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Insightdriver wrote:
No problem, Dave,

Like many other topics, there is a bunch of lore and religion involved in what is the right or best or correct way of taking care of a Brooks B-17. For what it's worth, I am a leather worker part time as a hobbyist and what I do works for me. It may not be PC, but in my experience there is nothing wrong with it. It might be pointed out that a lot depends on the environment. I live in the Sacramento valley where it is hot and low-humidity for most of the year. Any kind of leather left outside will dry out.

For the record, Proofide contains a mixture of tallow,cod oil,vegetable oil,paraffin, beeswax and citronella oil. I doubt any piece of leather would react differently to neatsfoot oil versus the mixture you buy from Brooks.

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I understand what you are trying to achieve. I've been around leather saddles, horse, motorcycle and bicycle, for more than 50 years and will state categorically that Neatsfoot oil, when used on leather subject to constant and relatively high pressures, will allow the leather to stretch.

Again, on Brooks saddles the leather is 'suspended' between two points forming a "hammock". Leather that is softer will stretch sooner than leather that is not soft (the way Brooks uses leather). Neatsfoot oil exacerbates this stretching. From David Morgan's Care of Fine Leather: "Neatsfoot oil compounds, long recognized for damage to sewing, also weaken and blacken the leather."

From Wikipedia: "Neatsfoot oil is a yellow oil rendered and purified from the feet and shin bones (not the hooves) of cattle. It is used as a conditioning, softening and preservative for leather,...." (bold emphasis mine).

Neatsfoot oils are used to keep leathers from drying out and to keep the leather supple. This last quality is very good for leather that is not subjected to long and repeated stresses or that have a foundation such as horse or motorcycle saddles. Brooks and other bicycle saddles are subjected to long and repeated stresses are are not constructed with any kind of foundations.

I don't consider Brooks 100 years of experience of making and maintaining saddles a religion, I consider their advice eminently practical.

Spokane is often equally hot and dry as Sacramento as we are considered high desert. My saddles aren't dried out.

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Steel lover, but then I like Ti with carbon too.
Licensed bike geek.

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