phatatude

Yesterday I scored an OLD Brooks Saddle. on the side it says its a B-15.

Does anyone have one of these? Are they decent?
And Most importantly, How do I revive it? It's kinda dry.
Does anyone know of any sites that explain how to Cut leather saddles?

The place where I scored this one for 15 bucks had quite a few old saddles, and I would love to start gettin my next bike project going. I would really like to cut at least one of the saddles to give it a nice look and maybe help with comfort.

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R-20's : Like a good leather saddle, they get better with age...

silverodt

I own a B-15 and I use either the Brooks wax on it or Mink oil, depending on what I have available at the time.
As far as comfort is concerned, the saddle, if properly aligned, should mold to your contours quickly. Once it has done so, I think its the most comfortable seat around.
Hope this helps.
Jamie.

LittlePixel

If you can't get Brooks oil or Mink Oil then waterproof dubbin for walking boots is a reasonable substitute.

Cutting up your brooks eh? Like turning it into a Swallow... Heh.
That's easy - you need a high-speed cutting blade on the end of a Dremmel or similar.
You can use a box-cutter/Stanley knife but it'd be labourious and take a while to get not nearly as good a result.

When I did mine I cut it with a disk, then sanded it with a little drum coated with course sandpaper. The effect makes it look pretty much factory.

Before I post a link to a tutorial - bear in mind this makes whatever room you do it in smell pretty bad as you will scorch the fine powdered leather that comes off during cutting, and it's a pretty horrid organic catch-the-back-of-the-throat kind of smell - so maybe do it out of doors or near an extractor fan if possible

Tuturial here:

Another article that might be of use

Oh and a funny Brooks pic in this page, though maybe NSFW...

SesameCrunch

I just "butchered" my new B-17. It's really pretty easy. I used a new razor on a box cutter. You have to remember to "tie" the sides of the saddle, though, or else, it'll bow out a bit when you sit on it. I love the slimmer look of the cut saddle.

I'll be posting a picture of this saddle in an update to my post on the Moulton Restoration project later today.

ShinyBiker

Don't want to hijack this thread, but I've got a quick brooks question. Is it true that black colored brooks saddles will stain your pants? I wear a lot of khakis and this would be a consideration when buying. Thanks.

LittlePixel

Not that I've ever noticed problems with mine but others may have differing experiences...

daveF

I have a black Brooks saddle on my Dahon and haven't had any problems with the leather dye staining my pants. I often wear tan colored travel pants cycling to work with no problem. It is a very comfortable saddle to use with regular (unpadded) pants or shorts.

jur

Follow my sig.

Oink

Had one in a really bad condition, went through everything and at the end, I used cheap mineral oil and it worked. I laced it too

SesameCrunch

Jur:

Excellent description and pictures. It's the best web resource I've seen yet!

Question: When folding the flaps - do you think it would be helpful to score a notch on the back of the folded edge to allow easier folding? I was thinking it couldn't hurt and may help achieve a cleaner folding line. This is in addition to the soaking, of course (great tip!).

jur

The saddle I took the pics of seems to have a thicker leather than the other 2 I had done previously. Those 2 folded much easier and formed a sharper bend at the fold line. So scoring or something like that wasn't necessary. For this one, I think it might have helped.

The leather soaking in water I saw many many years ago on TV with a chap restoring old chairs which were done with thin leather strips. The leather became elastic and pliable when wet. So I tried it on the saddles and it worked a charm. This is also the reason that riding a soaked saddle is a Very Bad Idea.

The leather swells a bit with the water and capillary action makes it swell further than the water line which helped since the folding line was above water in the pic. But the swelling and discoloring goes right away when dry.

doco

and another great article, thanks Jur

phatatude

once again the folding forum comes through. Jur, that mod looks awesome, and looks like it would mute any concerns about support after butchering. Great page, and thanks fellas for all of the info. Keep it comin' if ya got it.
my saddle has a couple of small cracks in it so butchering it will get rid of those areas luckily. Jur, you could make a template for that mod.

R-20's: For a cool bike, ya gotta have cool components...

Sixty Fiver

I figure my new Brooks Imperial will spend some time on my Phillip's Twenty fixed gear...it should be suhweet.

doco

Jur, Have you ever tried this mod with a regular B17?

jur

2 regulars and one narrow. The one in the pics is a regular.

phatatude

Also Jur, when you clamped the two sides together to wait for them to dry, Did you over lap them? or just butt them up to one another? (couldnt tell from the photo)

Isn't the B-17 for the most part, the same as a B-15? (just newer?)

Does anyone know where you can get new Brooks nameplates plates for the back of the seat? Mine is a bit mangled, and Im debating one taking it off. It look like some poeple also butcher the back edge of the seats too.

What does that plate say on the bottom of a real swallow tail? (like the one at the top of your Butchering Page page Jur)

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R-20's: If you dont have one, you wouldn't understand...

rhm

With about 2000 miles on it, my new honey colored Brooks B-17 has not stained my khakis (yet), but I have several pairs of pants that have been stained by other leather saddles over the years. The other saddles in question are a black Wrights, a couple of black Brooks Pros, a black Fujita Pro, and a brown Brooks B-72 if memory serves. I don't know which of them is/are (most) responsible. Most recently I got a used no-name leather saddle at a flea market; it's a nice brown color, pretty much the same as the honey colored Brooks. Ten miles was enough to stain my pants! Whether the saddle stains your pants probably depends on a lot of factors such as how clean, and how dry, is the saddle to begin with-- and how long do you sit on it, and how much do you sweat while you're on it. I'm pretty sure ANY wet leather saddle is going to stain your pants. But remember, you're not s'posed to ride on them when they're wet.

jur

They're overlapped as far as they would go.

ekitel

My Honey colored Brooks got stained from my shorts, dark grey nylon Grammicis, gave me saddle sores too... I don't wear those shorts anymore, though the stain made the saddle look even more retro beat up and stuff

phatatude

You should bottle your Butt Sweat and sell it...


R20's - Old steel, two tires, a folding pin and Butt Sweat... (now smile)

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