Condition Your Leather Boots and Shoes

The natural fibers of leather will break down with the passage of time. Acidic leathers are particularly vulnerable to red rot , which causes powdering of the surface and a change in consistency. Damage from red rot is aggravated by high temperatures and relative humidities, and is irreversible.

Exposure to long periods of low relative humidities (below 40%) can cause leather to become desiccated, irreversably changing the fibrous structure of the leather.

Various treatments are available such as conditioners, but these are not recommended by conservators since they impregnate the structure of the leather artifact with active chemicals, are sticky, and attract stains.

What is Leather?

Leather is a material created through the tanning of hides, pelts and skins of animals, primarily cows.

Leather is a very important clothing material, and its other uses are legion. Together with wood, leather formed the basis of much ancient technology. Leather with the fur still attached is simply called fur.

Types of Leather

In general, leather is sold in three forms:

• Full-Grain leather, made from the finest raw material, are clean natural hides which have not been sanded to remove imperfections. Only the hair has been removed. The grain remains in its natural state which will allow the best fiber strength, resulting in greater durability. The natural grain also has natural breathability, resulting in greater comfort.
  
  The natural Full-Grain surface will wear better than other leather. Rather than wearing out, it will develop a natural "Patina" and grow more beautiful over time. The finest leather furniture and footwear are made from Full-Grain leather.

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  Corrected-Grain leather, also known as Top-Grain leather, is fuzzy on one side and smooth on the other. The smooth side is the side where the hair and natural grain used to be. The hides, which are made from inferior quality raw materials, have all of the natural grain sanded off and an artificial grain applied. Top grain leather generally must be heavily painted to cover up the sanding and stamping process.

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  Suede is an interior split of the hide. It is "fuzzy" on both sides. Suede is less durable than top-grain. Suede is cheaper because many pieces of suede can be split from a single thickness of hide, whereas only one piece of top-grain can be made. However, manufacturers use a variety of techniques to make suede appear to be full-grain. For example, in one process, glue is mixed with one side of the suede, which is then pressed through rollers; these flatten and even out one side of the material, giving it the smooth appearance of full-grain.
  
  Latigo is one of the trade names for this product.

Other less-common leathers include:

• Buckskin or brained leather is a tanning process that uses animal brains or other fatty materials to alter the leather. The resulting supple, suede-like hide is usually smoked heavily to prevent it from rotting.

• 
  Patent leather is leather that has been given a high gloss finish. The original process was developed in Newark, New Jersey by inventor Seth Boyden in 1818. Modern patent leather usually has a plastic coating.

• 
  Shagreen is a rough and grainy type of untanned leather, formerly made from a horse's back, or that of a wild ass, and typically dyed green. Shagreen is now commonly made of the skins of sharks and rays.

• Vachetta leather is used in the trimmings of luggage and handbags, popularized by Louis Vuitton. The leather is left untreated and is therefore susceptible to water and stains. Sunlight will cause the natural leather to darken in shade, called a Patina.