How to prevent sporran wear?

[Kilted KT]

thanks for all the ideas...I'll have to try them and see what happens!

thanks!

[James]

All leather will dry out, lose colour and crack unless cleaned.

So belts/sporrans etc must be cleaned on a regular basis.

A decent shoe polish of the right colour will do the trick, and will no more damage your kilt or anything else than cleaned shoes will stain the cuffs of trousers.

I do this with kilt belts and sporrans and have never yet had a problem.

James

[Hamish]

All leather will dry out, lose colour and crack unless cleaned.

So belts/sporrans etc must be cleaned on a regular basis.

A decent shoe polish of the right colour will do the trick, and will no more damage your kilt or anything else than cleaned shoes will stain the cuffs of trousers.

I do this with kilt belts and sporrans and have never yet had a problem.

James

Well said, James. That is precisely what I do. About once a month I have a jolly good session with the black and brown shoe polishes and treat all my belts and sporrans - much as I do with my shoes and boots, but they're done weekly!

[KiltedKnight]

Find a leather supplier, get a small bottle of leather dye and re-dye the entire sporran or whatever is plain leather. Then get some saddle soap and rub it into the worn area a few times over a couple of days. Once that's set in, rub out EVERYTHING that you've dyed with a good clean cloth and rub it hard. Then BRUSH on regular shoe polish and let the wax polish dry and harden before you buff it, wax polish it again and brush it once it's completely dry and then rub it down with a clean cloth. It won't transfer any dye or polish to your tartan. I do this all the time.

Chris.

[Southern Breeze]

Great advice from everyone. I'll have to remember this for when mine start to show wear.

[James]

There must be a problem if Hamish and I agree-no fun left in life.

But as Hamish says-do not wait for a problem-for once leather cracks-it stays cracked, and even the best will if uncared for.

Regular cleaning with a good polish is all that is needed-and it looks better with time.

As for staining the kilt-if cleaned well with polish-it will not*. But that does mean you polish it, not just put the stuff on and leave it.

1 A good coating of polish.

2 Leave for about twenty minutes.

3 A good brisk brushing to a nice shine.

4 Finish with a used yellow duster [a new one scratches]

Repeat that over the years and you'll have a lovely lustre.

*The above method was used by me for years in the military-Sam Browne-sword frog, leather day scabbard for sword, wellingtons: all in contact with uniform-be it blues or service dress/overalls-and never once did I have polish on the cloth of my uniform.

James