twiggy2
Well-Known Member
At least they are being honest
Well that is very true
Leather Conditioner Recipe
- Thread starter cremedemonthe
- Start date
Well that is very true
cremedemonthe
Well-Known Member
Anybody else tried making their own yet?
Oz
Oz
Penny Eater
Well-Known Member
Finally got around to using your conditioner! Bridle has never looked so good, or been so supple. Not to mention how soft it left my hands! Thanks Oz
cremedemonthe
Well-Known Member
Finally got around to using your conditioner! Bridle has never looked so good, or been so supple. Not to mention how soft it left my hands! Thanks Oz
good, nice to hearTT55
Well-Known Member
I made some too. Very good stuff, but boy is it hard work! Not sure it'll make it into my regular tack maintenance routine, but i will use it when i have time.
Interestingly though, it works well on all my horse tack, but my OH's leather boots haven't come up so nice!
Interestingly though, it works well on all my horse tack, but my OH's leather boots haven't come up so nice!
ApolloStorm
Well-Known Member
Thinking of trying this out, how often would you recommend using it? monthly? or less often?
cremedemonthe
Well-Known Member
You may find the boots are not veg tanned and this stuff is only good for veg tanned. Boots sometimes are chrome tanned or semi chrome which doesn't absorb this conditioner well, if at all. IF the are veg tanned they may have been treated with stuff to make them water proof in which case, this product can't be absorbed.
Did the boots smell very leathery when they were new, if so they are veg tanned.
cremedemonthe
Well-Known Member
It largely depends on the time of year, the weather and how often you use your tack.
It's like asking how often do you need to wash your car!
Keep and eye on the leather, when it starts feeling dry or creaking (that's a good sign it's starting to get dry) then condition it.
I use it once a month this time of year and more often in the hot dry summer months on my leather.
You can always try a test area to see if it is drawn in to the leather, if it soaks in , then condition all of it.
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cornbrodolly
Well-Known Member
cremedemonthe --At last I got the recipe made and used - fantastic.What a lovely deep shine, but with quite a lot of saddles and bridles ,plus spares etc , its taking a bit of hard work ! uusally i just paint on padfileds leather elixir!
We have various types of little used tack - I m wondering what is the best way to store them, once conditioned? I ve put the bridles in large plastic bags- is this ok? Also, would I condition a set of driving harness on the underside only? There are some patent leather pieces on the harness -I m assuming not to condition those and use something else?
We have various types of little used tack - I m wondering what is the best way to store them, once conditioned? I ve put the bridles in large plastic bags- is this ok? Also, would I condition a set of driving harness on the underside only? There are some patent leather pieces on the harness -I m assuming not to condition those and use something else?
cremedemonthe
Well-Known Member
Glad you like it, it's only downside is, as you and several others have found out, it's good old fashioned hard work !
I could tell you to add spirits or oils to make it easier to use but then, that defeats the object of using 100% natural ingredients.
Storing leather:
Leather needs to breathe, all veg tan leather will lose moisture every day whether it's new, old, used or unused and that moisture needs to get out therefore plastic bags may get condensation in them. I put bridles I have made and conditioned in old (thick) 100% cotton pillow cases, the cotton will absorb any moisture in the air as well as protect the leather from getting scratches.
Store the in a dry room best temperature for leather is 56 degrees F. Don't store anywhere unheated like outside tackroom or garage, keep away from fires, radiators and sunlight.
Patent leather has a plastic coating, if you can get to the back of the leather you may be able to apply a tiny amount of conditioner but do becareful it doesn't swamp the leather and damage the Patent surface from underneath.
Oz
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twiggy2
Well-Known Member
my hands end up black when doing both my saddle and my bridle
cremedemonthe
Well-Known Member
Shouldn't do, sounds like the dye is leeching out of the leather in one or both items.
Tern
Well-Known Member
Still haven't made this.. however I remembered that my showing bridle was advertised as "english leather" it isn't and isn't stamped either.. also hard as a rock. Off to waitrose to buy the lard on weekend then will swamp this bridle in this stuff for this coming show season! I am tempted to buy off you Oz but I shall try myself first!
