I had a saddle crack in half under me last year and now I'm paranoid. I'm looking for a nice vintage Brooks Professional (Anyone have one?!). This one looks nice on top but the bottom is suspect. I've never really looked at the bottom of an old saddle soooooo....

Is it rot?

Looks good. That's the rough pattern they usually have at the bottom. I'd be more concerned about the leather's condition around the sides of the nose.

-Kurt

Looks like most of the older Brooks saddles that I have. That particular one does not look like it was ever mounted.

Mine is almost 50 years old and has had similar cracking for almost that entire life span.

I would worry more about the leather around rivets that hold the leather to the steel base.

rub in some Proofide (or dubbin of your choice) and proceed.

I'd buy that, put some leather conditioner on the bottom (Proofide or other), and ride it. I have a couple of Brooks bought used that look worse than that and I'm not worried.

Not rot, just dried out. When faced with this situation, I liberally apply Proof Hide, top and bottom, ensuring that I rub it in well. Liberal is an operative word. Once Proof Hide is applied, I put the saddle in a plastic bag and set it on a windowsill (indoors) that gets a lot of sun. Then I leave it there for a day or two.

The heat melts the Proof Hide allowing it to better penetrate the dried out leather. This is not a sure fix but it has worked for me, now and again...

Needless to say, you can repeat this procedure more than one time to get the best results.