Well, I won't be at Cirque, but I'm no expert at this, just a guy who tried it with success. If someone has a chance to try this now to prove to himself it works, maybe he can bring a cracked and sagged saddle to the Friday meet & greet, drop it in a bucket, pull it out on Saturday, and let it dry until the show on Sunday. Only problem is that if it is really dry and is thick leather like the old Ideales and Brooks, it can take more than one day to get thoroughly wet so it can be easily reshaped with the hands. But one day of soaking will definitely reduce surface cracking, and if it is only slightly sagged will often return it to near original shape. So there is probably enough time to demonstrate the method works.
Regards,
Jerry Moos
> From: r cielec <teaat4p@yahoo.com>
\r?\n> Subject: Re: [CR] Saddle soaking & Cirque Demonstration ?
\r?\n> To: "Classic Rendezvous" <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
\r?\n> Date: Thursday, May 28, 2009, 11:10 AM
\r?\n> Ahoy !
\r?\n> Is there time to arrange a demo or display of saddle
\r?\n> soaking at the Cirque ? With video and photos to share for
\r?\n> us forlorn Listers keeping the home fires burning rather
\r?\n> than being over there ?
\r?\n>
\r?\n> Regards,
\r?\n>
\r?\n> Richard Cielec
\r?\n> Chicago, Illinois; U.S.A.
\r?\n>
\r?\n> --- On Thu, 5/28/09, Jerome & Elizabeth Moos <jerrymoos@sbcglobal.net>
\r?\n> wrote:
\r?\n>
\r?\n> From: Jerome & Elizabeth Moos <jerrymoos@sbcglobal.net>
\r?\n> Subject: Re: [CR] Saddle soaking: No kidding?
\r?\n> To: Classicrendezvous@bikelist.org,
\r?\n> "Tom Sanders" <tesanders@comcast.net>
\r?\n> Date: Thursday, May 28, 2009, 8:44 AM
\r?\n>
\r?\n>
\r?\n> Well, I was skeptical too, which is why I tried it first on
\r?\n> the original B17 on the Schwinn Superior I bought from you
\r?\n> just about 2 years ago now. I don't have before photos,
\r?\n> but you may recall that the saddle was in pretty rough
\r?\n> shape, while the rest of the bike was almost like new. Not
\r?\n> so much from use as just from drying out and cracking.
\r?\n>
\r?\n> This in't magic, although it may seem such to those of us
\r?\n> who have become conditioned to throwaway synthetic
\r?\n> materials. Leather is organic and as such needs the proper
\r?\n> moisture to perform well. But when it becomes too dry it
\r?\n> has the ability, within bounds, to absorb mositure and
\r?\n> thereby regain condition to a great extent. Tony and
\r?\n> probably a lot of the guys in UK and France have understood
\r?\n> this for a long time, but not too many Americans seem to
\r?\n> have thought much about it. Those used to using or making
\r?\n> leather goods probably won't be surprised though.
\r?\n>
\r?\n> I think the reason Tony Colegrave, Mike Barry and others
\r?\n> warn against treating the underside of a saddle is that to
\r?\n> maintain condition saddles must absorb mositure, and
\r?\n> treating the underside with oils blocks this. Froofhide
\r?\n> may moisten the saddle initially but it will eventually
\r?\n> cause it to dry out by blocking mositure. In a wet climate
\r?\n> like England, a saddle may often absorb enough moisture to
\r?\n> remain in balance, as long as the underside isn't blocked
\r?\n> with oils. But in a desert climate like here in West
\r?\n> Texas, it may be necessary to soak a saddle in water
\r?\n> periodically to restore the proper moisture level
\r?\n>
\r?\n> Once you try this, it isn't that mysterious. I think we
\r?\n> all know that leather (or wood) when soaked in water, will
\r?\n> absorb water and swell. What you really have to try to
\r?\n> appreciate is that when the leather swells with moisture,
\r?\n> little surface cracks close up. Maybe they don't disappear
\r?\n> completely, but they become much less noticeable to sight or
\r?\n> touch. And on only slightly sagged saddles, the swelling
\r?\n> will often push them back into close to their original
\r?\n> shape. If not, then once the saddle is thoroughly wet, it
\r?\n> becomes pliable and you can shape it with you fingers.
\r?\n> That's what I did on the Ti-railed Mod 90 with the center
\r?\n> ridge - pushed the sides up with my thumbs and pushed the
\r?\n> center down a bit. It's pretty easy to shape the leather
\r?\n> when it is completely wet, and it will hold the shape as it
\r?\n> dries. And for spread sides, you can hold push the sides
\r?\n> back in while wet and clamp them to hold them in place as
\r?\n> the leather dries.
\r?\n>
\r?\n> One obviously isn't going to restore a saddle to NOS this
\r?\n> way, but you can close up cracks, smooth the surface to a
\r?\n> great, if not perfect extent, and mold the saddle back to
\r?\n> near original shape. Which, if you are actually going to
\r?\n> ride it, is all you really need. Personally I think a
\r?\n> saddle with obviously a lot of use, logos worn down a lot,
\r?\n> but still with a good shape, smooth surface and shiny copper
\r?\n> rivets is in some ways cooler than an NOS one. Sort of the
\r?\n> saddle version of patina, I guess. Like a good steel frame
\r?\n> from the 50,s or 60's, it reminds us these are products made
\r?\n> to be used for a lifetime, or at least for decades, not
\r?\n> thrown away after a couple of seasons.
\r?\n>
\r?\n> Regards,
\r?\n>
\r?\n> Jerry Moos
\r?\n>
\r?\n> --- On Thu, 5/28/09, Tom Sanders <tesanders@comcast.net>
\r?\n> wrote:
\r?\n>
\r?\n> > From: Tom Sanders <tesanders@comcast.net>
\r?\n> > Subject: [CR] Saddle soaking: No kidding?
\r?\n> > To: Classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
\r?\n> > Date: Thursday, May 28, 2009, 6:44 AM
\r?\n> > I almost checked the calendar to see
\r?\n> > if it was April first when I read the
\r?\n> > recent post about saddle soaking. I guess if Tony
\r?\n> C.
\r?\n> > likes it, it must be
\r?\n> > good, but it really took me by surprise. Would any
\r?\n> of
\r?\n> > you who are planning
\r?\n> > to try this please take some close up photos of the
\r?\n> surface
\r?\n> > and shape ,
\r?\n> > etc., before and after , and share them with the rest
\r?\n> of
\r?\n> > us?
\r?\n> >
\r?\n> > I am still a skeptic, I'm afraid. I am reminded of
\r?\n> > the old Charles Atlas
\r?\n> > claims that "In just seven days I can make you a
\r?\n> man"
\r?\n> > Hell, the only time
\r?\n> > I've seen anything like that happen was in the Rocky
\r?\n> Horror
\r?\n> > Picture Show.
\r?\n> > Some things just seem too good to be true. Are you
\r?\n> > doing anything special
\r?\n> > to re-shape the saddles afterward?
\r?\n> >
\r?\n> > Tom Sanders
\r?\n> >
\r?\n> > Lansing, MI USA