Leather Care
***A Note on This Guide***
Leather isn’t one-size-fits-all. Different tannages, finishes, and treatments can respond differently to wear, moisture, and care, and what works well for one may not be right for another. The notes below aren’t a general guide for every type of leather—they’re based on the hides and materials I currently use and are written specifically for The Wolf and The Dog Leather Co. products.
As my material selection changes, I’ll keep this page updated so the care information stays relevant to the pieces coming off my workbench and, ultimately, the one in your hands.
The Best Care Is Usually Less Care
The leathers I use at The Wolf and The Dog Leather Co. are selected because they're meant to be carried. They're made to be handled, bent, scratched, exposed to the oils in your hands and allowed to change with time.
So before getting into cleaning, conditioning and what to do if your leather gets wet, here's the most important piece of advice I can give you:
If your leather looks good, feels good and isn't dry, leave it alone.
You do not need to condition a new piece from The Wolf and The Dog Leather Co. You don't need to put it on an arbitrary three-month or six-month maintenance schedule. And you definitely don't need to keep trying to make it look exactly the way it did when it left my bench.
Carry it.
Let the leather do what good leather does.
The Leathers I Use
Not all leather is the same, which is why I don't believe in giving every piece the same care instructions.
At The Wolf and The Dog Leather Co., I currently build with four primary leathers:
Seidel Crazy Horse — full-grain, chrome-tanned pull-up leather made in the USA.
Wickett & Craig English Bridle — full-grain, vegetable-tanned leather that is drum-dyed, fat-liquored and hot-stuffed with waxes and tallows.
Horween Dublin — full-grain vegetable-tanned leather from Horween's Essex family. Dublin is the waxed version of Essex and is characterized by a high oil content.
Conceria La Bretagna Cowboy — full-grain Italian vegetable-tanned leather that is hot-stuffed, well-greased, waxy and 100% aniline, with an aggressive pull-up.
These are different tannages with different characteristics, but none of them arrive at my bench as dry pieces of leather waiting to be saturated with conditioner.
That's important when it comes to caring for them.
Seidel Crazy Horse
My chrome-tanned goods are made from full-grain Seidel Crazy Horse.
Despite the name, Crazy Horse isn't horsehide. It's cowhide. Seidel's Crazy Horse is a chrome-tanned pull-up leather.
That pull-up is responsible for much of the variation you'll see as the leather bends and moves. A fold can reveal a lighter shade. Scratches and scuffs can appear lighter against the surrounding leather. Areas that receive constant handling will gradually change in appearance.
That's not a defect.
That's the leather.
Everyday Care
For normal use:
Do nothing.
If the leather gets dusty or picks up some surface dirt, start with a clean, soft, dry cloth.
If that's not enough, use a clean cloth very lightly dampened with water. Wipe gently rather than scrubbing the surface, then allow the leather to dry naturally.
With pull-up leather, many light scratches can be diminished simply by gently rubbing the area with a finger or soft cloth. The rubbing can help redistribute oils within the leather and soften the appearance of the mark.
You also don't have to remove them.
Leave the scratch there and let the next hundred scratches join it.
That's part of how the piece becomes yours.
Conditioning
Do not condition Seidel Crazy Horse simply because a certain amount of time has passed.
Condition it because the leather actually needs it.
If, after substantial use, the leather begins to feel noticeably dry or stiff instead of supple, a very small amount of a neutral conditioner intended for full-grain leather may be appropriate.
Always test it somewhere inconspicuous first.
Conditioners can darken leather, change its sheen and alter the pull-up that gives Crazy Horse much of its character.
Start with less than you think you need.
Wickett & Craig English Bridle
Wickett & Craig English Bridle is a completely different tannage.
After vegetable tanning, Wickett & Craig drum-dyes its leather and fat-liquors it with conditioning oils and waxes. English Bridle is then hot-stuffed with additional waxes and tallows before receiving its final finish.
In other words, when this leather leaves the tannery, it has already been thoroughly nourished.
It's not starving for conditioner.
Everyday Care
The first choice is once again simple:
Leave it alone and carry it.
For ordinary surface dust, use a clean, soft cloth or a soft horsehair brush.
If necessary, a lightly dampened cloth can be used for ordinary surface dirt. Don't saturate the leather, and allow it to dry naturally afterward.
You may occasionally notice waxes appearing at the surface of heavily stuffed leather. A soft cloth or horsehair brush can be used to gently buff the surface.
Conditioning
New English Bridle goods from The Wolf and The Dog Leather Co. generally do not need to be conditioned.
With normal use, your piece may go a very long time before it needs additional conditioning at all.
If the leather eventually becomes genuinely dry, you can use a very small amount of a mild, neutral conditioner suitable for vegetable-tanned leather.
Apply it sparingly and test it first.
Conditioning can darken leather and alter its appearance.
More isn't better.
Horween Dublin
Horween Dublin is one of my favorite examples of leather that should simply be allowed to do its thing.
