Leather Care
How your leather will age
Every piece I make is cut from full-grain vegetable-tanned leather. It's the oldest way of tanning hide, it takes months, and it produces leather that behaves like a living material rather than a finished product.
That means your piece will change. This is the part worth understanding before it happens.
The first few weeks
New veg-tan looks its most fragile. It picks up small scratches and scuffs easily, and the surface can feel a little stiff. This alarms people, and I understand why — it looks like damage.
It isn't. Those early marks are the beginning of patina. As the leather absorbs oils from your skin and light from the room, it darkens, softens, and the scratches settle into the surface rather than sitting on top of it. Within a month or two the piece looks richer than the day it arrived. Within a year it looks like yours and nobody else's.
Lighter colors show this most dramatically. Natural starts almost pale and can deepen to a warm honey. Rustic finishes have more visible grain and pull-up from the start. Darker colors change more subtly, but they still change.
Everyday wear
- Wear it. Leather that gets handled ages better than leather in a drawer.
- Store it somewhere dry and out of direct sun. Prolonged sunlight darkens unevenly.
- Keep it away from lotions, perfumes and hand sanitizer, which can leave marks that don't blend in.
- Don't leave it near heat — a radiator, a car dashboard, a hot windowsill.
If it gets wet
A splash is fine. Pat it dry with a soft cloth and let it air dry at room temperature, away from any heat source. Drying leather quickly is what makes it stiff and brittle.
Water may leave a spot as it dries. On veg-tan these usually blend away with wear as the surrounding leather catches up. Natural and the lighter tans show spotting most, so they're worth keeping out of the rain.
What to avoid: soaking, the washing machine, and any household cleaner or soap.
Conditioning
Most pieces don't need conditioning for the first year. When the leather starts to feel dry, or you want to deepen the color, a light conditioning brings it back.
I use and stock Smith's Leather Balm — three ingredients, made by hand in Maine, and safe enough to apply with your fingers.
- Start with clean, dry leather.
- Test a small amount somewhere hidden first.
- Use very little. A little goes a long way.
- Massage it in by hand, or with a clean cloth.
- Let it absorb, then buff with a soft rag — the beeswax sits on the surface and needs buffing to seal.
The leather may darken at first. It usually returns close to its original shade within a day. If you'd rather it didn't darken at all, use less.
Engraving
Engraved lettering is burned into the leather rather than printed on it, so it doesn't wear off. It darkens alongside the surrounding leather as the piece ages, and on lighter colors the contrast softens over time. Nothing needs doing to protect it.
Repairs and resizing
If something breaks, or a piece needs resizing, write to me. I made it, so I can usually fix it.
Abbey
Owner and Maker, Maple Leathercraft