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This is a badge bit (BB) that is part of the PEP curriculum.  Completing this BB is part of getting the Straw Badge in Textiles.

Leather is skin. When it's alive, it receives nourishment in the form of natural oils from the body. Leather products no longer receive that nourishment and are therefore prone to drying out and eventually cracking. Good leather maintenance and conditioning will give a very long life to your leather gloves or mittens.

For this BB, you will perform full maintenance on leather gloves or mittens using natural products.
 - inspect for areas that need pre-repair to prevent needing full repair
 - clean the leather
 - waterproof or condition

Related Articles:
How to Clean Leather Gloves
Cleaning leather gloves
How to make leather softeners

Related Videos:

Care Guide for Leather Gloves & Mittens


Additional Information:
  - the kind of leather and the technique used for maintenance
  - inspect areas that need pre-repair to prevent needing full repair
  - describe and repair the  issue
  - clean leather
  - waterproof or condition technique

To complete this BB, the minimum requirements are:
- Cleaning a pair of leather gloves or mittens.
- Conditioning and/or waterproofing them.

To document your completion of the BB, provide proof of the following as pictures or a video (less than two minutes):
- describe the kind of leather and the techniques used for maintenance.
- Show your gloves or mittens before performing maintenance.
- Describe and repair the  issue
- Show cleaning the item.
- Show conditioning and/or waterproofing.
- Show your properly cleaned and conditioned gloves or mittens.
COMMENTS:
 
steward
Posts: 21553
Location: Pacific Northwest
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My leather gloves were in seriously sad shape. They were so dirt encrusted that I couldn't even get my fingers in.

crusty pink work gloves
They are stuck in that shape! And bits of woodchips and bark are stuck to them


I didn't have any saddle soap, so I made my own with:

  • organic laundry soap made from coconut oil and lemon extract
  • neetsfoot oil
  • lanolin
  • beeswax


  • I loosely followed this recipe at grit.com:

    saddle soap ingredients arranged to be melted together


    saddle soap ingredients all nicely melted!


    It took a LOT of scrubbing to get these clean. Once they were cleaned, I let them dry out for a few days, and then got ready to oil them. I oiled them with some salve (beeswax+coconut oil) that I'd already mixed together, along with some lanolin.

    work gloves ready to get oiled
    ready to get oiled


    They took a LOT of salve+lanolin. Since they were suede, there was no real way to wipe the oil of. So I just let that oil soak in really good, and wore the gloves. My hands took the excess oil, and the gloves are now nice and supple and wonderful to use in the garden!

    Lovely supple gloves that have been rehabilitated and are ready for use!
    Staff note (gir bot) :

    jordan barton approved this submission.

     
    pollinator
    Posts: 259
    Location: New Zealand
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    I bought this lovely pair of vintage pigskin leather gloves as they fit me perfectly. They were a bit dry with age, however, and needed some TLC before being worn out in the elements as my new cycling gloves. All the stitching is still in perfect shape--I don't think they saw much use.

    I cleaned them off with a damp rag, dried them completely, and then conditioned with a paste of beeswax and grapeseed oil, which I use to recondition and waterproof leather articles. They are much more supple now, and mould to my hand rather than maintain the creases from storage.
    mb-bb-textiles-straw-maintenance-gloves-1.JPG
    The vintage gloves; cleaning them off; applying the paste
    The vintage gloves; cleaning them off; applying the paste
    mb-bb-textiles-straw-maintenance-gloves-2.JPG
    Reconditioned gloves!
    Reconditioned gloves!
    Staff note (gir bot) :

    Nicole Alderman approved this submission.
    Note: I hereby certify that this badge bit is complete!

     
    Nicole Alderman
    steward
    Posts: 21553
    Location: Pacific Northwest
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    hugelkultur kids cat duck forest garden foraging fiber arts sheep wood heat homestead
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    I just noticed you had a LOT of air badges, so I went to your BB Profile Page and counted them up. You have 30 completed ones! I awarded you your BB20 badge
     
    pollinator
    Posts: 72
    Location: Spain
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    These gloves were a gift, the brand is Laimsböck, and if I understand it correctly they use nappa leather, and I remember being told these are lamb.
    I do not possess the knowledge to check though...  The lining is 70 % wool and 30 % coton.

    Until a few winters ago, back when I lived in the city, I wore these gloves every winter, I'd say for at least 8 winters in a row. I never cleaned, conditioned or waterproofed them. I admit that I just didn't know. Now that I am learning to take care of myself and my stuff and my surroundings, it was high time to give these fancy gloves some well deserved TLC!

    - Inspected the gloves for damage, none was found!
    - Wiped the gloves with a sponge and a little water, just enough water to see and feel that cleaning is happening.
    - Let the gloves dry out completely, without putting them too close to a heat source.
    - After 24 hours (they were completely dry by then), I put on 1 glove, and waited a few minutes so it'd warm up from my body temperature.
    - Gently massaged them with coconut oil. Wearing them (and thus being a little warmer) helped a lot with spreading the oil.
    - I obviously did the other glove too.
    - After 24 hours, I checked the gloves again to see if all the dryness was gone. If not, I would have added some more coconut oil. It was not necessary in this case.

    Done!
    FullLeatherMaintenanceGlovesMittens_01_thirsty-gloves.jpg
    [Thumbnail for FullLeatherMaintenanceGlovesMittens_01_thirsty-gloves.jpg]
    FullLeatherMaintenanceGlovesMittens_02_water-wipe.jpg
    [Thumbnail for FullLeatherMaintenanceGlovesMittens_02_water-wipe.jpg]
    FullLeatherMaintenanceGlovesMittens_03_coco-wipe.jpg
    Put my phone on top of the thermos flask so I could take the action picture pushing the button with my nose. From now on, I'll be carrying the flask around when doing BBs!
    Put my phone on top of the thermos flask so I could take the action picture pushing the button with my nose. From now on, I'll be carrying the flask around when doing BBs!
    FullLeatherMaintenanceGlovesMittens_04_comparison.jpg
    A photo to show the difference between an unconditioned glove (left) and a conditioned glove (right).
    A photo to show the difference between an unconditioned glove (left) and a conditioned glove (right).
    FullLeatherMaintenanceGlovesMittens_05_done.jpg
    [Thumbnail for FullLeatherMaintenanceGlovesMittens_05_done.jpg]
    Staff note (gir bot) :

    Mike Barkley approved this submission.

     
    Posts: 123
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    I started winter maintenance on my ball gloves. I chose a left and a right to be pictured. I do saddle soap in the winter and mink oil in the spring depending on use. The brown one was actually my great uncles and I didn't realize how poor of condition it had got. The laces on it are looking worn, but I'll replace those the next season it gets used ( I don't want the fresh tough laces pulling it out of shape in the box.) The black one was pretty much fine, it just needed a wipe down before being put up.
    IMG_20241029_133555475.jpg
    Both gloves and soap
    Both gloves and soap
    IMG_20241029_135306303.jpg
    Inside before
    Inside before
    IMG_20241029_133620445.jpg
    Scrubbing
    Scrubbing
    IMG_20241029_140943975.jpg
    Scrubbing the black one
    Scrubbing the black one
    IMG_20241029_141309680.jpg
    Both done and ready to rest
    Both done and ready to rest
    IMG_20241029_141330340.jpg
    Outside brown one
    Outside brown one
    IMG_20241029_141325172_MP.jpg
    Inside brown one
    Inside brown one
    Staff note (gir bot) :

    Someone approved this submission.

     
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