[CR]Rejuvenating old leather saddles

(Example: Framebuilding:Brazing Technique)

From: "David Bilenkey" <dbilenkey@sympatico.ca>
To: "Classicrendezvous" <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
Date: Mon, 12 Jul 2004 22:42:15 -0400
Subject: [CR]Rejuvenating old leather saddles

Anyone have any sure fire tricks to bring old dried leather saddles (Brooks and such) back to a usable state? At the moment I Proofhide any old saddles I come across, but I was wondering if anyone had any good way to 're-hydrate' these old saddles. I've read Sheldon's mention of soaking with Neatsfoot oil for breaking in a saddle, but I'm more interested in getting an old saddle that is dry back from the brink of the garbage bin. Is it possible? Would Neatsfoot oil help or is a dried out saddle a lost cause?

Thanks for any pointers or suggestions,

David Bilenkey
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada