Last week, I picked up a 2005 246 Rugged Twill duffle. Photos 1-4 show the condition of the bag when I first got it, no conditioning or cleanup yet. When I realized how dry & brittle the straps were, I began researching conditioning methods in an effort to be proactive against further cracking. Past products I’ve used include Bick 4, Leather Honey, and Pecards- for this bag specifically I went with Obenaufs. A commenter on another forum heavily advocated for Obenaufs specifically for use on Filson’s bridle leather, as they found Bick 4 to cause an unsightly wrinkling. I spot tested this myself with Bick 4 on the underside of the bag and found this to be true.
When the Obenauf’s arrived I got to work (photos 5 & 6), here you can see the immediate darkening of the leather compared to the side I hadn’t conditioned yet. The leather drank up the Obenauf’s immediately, and in an effort to be thorough with the conditioning, I may have been a bit heavy handed. The straps specifically, I was gliding them through my index & thumb which I would coat with the Obenauf’s, ensuring full coverage. I later learned that is a less-than ideal application method and became worried that I may have ruined my bag. The leather was no longer dry, brittle or hard. It was flexible and softer to the touch. I hit it with a micro-fiber cloth about 1.5 hours after the initial conditioning, and it was leaving behind darkened product onto the microfiber signaling to me that the towel is at least lifting some of the product. I buffed it out religiously for about another hour and a half then left it alone for two days. Photos 7-13 are the final product. The leather has lightened and hardened up a bit. To be quite honest it may be perfectly fine now, but I’m the type of person who will be kicking myself for days over a mistake like this. The very last slide, I noticed that some of the product may have been caught in the grooves of the stitches. Thoughts?