Off to waitrose to buy the lard on weekend then will swamp this bridle in this stuff for this coming show season! I am tempted to buy off you Oz but I shall try myself first!
cremedemonthe
Well-Known Member
Still haven't made this.. however I remembered that my showing bridle was advertised as "english leather" it isn't and isn't stamped either.. also hard as a rock.
If it's foreign leather you will struggle to get moisture in it, try soaking it in warm water first for a longer than the few minutes I recommend until leather is a little more pliable, that's all you can do really with hard foreign leather short of running it over with a steam roller to soften it up
twiggy2
Well-Known Member
that is what I thought, the saddle is kent and masters and the bridle micklem. I will do them one at a time and see which one or if it is both
cremedemonthe
Well-Known Member
Take care, some leather dyes are aniline and carcinogenic, keep it off your hands, try using tight fitting thin latex gloves, if they are tight enough hopefully the conditioner won't drag on the gloves and pull them off or wrinkle them
twiggy2
Well-Known Member
thank you for the heads up, bit scary what they use on stuff. is there any way I can find out what is used on particular makes of bridle leather that you know of?
cremedemonthe
Well-Known Member
No, other than to ask the manufacturer which tannery they buy their hides from and then ask the tannery directly.
It's usually the cheap foreign leather and some cheaper European hides that are the worst offenders as they don't "fix" the dye properly to stop it leeching out.
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ycbm
Einstein would be proud of my Insanity...
Oz, if I don't want to bother making my own, which commercial conditioner would you recommend please?
PorkChop
Well-Known Member
You can buy it directly from Oz - thats what I do because I am a lazy bum - the link is earlier in the thread
cremedemonthe
Well-Known Member
You can buy it directly from Oz - thats what I do because I am a lazy bum - the link is earlier in the thread
lol
Beausmate
Well-Known Member
I bought some too. It's not that much hard work if you have warm hands. I found it quite therapeutic
Unfortunately, lack of equipment makes the DIY stuff impossible to make.... And I'm a lazy bum
Unfortunately, lack of equipment makes the DIY stuff impossible to make.... And I'm a lazy bum
jojo5
Well-Known Member
Cornbrodolly - where do you get the stuff you refer to - pad fields leather elixir? I heard of this years ago I think but can't find it now.
Joyous70
Well-Known Member
Am a lazy bum also have just ordered a tub of your conditioner Oz, for my lovely new saddle, I will enjoy sitting in the garden in the sunshine doing both my saddle & bridle.
have just ordered a tub of your conditioner Oz, for my lovely new saddle, I will enjoy sitting in the garden in the sunshine doing both my saddle & bridle.
cremedemonthe
Well-Known Member
Am a lazy bum also
It will make your hands very soft too!
Oz
lannerch
Well-Known Member
Just resurrecting this thread for all those recently asking about cleaning leather, the above is brilliant advice , and I’ve just purchased the above ingredients to give it ago . Thank you so much oz ??I get asked on UK horse forums how to make and care for veg tanned saddlery leather and have been asked on here a few times recently so resurrecting this old post, hope it helps.
Firstly a bit about oiling and veg tanned leather.
NEATSFOOT OIL, is a popular choice to condition modern hides BUT although modern neatsfoot oil is still made from cattle-based products, it has a tendency to speed oxidation of the leather.
If mineral oil or other petroleum-based material is added, the product may be called "neatsfoot oil compound".
Some brands have also been shown to be adulterated with rapeseed oil, soya oil, and other oils.
The addition of mineral oils may lead to more rapid decay of non-synthetic stitching or speed breakdown of the leather itself
AVOID!
You won't always see the damage to the fibres of the hide with the naked eyes and think it's ok to use it but you get down to the cellular level and look at the fibres under a microscope of hide oiled with neatsfoot and you'll see what I mean.
LEATHER CONDITIONER:
All veg tanned leather will lose moisture everyday whether it's used or not, best thing to condition leather to make it last is any product without any silicone or preservatives (that some modern leather conditioners contain) includes, tallow, bees wax and lanolin or all 3 if possible.