Dublin begins with Horween's Essex tannage, a full-grain vegetable-tanned leather that uses the same traditional tanning extracts Horween uses for its Genuine Shell Cordovan.
Dublin is the waxed version of Essex.
Horween describes the Essex family as having a high oil content and specifically notes its ability to age beautifully over time.
That's a big part of why I use it.
Everyday Care
Carry it.
Dublin will scratch. It will crease. It will develop highs and lows in color. Areas exposed to your hands and repeated friction will gradually polish and change.
None of that means something has gone wrong.
For ordinary cleaning, start with a clean, soft cloth or horsehair brush.
If necessary, use a very lightly dampened cloth and allow the leather to air dry naturally.
Conditioning
Fresh Dublin generally does not need conditioner.
If prolonged use eventually leaves the leather genuinely dry, a very small amount of a mild neutral leather cream can be used. Apply it sparingly.
That's the important word:
Sparingly.
Conditioning can deepen the color and alter the surface of the leather. Always test an inconspicuous area first and give the leather time to absorb what you've applied before deciding it needs anything more.
Conceria La Bretagna Cowboy
I use Conceria La Bretagna Cowboy for pockets in some of my vegetable-tanned builds.
Cowboy is an Italian vegetable-tanned leather, but it is far from a dry, naked hide.
It is full-grain, hot-stuffed, well-greased, waxy and 100% aniline, with an intentionally aggressive pull-up.
That means Cowboy is supposed to move and change.
And it's going to develop patina whether you help it or not.
Everyday Care
For the wallet pockets I build from Cowboy, the best maintenance is almost always normal use.
Your cards, fingers and everyday handling are already interacting with and polishing the leather.
For ordinary dust, use a clean, soft cloth.
If necessary, use a very lightly dampened cloth for surface dirt and allow the leather to dry naturally.
Don't aggressively scrub the surface trying to erase every mark.
Cowboy is a full-grain, aniline leather with an intentionally waxy, pull-up character. The variation is part of what makes the leather what it is.
Conditioning
Once again:
Condition the leather because it needs conditioning—not because the calendar says it's time.
Cowboy begins life as an already hot-stuffed and well-greased leather. Unnecessary conditioning can darken the leather and change the appearance of its waxy surface and pull-up.
If it eventually becomes genuinely dry, you can use a very small amount of a mild, neutral conditioner suitable for vegetable-tanned leather.
Test first.
Use very little.
Then give it time before deciding it needs more.
If Your Leather Gets Wet
Leather and water are eventually going to meet.
A few raindrops aren't an emergency.
If your piece from The Wolf and The Dog Leather Co. gets wet, gently blot away excess water with a clean, absorbent cloth, return it to its intended shape, and allow it to air dry naturally at room temperature. For a bifold, that means allowing it to dry folded as it would normally be carried.
Don't use a hair dryer.
Don't put it on a heater.
Don't leave it baking in direct sunlight.
And don't immediately reach for the conditioner just because the leather got wet.
Let it dry completely first.
Then feel it.
If the leather still feels supple and healthy after drying, leave it alone.
If the piece became thoroughly saturated and feels noticeably dry or stiff only after it has completely dried, that's when a very light application of an appropriate conditioner may make sense.
What Not to Do
Across goods from The Wolf and The Dog Leather Co., there are a few things I recommend avoiding:
Don't soak the leather.
Don't use household cleaners, alcohol, disinfecting wipes or solvents.
Don't use heat to speed up drying.
Don't aggressively scrub aniline or pull-up leather.
Don't repeatedly condition leather that doesn't need it.
Don't assume more oil means better-protected leather.
And be careful with any conditioner, oil, cream or wax if preserving the current color matters to you.
Full-grain, aniline and pull-up leathers can change appearance when products are applied to them.
When in doubt:
Use less. Test first. Or leave it alone.
Scratches, Scuffs & Patina
If you've read Built to Age, you already know where I stand on this
A scratch isn't automatically damage.
Neither is a darkened corner, a polished card slot, a crease, a color shift or a mark from your keys.
Damage compromises the leather or the construction.
Patina records use.
There's a difference.
Full-grain leather doesn't need to spend its life looking untouched to prove that it's being cared for.
Quite the opposite.
I want you to carry the piece I made.
Put it in your pocket. Throw it in your bag. Take it to work. Take it on the road. Let your hands polish it. Let the leather darken. Let it collect some scars.
Years from now, I don't want it to look like mine anymore.
I want it to look like yours.
When in Doubt, Leave It Alone
If there's one thing I want you to take from this entire page, it's this:
Good leather doesn't need constant intervention.
The leathers I choose are full-grain hides from tanneries that put an enormous amount of work into developing their character before they ever reach my bench.
I'm not interested in covering that character up.
And I don't think you should either.
Keep it reasonably clean. Keep it away from unnecessary chemicals. Let wet leather dry naturally. Condition it lightly when it actually becomes dry.
Otherwise?
Carry it.
I'll take care of building it.
You take care of giving it a life.