Hi Gang,
Looks like a very informative forum......I'm hoping to learn a lot. My current project is a leather watch strap from the early 1900's. My problem is it's hard as a rock. I mean so hard that if I try to bend it I'm sure it will snap and break off. I collect early American watches from the turn of the century and keep running into original leather straps that have dried out and were never taken care of. They're usually intact and would be perfectly wearable if the leather wasn't as hard as cardboard. I've done the usual, checked out other leather care sites for tips and tried most of them. I'm talking coconut oil, alchohol, vaseline, heat, etc. I've had the watchstrap sitting in a bottle of linnseed oil for the past 2 weeks, took it out this morning, and don't see much of a change. I mean I can bend it a little, but wouldn't go much further for fear of it cracking and breaking. I'm thinking next I'll oil the leather up real good and put it in a book press I have, maybe forcing the oil into the leather. But I'm just pulling that one out of my butt for lack of other smarter ideas. Normally when the leather is pliable I can remove the strap from the watch, but in this case it's so hard I can't slide the leather enough (at all) to clear the rivet that holds each side of the strap to the watch.
It seems the leather has lost any ability to absorb anything, and I understand there may be a point at which leather can't be saved, so I'm ready to hear that if that's the case as well. So any info you could share about how to soften REALLY hard, very thin leather would be greatly appreciated. Even if this one can't be saved I have others in various states of hardness and maybe the tips you provide might work on some of those. I'll attach a few pics so you can see what I'm talking about. The shininess is from the residual Linnseed oil, as normally the leather is just a flat dull brown. Thanks in advance!
regards,
bob