Vintage leather products use and care

ALL: i've got to admit I really do neglect some of the nice leather items i've bought and been given over the years. i'd like to change that and maybe see if I (we) can help the younger generation while we are at it with our wisdom.

i've got these new old stock leather Proto 500 tool wraps and while they might not be vintage the leather belt on my old Cannedy-Otto drill press is so i'll post pictures of both.

Tym suggested Picard.com as a product he's used for 20 or so years and without fail he loves it.

Let's talk leather and see if we can maybe post up a few pictures (yep keep those people in leather pics to yourselves).

i'll set this up as an index of sorts too so we can have a quick look if we don't have time to read an entire thread.

1) tools
2) gloves: i've ruined more than a few pairs of these by not treating them with leather treatments
3) machines
4) accessories

Whatshername and I do some antique leather restoration. Biker related, for the most part. Unfinished leather and finished leather respond differently. But......this company has a range of products. We have used some of them and will say that, for our application, they are first rate products.

https://montanaleather.com/product-category/leather-care/


Edit: Your tool pouch looks similar to the wrench pouch that goes with my SK's. I don't think mine is real leather. That may make a difference with some products.

I don't know about what you can do for preserving drive belts, but I suspect those tool rolls will last a lifetime as long as you keep them clean and dry.

tym said:

I've exclusively used the Classic Leather Care on old and new leather (it does temporarily darken the leather a bit). I haven't tried the Antique Leather Care. Either should do the trick and not drastically change the character of the leather like Neatsfoot oil.

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tym,
I've moved your post from the Plomb thread to here so as not to side-track the Plomb thread.

Please define "character" in this statement. I have used Neatsfoot oil my entire life on everything from baseball gloves to boots to loadbearing straps, primarily because it's what my old man used his entire life. It keeps the leather soft and supple, extending its life. I have never seen it ruin anything. I wouldn't think of using it on suede or anything plush. It will make leather darker, and if not applied evenly, it can make leather look splotchy (where it's applied more deeply than other areas on the same piece). Is that what you mean? Is there some knock on Neatsfoot oil for some reason I am not aware of?

Neatsfoot oil has served me well, especially if the leather is dried out. If it's already supple enough then glycerine saddle soap is good.
There are a multitude of fancy and expensive products available for treating leather, over the years I have tried some of them and never have found anything better than neatsfoot, or glycerine soap.
For flat drive belts I like to use the old method of a small amount of Stockholm Tar, it stops the belt slipping. I like the smell of it too!

Private Lugnutz said:

tym,
I've moved your post from the Plomb thread to here so as not to side-track the Plomb thread.

Please define "character" in this statement. I have used Neatsfoot oil my entire life on everything from baseball gloves to boots to loadbearing straps, primarily because it's what my old man used his entire life. It keeps the leather soft and supple, extending its life. I have never seen it ruin anything. I wouldn't think of using it on suede or anything plush. It will make leather darker, and if not applied evenly, it can make leather look splotchy (where it's applied more deeply than other areas on the same piece). Is that what you mean? Is there some knock on Neatsfoot oil for some reason I am not aware of?

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I was referring primarily to Neatsfoot oil's tendency to darken leather a few shades, which may be undesirable for lighter-colored and/or antique leather products. I've found that the Pecard dressing does not do this. Further, the waxy consistency does offer some water resistance, which may be desirable for certain items (jackets, boots, watch straps, bullwhips - and I've used it on all of these to varying degrees with pleasing results and no ill effects). Probably the most conservative thing you can use on old dry leather is glycerin as it's humectant properties will help restore moisture; it was recommended by an old-timer who collects cowboy boots.

I'd avoid any product that includes silicone as that can plug up the pores of the leather and promote cracking (ask me how I know).

If the leather is something exotic like shell cordovan, it may need very little treatment due to that material's natural ability to retain oils and resist stretching.

Hmm...reading this post over makes me realize I may have a leather fetish. LOL.

For old leather, my wife swears by Ko-cho-line, it's greasy and messy, but one of her sidesaddles is roughly 120 years old, and aside from billets (for safety) and the bottom panel (rotted out before she got it), it's original. My saddle is a youngster at 30, and itr gets a treatment once in a while, along with paddock boots, tack, and anything else exposed to the weather. Passier lederbalsam is another good one, not greasy, and works in easily. Stay away from Neatsfoot oil compound, it will rot the stitching, the pure oil isn't bad, though it really darkens the leather, I'm not a fan though others swear by it.

I am not a leather expert, but I know I few guys who know a lot more than I do.

One of them summarized leather care into this tidbit:
"...but much published as well, to the effect that all of the animal products are ultimately bad for leather. Put simply, they do three things:

a) weaken fibers;
b) crosslink and harden over time;
c) combine unpredictably with residue of tanning, air pollution, perspiration, et, to form destructive acidic compounds.

The best stuff to use off-the-shelf is glycerin based. There are other, better things based on hydroxyl-ended polymers, but they are not readily available."

The whole thread, which goes on for some time, is listed here, his is near the bottom.

He also goes into this in another thread:
"Leather does indeed make good service protection for steel tools. The key word is SERVICE. When you are using something regularly and wiping, it, sharpening it, cleaning off a bit of scale here and there, all is well. Storage can be another thing entirely."

The full thread is here, and has two of the guys who I think know the most about leather railing against it for storage.


And just for the record, I do have cutting edges protected by leather sheaths (adzes, hatchets, drawknives and hatchets, against their better judgement.

ALL: thanks for all the great posts so far and looking forward to lots more as more members see this and start showing off their leather products.

speaking of that i think our only pics of leather are my Proto leather wraps so please post up a few pics of leather products or your leather for all of us cause we all love our pics.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING a bit early to all of you since some of you might be off line for a few days.

tym said:

I was referring primarily to Neatsfoot oil's tendency to darken leather a few shades...

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Thanks for clarifying, tym.