# Leather conditioner recommendation



## DraftyAiresMum (Jun 1, 2011)

Any time there is a thread asking about what to use to condition an older, dirty, or stiff piece of tack, I always recommend Skidmore's leather conditioner. Skidmore's Fine Beeswax Products for Wood and Leather 

I was turned onto this stuff by my local tack shop guy. It's all he uses on the pieces he makes and on any saddle or other piece of tack that he works on. I've used it on my Aussie saddle (the flaps were stiff from sweat), my icky made-in-India bridle, and various saddles and pieces of tack; all with amazing results.

The best example I can show visually, though, is an old handmade kid's saddle that we bought for my mom to display in her park. I found the saddle on Craigslist and thought it would be perfect because it looked to be in pretty rough shape. After my dad picked it up and brought it by my work to show it to me, I suggested that I take it home and clean it up a little, just so it would look a little nicer when we gave it to my mom. So, I took it home and, the next morning while watching TV, I went to work on it. Below is a progression of cleaning the saddle (excuse the poor lighting in some of them...our house is like a miniature black hole with dismal lighting).

Before I started:



After wiping it twice with a clean, hot damp cloth:



After saddle soaping it...twice...with steaming hot water:



The bucket of water after the first soaping :shock:


Finished product after just ONE application of Skidmore's:



Maker's mark on one of the fenders...you couldn't even see it before I cleaned the saddle up:



Once I realized what a gem we had, I did a more thorough conditioning of it with Skidmore's, but forgot to take pictures. I'll try to get some the next time I'm at my parents' house. Because the saddle turned out so nicely, my parents' refused to put it out in the park. I ended up giving them a saddle I bought that ended up having a broken tree to display in the park. We're still in disagreement over who gets to display this cute little 12" slick seat in their house. :lol:

Anyway, I recommend Skidmore's leather conditioner hand's down over anything else for conditioning leather. It also works well on wood. It brought the luster back to my grandma's maple china cabinet that she left me when she passed away better than any furniture polish I've used on it in the past 12 years (since she passed).


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## DraftyAiresMum (Jun 1, 2011)

Forgot to mention that we paid $25 for the saddle in the pics! :shock: Best $25 we've spent in a long while!


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## jaydee (May 10, 2012)

Interesting - always useful to have tips like that
I use an old product called Ko-Cao-Line and was pleased that I could buy it in the US but it does tend to leave light coloured breeches a bit pink tinged


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## Zexious (Aug 2, 2013)

Wow, looks solid!

I forget the name of the stuff that I use... I think it's called Leather CPR. I love it, whatever it is.


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## trailhorserider (Oct 13, 2009)

Skidmore's and Leather Therapy are my favorites! 

But I am cheap so I usually just end up using good ol' pure neatsfoot oil. A gallon lasts me like 10 years. :lol:


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