Group -- The process of soaking the saddles has been beaten to death at this point... I have been doing it for years with very good results... I corresponded with Tony C. a year or two back and he concurred with the soaking routine, and also expressed his disdain for using products like neatsfoot oil. I have used Lexol leather conditioner with a degree of success... I'd like to get a container of it to Tony, but the homeland security folks remove it from my bags...
Someone mentioned using a strap to hold in the flaps while the saddle dries... I have found that this will leave an indentation in the flap where the strap pulls it in.... I wrap the saddle in an old tee-shirt to give a more uniform pressure over a greater portion of the flap.... it takes longer to dry out, but maintains a nice consistant curve on the bottom of the flap..
ciao -- Nelson Miller // Seattle, WA // USA