Q about leather care - letter from Wade Egan!

[TreacleMiner]

I came home today to find a box waiting for me. Indy stuff!

The return address was a certain "Wade Egan" so I thought Aha! My Raiders bag strap is here! I opened the box and sitting on top was this letter:

Mr. Brennan

Here is your order from Magnoli Clothiers for the Raiders of the Lost Ark Gun Belt, and your order from me (Wade Egan) the Raiders Bag Strap std.

I figured you probably didn't realize that I supply Mr. Magnoli with his leather gear, so I took the liberty of combining the orders and including a KOTCS whip holder as a bonus gift for you.

I hope the gear works well for you, and don't hesitate if you have any gear needs in the future. Magnoli and I will be there.

Best,
Wade Egan

Wow! That is a level of service you rarely see these days - and a free whip holder to boot! Thank you very much Wade, I really appreciated the extra attention.


On a related note, I now have a leather jacket (Wested) and these leather belts (I'll try to get some pics posted some day but we're expecting the imminent birth of our first child so it's low on the things-I-need-to-do list) and I noticed the belt and strap were a bit stiff or "crinkly", but I'm not sure if this is expected. I've seen Pecard's products being mentioned but I'm not sure what kind of care needs to be done at this point.

Also, I haven't found any Pecard's in any of the stores around my house, but I have found Kiwi products. Is anyone familiar with these? Is it a safe substitute for Pecard's?

Thanks for the help!

[Wade Egan]

You are most welcome!

When you receive leather gear from me it will most likely be a bit stiff as the leather is new. I merely dye and treat it to look like it has been around a while. First and best thing you can do to get some of the initial stiffness out is to bend the strap/belt over itself between your hands along the length of the strap. This will break in the top 'stiff' layer where the dye has soaked in and hardened. Once you've done this, you can use either neatsfoot oil (like for your old baseball glove) or the Pecard's. Best possible thing you can do though is get out there and just start wearing the stuff. Natural motion, air, sun, sweat, moisture, etc. all play a part in how a leather piece breaks in and eventually ages.

Hope this helps.



W.E.

[TreacleMiner]

Thanks Michael.

I guess my biggest concern is that there is some preventative leather care that I should be doing right now that I'm not aware of. I've never owned leather clothing before and I'd hate to find myself a year from now, kicking myself because I didn't <blank>.

But I think I'm worrying too much...

[Hollowpond]

Wade is mos' definately the Man!

Travis

[Dragonlady Jones]

Thanks Michael.

I guess my biggest concern is that there is some preventative leather care that I should be doing right now that I'm not aware of. I've never owned leather clothing before and I'd hate to find myself a year from now, kicking myself because I didn't <blank>.

But I think I'm worrying too much...

A nice light coat of Pecard's occasionally, maybe once every six months- starting from day one, has worked great for me!

[TreacleMiner]

Ok, I've got an 8' whip from David Morgan on the way, due sometime in late October, which includes a 6 oz. tub of Pecard's. Maybe I'll order another larger tub to keep around the house, for the jacket.

[Risu]

Wade's customer service is pretty much the best around.

As for the Pecards, I bought the small can (4 oz. I think) about 2 years ago. I treated my belt once, my strap once, the jacket 3 times, and my boots more times than I can count (modern Aldens, they don't hold up all that well as some others can attest to) and I still have at least 3 oz. of the stuff left. I can't imagine needing a larger can.