A couple of sword knots I own are rather dry and as a result, beginning to crack. Would anyone reccommend a leather treatment to soften them up? Can someone reccommend a particular brand that will have minimal impact to the sword after the knot is reattached.

Thanks and regards,

Here's a link to a discussion we had about leather treatments.

Leather Softeners

Leather is a tricky problem. Most folks tend to find a method that works well for them and use it.

Several scholarly texts have been written on leather preservation techniques and the concensus of museum people seems to be leave it alone if possible. One product that seems to be used by curators is British Museum Leather Dressing. Another is microcrystaline wax. Microcrystaline wax is actually the same thing as clear Kiwi shoe polish. This seems to work best on leather in good condition and not dried out leather.

I use three products. Clear Kiwi shoe polish (wax) for good leather. Meltonian shoe cream for slightly-dry leather. Lexol (Neg P-h) for problematic dry leather. Mostly, I try to leave leather alone and I never put anything on buff leather.

I have had bad results with grease (of any type), saddle soap, Neats foot oil, and several others that have ruined leather. One thing you have to take into account with a Portepee is that whatever you put on the leather will also affect the cloth, cellon, or wire negatively. It is best to do as little as possible to leather straps with wire or cloth stitching, in my experience.

I hope this is helpful.

Most of the period leather that has become dry and stiff has also been infected by the dryrot. That is a fungus that attacks the internal matrix of the leather. Once the dryrot is entrenched in the leather there is no kind of treatment to reverse the damage. However, protective coating such as shoepolish can protect leather against the dryrot and extend the life of the leather.

Use this! It is the best on the market! I use it on ALL my daggers and it works great, but it's not cheap.

http://www.leatherique.com/

As I have mentioned in other discussions, try "Curator's Choice" wax from The American Historical Foundation, in Richmond, VA. Its good on a lot of things including, leather & blued or plated finishes and gold. It has a non-abrasive formula.

Overall i've had decent results with Pecards, specifically Pecards Antique leather oint. I've also used various wax products with mixed results. It may be time to expand and experiment with other products. As been discussed, once the rot begins, it signals the beginning of the end. Seemingly if a piece can be treated prior to the onset of the rot, the moistend and treated leather seems to stathe the rot off.