Leather Care

How to look after your leather

Over time and with use leather loses its natural oils which causes the leather to become dry and brittle, in bad cases ending up like the picture above. Leather, like your own skin, needs to be moisturised every now and again to prevent this drying out process. There are many leather balms on the market but in our experience the best ones tend to contain all natural ingredients, so it's worth checking what's in the balm you're purchasing. 

Here at Black Antler Designs we actually have our own formula and make balm ourselves. At the moment we are still running some tests with different ingredients to achieve the best shine, but we hope to make our BAD Balm available for you to purchase in future. 

 

 

Leather Bloom

What is leather bloom? You may notice, on a belt for example, that if you haven't worn it for a while a white layer sometimes forms on the surface. At first glance this white substance looks a little like mould. It is actually the leather's natural fats and oils coming to the surface and is nothing to worry about. When the leather arrives in my workshop from Sedgwick it looks the same. To restore the leather's glossy appearance you can just rub with a soft cloth or brush. The rubbing action will create heat which will soften the oils and they will return back into the surface of the leather.

Alternatively, just wear the item next to your body and your body heat will warm the oils which will cause them to return into the surface of the leather. 

The black piece of leather on the right shows bloom. It tends to be less obvious on lighter colours.