Leather Care Guide
Every piece we make is cut from a natural hide and finished by hand, which means it will change with use. Cared for properly, a saddle-stitched leather piece outlives the person who bought it. Here is what we tell every customer who asks.
The habits that matter most
- Rotate. Leather needs time to dry out between uses. Alternating between two wallets roughly doubles the life of both.
- Empty it. Overstuffing a card holder stretches the stitch line permanently. Carry what you use.
- Keep it off hot surfaces. A car dashboard in summer will dry and crack exotic scales faster than years of normal wear.
- Handle with clean hands. Hand cream, sunscreen and perfume all stain untreated leather, and light colours show it first.
Routine cleaning
Wipe the piece down with a dry, soft cloth once a week. For a deeper clean, dampen the cloth very lightly with water, wipe in the direction of the grain, and let it air dry away from direct sunlight and radiators. Never soak the leather, and never use alcohol, solvents, baby wipes or household cleaners on it.
On exotic hides, work along the scales rather than against them. On alligator and lizard, a soft toothbrush lifts dust out of the seams between scales without scratching.
Conditioning, by leather type
- Alligator. Condition two or three times a year with a conditioner made for exotic skins. Apply a thin coat with a cloth, leave it 10 minutes, buff off the excess. Too much conditioner darkens the scales unevenly.
- Ostrich. Naturally rich in oils, so it needs less. Once or twice a year is enough. Buff around the quill follicles rather than pressing into them.
- Lizard. The thinnest of the exotics. Use conditioner sparingly and never lift the edge of a scale while buffing.
- Stingray. The calcified surface does not absorb conditioner. Clean it with a damp cloth and leave it be.
- Calfskin and full-grain cowhide. Condition every three to four months. These develop the richest patina of anything we work with.
If it gets wet
Blot the water off with a dry cloth straight away. Do not rub, do not use a hairdryer, and do not put the piece near a heater. Let it dry flat at room temperature, then condition it once it is fully dry to replace the oils the water pulled out. Stingray is the one exception here, it shrugs off water without help.
Storage
Store your piece in the dust bag it arrived in, somewhere cool, dry and out of direct light. Keep watch straps flat rather than coiled tight. Avoid sealed plastic bags, which trap moisture and invite mould in a humid climate.
Patina is not damage
Full-grain leather darkens and softens as it takes up oil from your hands. Corners round off. The surface picks up a low shine where it rubs against a pocket. None of this is wear in the sense of failure, it is the piece recording how you use it. The scars and grain variation already in an exotic hide are part of the same story, which is why no two of our pieces are identical.
Repairs
A saddle stitch does not unravel the way a machine stitch does, because each hole holds two independent threads. If a thread does break, or an edge needs re-burnishing after years of carry, write to us at vuonghuu2593@gmail.com and we will tell you what can be done.
Explore the leathers
Not sure which hide suits how you carry? Read our exotic leather guide, or browse alligator wallets, stingray wallets, lizard wallets and full-grain wallets.