Leather safe to display?

[Choatecav]

About 12 years ago I had a chance to study under David Jarnigan of C & D Jarnigan Co. in Corinth MS. He was especially lecturing on CW leather preservation and with my collection of period saddles and saddlebags, it was a concern to me.
I would say that he is one of the most knowledgeable people in the country on the subject.

His research digs deep into how the tanning processes of the period can make a dramatic difference in what we do today to preserve 160 year old leather.

Here is his website: http://www.jarnaginco.com/

Suggest you reach out to him for his advice.

 

[Old Soldier]

What you do depends on what you are going to do with the article , surely. If the leather is not supple, it is 'display only'. Most leather items were not intended to last 150 years so were not treated to make them last. Dry leather cracks. In the days when they were used, the most that would be done to them would be wax polish - the same as boots were. That is why much leather equipment is black or brown.

For we old soldiers, our boots were made of leather and we were made to look after them in this way. Older leather, particularly the parts that were creased and folded as they were used got wet and absorbed water. The first thing you did was to apply a thick layer of polish before leaving them out to dry slowly and naturally - not on a radiator or on the stove. It is amazing what appeared on the surface during this process!! If you left them without the polish, cracks would appear as they were re-used. and polish on the surface cracked away too.

NO, I am not suggesting that this is the answer, for I do not have that many leather articles, save my linesman's belt which now holds my pants up. It is old - about 40 years - and is still supple. It is a thick brown leather (the old Pattern 1903 belt - still issued in 2000). I treat it like my boots. Mink oil leather 'therapy' from Tarrago (Spain) does seem to work well on it, but it is not THAT old.

Bear in mind that any leather treatment will darken older leather.

 

[bayonet]

What you do depends on what you are going to do with the article , surely. If the leather is not supple, it is 'display only'. Most leather items were not intended to last 150 years so were not treated to make them last. Dry leather cracks. In the days when they were used, the most that would be done to them would be wax polish - the same as boots were. That is why much leather equipment is black or brown.

For we old soldiers, our boots were made of leather and we were made to look after them in this way. Older leather, particularly the parts that were creased and folded as they were used got wet and absorbed water. The first thing you did was to apply a thick layer of polish before leaving them out to dry slowly and naturally - not on a radiator or on the stove. It is amazing what appeared on the surface during this process!! If you left them without the polish, cracks would appear as they were re-used. and polish on the surface cracked away too.

NO, I am not suggesting that this is the answer, for I do not have that many leather articles, save my linesman's belt which now holds my pants up. It is old - about 40 years - and is still supple. It is a thick brown leather (the old Pattern 1903 belt - still issued in 2000). I treat it like my boots. Mink oil leather 'therapy' from Tarrago (Spain) does seem to work well on it, but it is not THAT old.

Bear in mind that any leather treatment will darken older leather.

Thank you for reminding me of the horror I went thru long ago in spit shining my dress Jump Boots

 

[bayonet]

The problem with period leather is that most have dried out over the years and there is no easy way to replace the moisture required to bring the pieces back. Neatsfoot, Saddle Soap, Percards etc are shortcuts that actually harm the leather more than the short term aesthetic They provide. Many times they seal in dirt and bacteria which destroys the piece from the inside out, promoting mold growth.

I have posted numerous times on this site, the current procedures used by:

The National Park Service
Imperial War Museum
The Smithsonian
Texas A&M
and a University in Europe, whose name escapes me right now, who specializes in underwater artifact recovery and preservation.

We are only current custodians of our artifacts and it is incumbent upon us to pass them on in the same shape we obtained them.

So you recommend doing nothing to them? I've had the ACW swords for years one over 40 years. It was only recently I did the Neatsfoot to the leather handles after someone mentioned it. BUT you maybe correct since the handles were never in bad shape even after all these years. For a real horror story I got a Scottish broadsword (dated 1750-65) delivered to me many years ago. When I pulled it out of the box the leather was flaking and a small piece fell off. The internet was new back then and I knew no one that could restore it. To preserve it I used clear shellac varnish. I'm not recommending this BUT I was desperate at the time. Well it looks good after all these years up on the wall but with a little shine. It's preserved and won't flake anymore!

 

[Old Soldier]

Thank you for reminding me of the horror I went thru long ago in spit shining my dress Jump Boots

You're welcome.