How do you soften leather?

[only_me]

Wondering how you lot soften your leather bridles?

I was taught to fill a tub with neatsfoot oil and then put the bridle pieces in, leave for 3 days then take out and leave to dry naturally.

What do you do?

 

[jessicahulme]

I like NAF leather food, it's fab

 

[nikkinoo]

Yeah I do the neatsfoot oil method but a cheeper version some people use is vegetable oil.

 

[_daisy_]

i paint neatsfoot oil onto mine, giving it about half a dozen coats or till it stops soaking in, leave it on for a few hours laid on news paper, then clean off.

ive only heard of soaking it in a bucket or bag of neatsfoot oil if its very old, dry brittle leather. id expect it to be a bit much for a brand new bridle

 

[MerryMAL]

Neatsfoot oil.

 

[JenTaz]

i sit and paint neatsfoot oil onto my bridle untill it stops taking it in takes ages even if its been done a million times

 

[posie_honey]

ko-cho-line
followed by oakwood

 

[ester]

ko cho line if really dry (ie saddle been in sea dry!)

or paint with neatsfoot or stick some in an ice cream tub

 

[Katie__Connie]

Neatsfoot is what i've been taught

 

[Ashgrove]

Ko-cho-line

 

[DW Team]

I have very old pan that pore my neatsfoot oil into then warm the oil and paint leather until will not take and more. Leave on newspaper over night repaint with warmed neatsfoot if needed.

 

[Spyda]

But I read somewhere that it was really bad to over oil......

Will have to try and find where I read it.

 

[Puppy]

[ QUOTE ]
Ko-cho-line

[/ QUOTE ]

Ditto!

 

[Donkeymad]

It is bad to oil, full stop. Ko-cho-line is for STORING tack, not cleaning. Best for your leather is a good Leather Feed, such as Effax or Hamanol.

 

[unicornleather]

Donklet is right, NO oil if possible, especially neats foot.
Best to use a leather food that has any or all of the following beeswax,tallow and lanolin in it. These products usually come in a paste,ointment or cream to apply.
These ingredients by their very nature (fat solids) are far superior in softening leather than any oils.
I use and sell Aussies by Fieblings, I swear by it and after 22 years in the saddlery trade find it hard to beat. But of course there are alot of products out there that people find equally as good as Aussies that have these ingredients in.

IF you must use oil and nothing else, use cod liver oil not neats foot and ONLY use very sparingly on the flesh side of the hide on firm leather (ie the underside which has a open grain and will allow the oil to pentetrate much more readily and not sit on the surface which can happen on the grain side and the firm leather means the skirts, flaps,sweat flaps and girth straps on saddles as well as bridles etc and NOT the seats or panels which is classed as the soft leather)
Oz

 

[ForeverBroke_]

I usually put my leather in a plastic bag and put it in the airing cupboard

Works a treat