They do change, especially with exposure to moisture.

I just finished #102 a couple days ago, a Wrights/Brooks narrow frame, the leather patterned after a 1959 Brooks Swallow I worked on a few years ago. For something new, I tried freehand embossing a swallow design on the top.



As you can see, the color is uneven at this stage; for some reason the nose is a little darker than the rest. I don't know why that is, but I expect it will all even out over time. Within a couple years, with use, it will turn a rich dark reddish brown.

I'll be posting it on the 'for sale' forum as soon as I can remember the highest number I can think of.

Rudi,

Sweet!!!!! Very nice! Did you attach the middle underside with an "apron" (???) like Brooks does with their Swallow?

It's called an apron?

I think Brooks has done this a couple different ways over the years. I have in my hands, at the moment, a Swallow dated C60 on which the leather has two tabs that meet under the center of the saddle, where they are riveted to a small steel plate (about 1 ¹/4" x 1¹/8"). So this saddle is done the same way, except that the plate is copper, rather than steel, but you can't see it anyway.

I was guessing as to what to call it. "Tabs" sounds a lot better then "apron."

I don't know all the correct terminology either, Bob! I may have made that term up. Whatever. Here's a photo of the underside of the saddle:

Here's a few photos of my #2 saddle, showing how the color of the leather has changed over time.

When I first cut it from the hide, it was a light tan. Here it is with the saddle I was restoring:


To form the leather, I have to soak it. This photo was taken around Sept. 1, 2011.


Being wet seems to reactivate the tannins that remain in the leather after it's been tanned; so as it dries on the last, the color already starts changing:


Initially it dries pretty fast, but it takes a while for the last of the moisture to evaporate. As it dries, the color changes unevenly. I'm guessing this was somewhere around September 10.


By October the saddle was in use on my commuter bike:


About a half year later, I had to replace the rivets. I also embossed a design on the side:


By now, several thousand miles later, the color is an even dark brown. I should take it outside and get a better photo, but this gives you the idea: