ripped brooks
 

I willl post this in the vintage forum as well.
My Ralegih's Brooks B-72 has developed a crack perpendicular to one of the vent holes. It extends about 3 inches on either side of the middle vent hole. The saddle needs to be tensioned. Should I tension it, see what happends and go from there? Or is the saddle dead?
Thanks,
j

Is the tear all the way through the leather, or only a crack on the smooth derma part?

Once an old leather saddle dries out and cracks/tears, it's days are numbered no matter what kind of oil or balm you put on it.

If you have an emotional attachment to the saddle and want to put it on the wall or something, now is probably a good time to retire it and get a replacement.

First off, why did it crack? How old is it? And what treatments have you used on the saddle while you've had it? I need this info to find out if you can tension it or not and what you can do.