I make my own leather conditioner simply because I use so much veg tan in my trade, I have hides that I have hand dressed that are at least 25 years old when I first trained and are as good as new.
Home made leather conditioner (traditional) recipe:
My own recipe is a secret one I have perfected over many years but what I will give you a basic one, get hold of any beef fat (I make my own tallow but you can use beef dripping), beeswax and some lard (pig fat, again I make my own), do roughly a 50% beef fat, 25 % beeswax and 25% lard,gently melt it down on a low heat and mix it thoroughly.
Let it set, when you use it if it has melted because the weather is warm, shove it in the fridge for 10-20 mins to get the right consistency.
This is real old fashioned English Saddler's grease
BEST WAY OF USING IT:
Remember any moisture you add to leather whether water or leather conditioner can darken leather down, so if in doubt try a test area first.
When conditioning the clean leather, wipe it with a warm wet cloth (just warm water) and whilst still wet/damp get some conditioner on your fingers, the heat from your hand and your fingers are by far the best way to apply any conditioner, it's a mucky job but forget sponges, cloths or brushes at this stage!
By putting the water on first it acts as a medium that aids the penetration of the fats right into the fibres of the hide.
The flesh side of the hide is far more porous than the grain side,try to imagine a funnel shape to the fibre with the wide open mouth end as the flesh side (flesh side is the underside where the flesh used to be) so allow a little more conditioner that side, you don't need alot anyway as it goes a long way.
Rub it all over and massage it into the hide, then leave it to dry naturally in a dry room and not in any sunlight or near artifcial heat,it can take 3 days or more to dry out and be asorbed into the hide, depends how much you use!
When it's dry, then get a lint free cloth, I use old bath towels cut up, the bobbly bits of the towelling act like a polishing stone and this is where it gets hard work, you need alot of elbow grease.
It's basically good old fashioned saddler's grease which most saddlers, leatherworkers and cobblers would have made years ago and none of the commercially made stuff you get today.
The idea is to rub the hide fast and fairly hard, not too hard to scratch it, the friction heats up any fats you have left on the hide (the white stuff) and gets it further into the fibres to add to the already absorbed conditioner that you put on it a few days before.
Lastly, this where it looks like I am contradicting myself about saying not to use oil on hides but I do, I use cod liver oil (NEVER neatsfoot as explained at the beginning)and wring a cotton cloth out in the cod liver oil so almost dry and put a very LIGHT film on both sides of the hide,wipe off any surplus and give it another gentle polish to buff it up with a bit of clean, dry bath towel, you are merely giving it a final dressing with the cod liver oil NOT conditioning or feeding it, it also gives the hide back it's leathery smell, a good trick of the trade to know if you sell second hand saddlery or leather, people love the smell of leather!
When completed you should have hide that is fairly stuffed full of fat and wax which is what it was designed for and it will have a nice bloom/shine to it, it should feel slightly moist/clammy but not sticky, if it is sticky you need to rub it more, it should feel heavier too.The conditioning will act as a rain barrier to keep the wet out.
Sorry for long post but I think it's worth mentioning all this.
Happy polishing!
Oz
Saddler in Surrey
lannerch
Well-Known Member
Well I have made some conditioner from your recipe and it is lovely stuff my brand new bridle is now very soft and shiny . How should I store my conditioner, will it last at room temperature or should I put it in the fridge as all the ingredients bar the beeswax originated in the fridge.
will be doing my saddles tomorrow ?
cremedemonthe
Well-Known Member
Glad you like it, mine has anti fungal ingredients in it so it's not so much of a problem where I keep it. It needs to be in a cool, dry place. Some keep it in their fridge without a problem. The lard is the only thing that actually needs to be kept in there. If you keep it in your fridge, take it out a few hours before you need it to let it get up to room temperature to make it easier to cut it up..
ALWAYS keep it away from pets.
Oz
ALWAYS keep it away from pets.
Oz
lannerch
Well-Known Member
Thanks oz fridge it’s is then
Koppatj
New User
Hi Oz, great advice, I have a question would emu oil be a good oil to use , and also rough out leather what is the best method of application for deep penetrative of the mix , would I apply and then hair dry it in , thanks for sharing your knowledge