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johnnydb

Very Old Leather

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Ok,

Back in the late 1940's to early 1950's my great grandfather caught Tuberculosis and was extremely bored...so he took up leather crafting.  

He made a nice purse complete with zipper pockets and Sheridan tooling on the exterior.  He entered it into the local county fair and won first place for his work.  Afterwards he gave it to his granddaughter (my mother).  

She gave it to me yesterday while celebrating her birthday.  (My son didn't make it as he has a new job with funky hours) 

 

So it definitely needs some sort of oil or dressing to help it out.  The craftsmanship is awesome...I can see why he won.  Nice work.  But this thing has been abused from getting packed into boxes over the years...squished and etc.  

 

So...I have heard that some oils weren't good for older leather or for a piece you want lasting for another 70 years.  And I can't remember which did what.  I don't want to just slather this up with neatsfoot and then go "oops, that didn't work".  I ain't got that kind of opportunity to make a mistake.  

Any ideas as to what will work or make it like new again?

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You never want to 'slather' anything with NFO. I would clean it with a quality saddle soap, then if it is still dry, a very light wipe of NFO might be in order. Or a quality reconditioner.

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I picked up some Smith's leather balm a month or so ago and it is my new favorite product. Not sure if it is a suitable option ot not but I figured I'd toss it out there. It's far less penetrative than NFO so maybe after a few coats of Smith's it'd be good? Who knows? I sure don't...

Let us know hat you do and how it works out.

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any pictures?

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11 hours ago, tsunkasapa said:

You never want to 'slather' anything with NFO. I would clean it with a quality saddle soap, then if it is still dry, a very light wipe of NFO might be in order. Or a quality reconditioner.

Thank you... this sounds like a good idea.  

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The best selling leather conditioner at Amazon is Leather Honey.

It was developed by a family in West Virginia, which is where I live.  It has been in the news here with glowing reviews from many people.  It has been on the market for some time, so I think it is a dependable product.

http://www.leatherhoney.com

https://www.amazon.com/Leather-Care-Products/b/ref=dp_bc_aui_C_4?ie=UTF8&node=15718561

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Oh wow that really is stunning work! 

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