Care of Horse Hide

[OneEyeMan]

Hello all.
I've got an Aero Highwayman on order in FQHH.
I know that they don't need any treatment when new, but how about years later when they're starting to dry out and need a little TLC.
Just wondering what you all use on your jackets.
I've got some Obenaufs Leather Preservative at home and was planning on using that unless somebody can give me a good reason not to.
Lenny

 

[jaxx]

to be honest i dont like oben, ive rode horses all my life and have been around leather for 18 plus years. oben works well with steer and other leathers but from what ive seen pecards and 100% neets foot oil work the best for horse leather. ive noticed when i oiled my saddle with oben, that the horses skin has a allergic reaction sometimes. now i know they are alive, but still ive found out that oben just doesnt protect and soften as well as pecards and neets foot. you can buy either at any local horse shop or saddle shop. but if you get neets foot make sure it's 100% if its 70% then it destroys your threads. but that is just my 2 cents. let me know if you need anything else

 

[Peacoat]

By the time your Aero needs any treatment, 10 or 15 years from now, the Obenuafs you currently have will be long gone. If you wear it in the rain on a regular basis, such as on a motorcycle, it might need treatment earlier. Your Aero HH is probably chrome tanned, and that is a tough, water resistant hide.

The people at Aero caution against using anything on the hide. One reason is it just doesn't need it. The other, and more importantly, is the possibility of color transfer induced by the application of a conditioner. There was a recent thread by a member who had a black HH jacket that had been treated before he got it. The conditioner caused problems with the finish of an otherwise fine jacket.

The consensus on this board is that Pecards is the way to go when a jacket finally needs a little refreshment. My Highwayman is a two year old motorcycle jacket; it is a long way from needing anything on the finish except some backroads wind when it gets warmer!

 

[jaxx]

bingo very well said.

 

[nickn5]

My 50+ years old horse hide leather jacket took a simple application of Pecards Leather Dressing rather well, and looks much better for it. It doesn't leave any greasy remnants either.

N.

 

[icecold]

My 50+ years old horse hide leather jacket took a simple application of Pecards Leather Dressing rather well, and looks much better for it. It doesn't leave any greasy remnants either.

N.

Good to know. In 50 years I will be one cool looking grandpa, in my refreshed areo 30's halfbelt. This jacket will be the true reason why I stay in shape, and super tough (to match the hide) my entire life.

 

[OneEyeMan]

Alrighty then!
I'll pick up a can of Pecards.....in 20 years!
Thanks all for the input.
Lenny

 

[OneEyeMan]

OK, I did a little more research.
Which Pecard's product do you all use on your Horse Hide?
The ones I looked at on their site state that they are good for all "oil tanned" leathers.
Aero's site states that their leathers are "chrome tanned"
Can anyone explain this to me?
Lenny

 

[jaxx]

oil tanned is where the tanner applies a certain type of oil such as neats foot then tans the leather. this creates a soft pliable leather. this is mainly used on steer, goat, and other leathers that the end product needs to be softer and pliable. now don't get mistaken for the aero vintage. oil tanned and veggie tanned help protect from sun bleaching but these kinds of leathers must be treated so they don't dry out. that is where neats foot and pecards comes in handy more than chrome tanned.
chrome tanned is where the tanner uses only chromium salts or a combo or chromium salts with a small amount of other tanning agent such as a animal oil or a veg oil. chrome tanned is some serious business and makes a hardy leather that will hold its character for a very long time before it needs to be treated with a oil or conditioner.
both of the tanning methods are to improve the leather. they seal the pores and make them hold there condition.
veg and oil tanned is the traditional method where chrome tanned is a newer method thats work extremly well for horse hide. since it is already naturally waterproof.
back in the day tanning was done so the heat and the sun could not wear out the leather. they did it to protect the leather and to make it stronger.

hope this helps and if you need any more info let me know

also if you are ever curious. go to a local hardware store or tanner and buy a piece of untreated leather. just a strip. go home and put neats foot oil or a veg oil on it and sit it out in the sun for a few days. only do one side. after a few days looks the difference. the one side will be soft and pliable while the other will feel rough and hard. then dip the leather in water and see what happens. the tanned side will bead and run off and the untanned side will soak and absorb the water. now imagine a horse holding a saddle that has absorbed all of its sweat. how much heavier would that be? its a cool little experiment that helps you understand what leather goes through and the process.

 

[Peacoat]

Hopefully the saddle won't absorb much, if any, of the horse's sweat. On an English saddle, and I assume a western saddle as well, the parts of the saddle that contact the horse are specially treated to be water resistant. In fact there is a sweat flap, made of a heavy stiff leather, that goes under the skirt of the saddle to protect against sweat. The pad (under the seat of the saddle) is much softer, but is also fairly water resistant.

After riding for several hours, with my horse sweating profusely, I can tell no appreciable difference in the weight of the saddle when I take if off his back than I could when I put it on. Leather jackets could be treated this way as well, but the leather would lose much of its ability to breathe. We might as well be wearing vinyl.

But your point is well taken that untreated leather, even though it has been tanned, will absorb lots of water.

 

[jaxx]

haha i meant thats how the cowboys figured out why they had to tann there leather. not nowadays. i have 6 saddles all martins and bates. my wife has 4 bates. i also bought a saddle untreated to treat it myself. i meant that back in the old days there saddles werent untreated and alot of the cowboys had to do it themselves.

 

[Tommer45]

I know this thread is a month old but I wanted to add my two cents.. well, more like one cent. I used Obenaufs for a couple of years on my carpenter's tool belt and work boots, and the stuff worked great but I hated the stink of it. Since then I've been using Montana Pitch Blend and I'm completely happy with it. I've also tried Pecards just for the fact that it's talked about so highly on every leather forum out there but I've been sticking with the Montana Pitch Blend.. it's good stuff.

Tommer

 

[Johnnynotoes]

Pecards

Hello Folks...Just have to tack a wee question up here. So many opines, so many products! I've decided to try the Pecards antique dressing. Any Canuck members know where it might be had in Ontario? SW Ontario in partic. Thanks! JNT

 

[Peacoat]

If you don't find it locally, this is the site where you can order it. It is in Green Bay, WI

http://www.pecard.com/

 

[laz]

There are so many types of Pecards products.
Can someone please point the way to the best for chrome tanned HH
from Aero.
Thanx, laz

 

[ukali1066]

I have a 1970's era horsehide bomber...I got it secondhand for a silly cheap price, no damage to the leather at all...just a little dryness to the feel of it...after two coats of Pecards antique leather care about a year apart it looks great and feels more supple.

I wouldn't treat anything bought new though...

 

[johnnyjohnny]

somebody help me...horse and water

i've gotten my new eastman luftwaffe in horse, and was real happy, even about walking in the rain as everyone here on the forum loves trashing their jackets to make them 'better'

but then that nasty peacoat scared the beejesus out of me about his leather jackets shrinking in light rain...

from this thread i get it that horse is naturally H20 proof...so i'd like to know, even from you peacoat, if i have to worry about water shrinkage on this vegetable tanned 3 oz horsehide jacket...the size is perfect right now, and i'd hate to think horrors could happen

and, to that end, if it is shrinkable, is there something such as conditioner, or (gasp) water resistance spray (i'm guessing not) that can be used to stop potential H20 shrinkage if someone in a spitfire pulls me out of my messerschmitt and makes me stand in the rain?

danke