I'm in the same condition as that satchel but older!  I agree with Mulesaw, it's worth a little effort with saddle soap and oil, might never be usable but it should clean up enough as a memento.

[Noydini]

Thanks for the feedback everyone. I think just getting it back into some sort of presentable condition would be a good result. It would have been nice if one of the grandkids could have used it when they start school but I think that is going to be a stretch!
 

We have the shoulder strap and buckles but unfortunately the leather on these parts is extremely brittle. I suspect those would need to be remade.
 

I have some saddle soap so will invest in a small can of oil and will have a shot at cleaning this up.

Will post some pics of my progress.

[Mulesaw]

Good to hear :-)

Good luck with the project. (I am sadly too far away from you geographically to be of much help)

[jcuk]

I think looking at the pics it can be cleaned up and possibly used again but having said that, it's hard to tell without seeing it for real, and i don't  know the quality of leather used to make it in the first place. As for cleaning it up - clean with saddle soap and with the neats foot oil, be careful - do not over use it because dry brittle leather will keep soaking up and before you know it will become saturated and then that would be hard to come back from. There are many other leather conditioners that can be used as well.
One other suggestion why don't you try and get it on the TV show The Repair Shop.

Hope this helps

JCUK

 

Edited October 17, 2021 by jcuk

[Handstitched]

Sorry to hear about the sad passing of your grandfather. 

Even after you've cleaned it up, give it a good soaking in NF oil, it may not be in ' usable' condition, but   it'll still  be a good display piece or keepsake  in memory of him . 

HS 

[Handstitched]

@jcuk Thats been on TV recently here in Oz . Can learn a few things from that show. 

HS