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My son got me a custom leather strap from elderadostraps.com with my initials on it. It's a beautiful piece of work but is stiff as a board. In the past for things like baseball gloves I have used mink oil to attempt to soften them but i'm guessing the oil residue would come off on my shirt.
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07-15-2022 07:27 AM
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"All El Dorado guitar straps are handcrafted in the traditional methods of fine saddle making. Only the highest grade veg-tanned saddle leather is utilized to assure strength, beauty and durability. With age and use the leather quickly "breaks-in" and becomes more supple, just like a top quality saddle or a fine pair of cowboy boots." This was copied from their website and it seems to suggest that you use the strap and let it conform to your individual application.
Originally Posted by jzucker
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Just apply the fluid (any sort, there are many alternatives) on the outside and be sure it gets absorbed completely - I guess it has some sort padding on the inside which is lined with much thinner leather which doesn't need softening. Well tanned and treated leather will last you a lifetime when you take care of it regularly !
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the inner portion (that goes against my shoulder) is particularly stiff Originally Posted by gitman
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molding to my shoulder isn't really the issue. The weight of the instrument pulls it down firm against my shoulder. I'm just looking for it to be softer. Originally Posted by Avery Roberts
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There is a phone number on the el dorado site, call them and ask. Would hate to see a present from a son damaged Originally Posted by jzucker
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i called and emailed them yesterday but haven't heard back. Originally Posted by JohanAbrandt
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This is what the manufacturer said:
The leather necessary to accept hand-tooling is vegetable-tanned harness weight leather which will, with time and use, become more pliable. I don’t recommend using any leather softeners or conditioners, as they will change the color of the leather and may stain your shirts. Instead, I suggest running the strap back and forth over a chair-back or a wooden broom-handle positioned horizontally. This will naturally break down the leather fibers and make the strap more pliable (this is what we do in the shop to pre-break in the leather straps).
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I use mink oil on my strap and so far it hasn't stained my shirts. It's not a fancy gift though. Just a DR branded leather strap from a free bin at guitar center.
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Jack, believe it or not that was exactly what I was gonna say.
Like at night when you are relaxing on the couch, grab the strap and break it in by holding one side with your left hand and the other side with your right and work it. Like create a "wave" kind of movement. Little by little, it will break in. I dont think any kind of softener oil or solution would do the trick. While that might make it softer, you just need it to be more pliable.
You gotta work the fibers so they stretch a bit.
I always wanted a nice strap. That one is cool because it came from your boy..
JD
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My suggestion: Roll the strap around a baseball bat or a broomstick or what ever. Then roll it again, reversing face. Repeat and repeat. The back and forth bending may help the breaking-in process.
No question, a good leather strap is "a good thing," as Martha sez.
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You could take a rubber mallet, meat tenderiser or a rolling pin and just work the underside of the leather strap where it drapes over your shoulder.
In my callow youth I used Dubbin on the outside of boots. Darkens the leather considerably though. You may not like the darkened leather look.
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In the good old days of bicycle racing, professionals used to hire journeymen to break in their new leather saddles by riding them hard for a bit. Brooks was a top leather saddle name then.
Maybe Jack could get some acolyte to wear the strap with a guitar for a bit to break it in for him. I can't believe there are no relic-ked straps already for that "broken in feel"! Goes with the territory of all the poseur relic-ked guitars. You can't be seen using a brandnew leather strap with your poseur relic-ked Masterbilt Strat or Les Paul that looks like you have had a hard life of playing many nights at dives.
Eldorado Leather owes me one for that: Relic-ked Leather Straps!
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As suggested above, I would just work the leather, rolling it back and forth. I don't think I would use a stick, just fold the strap on itself in all directions, repeatedly. Native American women used to soften bison hides by chewing them. I don't think I would go there.
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Yeah, what wouldnt people do to protect their balls? Originally Posted by Jabberwocky
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I just shove some soft material under the strap where it has contact with my shoulders. Before doing that, I had shoulder pain the whole day; now it's completely gone.
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I am going to suggest water. Works on shoes.
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Water works well for forming, not necessarily that well for softening. Sheaths for custom knives are usually soaked in hot water, then the knife is inserted, and it's all left to dry. I suppose this is done for some pistol holsters. The result is a perfect fit, but not usually a softer leather. IME the sheath turns out to be rather stiff until after use. Shoes will form to feet, but the leather will be stiff until they're worn for awhile. Leather does soften with wear, like most materials.
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I used to make sheaths for knifes I made and the best kind of leather for that is not tanned all the way through, becomes really hard and shrinks a bit when it dries. Best way to cut it was with a bandsaw Originally Posted by sgosnell
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Yes. And the more mortal of us had to be comforted by the fact that a Brooks saddle would break in after only a few thousand miles - though some clamed that it was our bums which broke in as much as the saddle. BTW the best leather saddles these days seems to be those from Gilles Berthoud. Originally Posted by Jabberwocky
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Staining can happen for mostly one reason only : your sweat soaks into the leather and the superficial coloring (on cheap leather) will bleed out/rub off. Sometimes this superficial coloring will even rub off without getting moist.
Here is some useful info : Aniline leather - Wikipedia
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I used skin lotion on a stiff Levy's leather strap. Worked ok.
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I use Dubbin on a thick Levy unstitched. It works well. It's a dark one though, and only enhances the look. No staining. Just let it hang for 24 hours or so.
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I retired my old Brooks Professional (which I bought in 1976 and was on four or five bikes over the years) some years ago. It fit like a glove, but you have to be careful about not riding it wet, etc. The shape of the new Pros is different and nowhere near as comfortable to me, since they were bought by Selle San Marcos or whoever it was. I tried a titanium Brooks Pro and it was, in the immortal words of Jobst Brandt, an ass hatchet. Now I use the Brooks C.17 saddle on all my bikes quite happily. Haven't seen a GB saddle to try. Originally Posted by oldane;[URL="tel:1208602"
Going back to Jack's question, I think the advice he got from the strap manufacturer is the best: loosening up the leather fibers mechanically rather than chemically. If the broomstick can rotate as the strap goes over it, it won't burnish the leather.
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