Do you have to Oil new leather immediately before use?

Eaglestone

Eaglestone

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I purchased a Collegiate Running Martingale in February and used it for less than a dozen times, when I noticed the top layer of leather was splitting and cracking, where your buckle it up around the neck ..... :(

It is supposed to be English Leather and I was very surprised this had happened ....especially as it was lovely and flexible and I was really pleased with it ... :)

I returned it to the online shop where I purchased it from and today they phoned me and told me the problem was due to me not oiling it before use :confused::confused::confused: ..... well although, perhaps in hindsight I should have put something on the leather, prior to use, quite honestly I do not think that it should have split and cracked anyway :(

They also said that they had contacted Collegiate, who asked whether it had been oiled and they agreed that this was why this problem had occured .. :(

They have agreed to replace the Martingale, but will be charging me postage on the replacement, however I really would expect a new leather item not to react in this way, with such little use, just because I did not oil it ... :confused:

What do you guys think?

I have posted this in New Lounge as well, as I really want your opinions ..

Thanks :D
 
DO NOT OIL!!!!!!! they clearly dont know what they are talking about! leather needs grease as it is a fatty product, oil will just rot the stitching and make it stiff!!! something like kocholine is good :) greasing the leather would have helped- but i agree it shouldnt act like that- have you placed the leather in heat- or has it got very wet recently?
 
cloudandmatrix said:
DO NOT OIL!!!!!!! they clearly dont know what they are talking about! leather needs grease as it is a fatty product, oil will just rot the stitching and make it stiff!!! something like kocholine is good :) greasing the leather would have helped- but i agree it shouldnt act like that- have you placed the leather in heat- or has it got very wet recently?
Click to expand...

I did say that I recalled being advised not to oil new leather tack .... but she seemed to have her scripted response to me :rolleyes: ..... and nope it has not got wet or hot at all, just stored in my tack area at the stables .... I told the lady I spoke to that I did not agree with their opinion and am not really pleased that she will charge me postage to replace the Martingale .... :(
 
I always drench tack in oil before use. never had any stitching break.

I wouldn't use tack before it was oiled, the leather may be alright for a short while, but I would suspect it would break up fairly quickly and for me tack is too expensive to take the risk.

Hope your next martingale is better. I have some collegiate stuff, I like it, good leather but not too expensive.
 
too much oil is bad for leather, it loosens the fibres

i wouldnt use oil at all, i have been advised by a saddler that leather needs fat/grease rather than oil
 
I never oil any tack ...dont like the stuff, used to do it many years ago (because it was the thing to do...BHS way an all that business) but never found any benefit from doing it.

I know someone that used to oil their tack all the time and their tack is really gammy :eek: and the stitching was always rotting and leatherwork breaking.

I do use a leather conditioner every time I've cleaned any leather work though and never had any problems with stitch work or change in leather.

With new tack, bridle for instance, then yes I would use a leather conditioner on it. I swear by Carr Day & Martin Leather Conditioner and another favorite of mine is the Stubbon Hamanol Leather Conditioner which feeds and revitalizes leatherwork and will prevent any dry cracking of new tack. :)
 
As I answered in your other post..............

I never oil leather, leather isn't an oily thing, it's greasy.
If I get something old and stiff or new and needs suppling up I use Ko-Cho-Line, brings the leather up a treat.
For a company to admit their leather needs oil before use I find quite shocking.
 
I use a leather balm on all my new tack before i use it, stops it from cracking. If you just use new tack without treating it it will be liable to crack. I treat my new tack regularly until it is soft and supple, then i just use saddle soap with leather balm every couple of months.
 
I think the question here is not whether you should use oil or not. It is more a question of you have had this product since February and used it several times, so have you cleaned or put any kind of leather dressing on it at all in that time? If not, then yes you have not cared for it correctly and yes it will crack. The supplier probably didn't word things in the best way possible but at the end of the day leather is perishable and needs to be taken care of. If you haven't cleaned or fed the leather in 3 months but have used it then it is highly likely to break.
 
Dont use oil on leather - I prefer a conditioner, like stubben hamanol.

Collegiate leather isnt very high quality (sorry) so you need to take care of it better. If you have used it a couple of times and then stored it, it should have been conditioned before storage. And I would have conditioned before use (do this with all leather tack) but it rarely gets cleaned afterwards unless going out!
 
Oil is just fat in liquid form, so no real difference than using a grease/cream conditioner- although obviously different makes have different ingredients which can be better or worse for leather.

With regards to oiling, i think its fine BUT you can over-oil. This is easier to do with lower quality leathers because the fibres are looser anyway- so they crack and tear quicker than more expensive leather. I have oiled new tack for years and never had it rot stitching but i use good quality oil sparingly and only ever have good quality english or german leather. For regular (!) tack cleaning i use a conditioning cream.

I agree with CBanglo, collegiate leather isnt great quality and if the leather was used untreated and got sweat on it or wet this would accelerate any problems, particularly on bends/folds.
 
the brand in q is of dubious quality! buy a good english walsall made martingale or bridle it will last for years with regular cleaning and conditioning! at the end of the day you get what you pay for!
 
Thank you everyone and I know you get what you pay for, but I was after an inexpensive item, however I do expect it to last a little longer and not get told that an inferier product, which failed, was due to not oiling it, even though they did not advise this should happen before use :(
 
Collegiate is cheap and I would never buy something I use all the time from collegiate, but it shouldn't fall apart that quickly. I've had my martingale for 2 years now and it still does the job, there is very little wear, if any on it. Although I don't use it every time I ride. Basically it will just need some conditioning balm or conditioning oil on it, it's up to you what you use!
 
i always oil new tack really well with carr day and martin neatsfoot :Dand periodically if it becomes dry. then after then just soap regularly with normal soap. i also use leather balsam i.e stuuben ect and my tack is really soft and bendy:p
 
Hi,

My bridle is Sabre. It says on its tag, oil twice on the underside, and once all over before use. Never had any problems after quite a few years use. After that I just wipe down after use and apply saddle soap or leather conditioner when needed.

If that helps.
 
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