praise dakinis

So this is a very specific question for Brooks saddle lovers: When I do my first Proofide on my new B17 Special saddle, should I put Proofide on the hand-beveled (skived) lower section of the top of the saddle, or only on the finished part and the raw underside as on other saddles?

stevel610 

You will probably get answers all over the place. I would personally put it on the skived area. Though I'm sure if you just do the inside of the saddle in that area it will soak through enough to protect it.

Rolla

Brooks says: "Apply a thin layer of Proofide to cover the entire upper surface of the leather"

martianone

There is an old "yarn" about breaking in a Brooks saddle- apply proof hide to your bum, then ride saddle until broken in. Not sure what gets broken in? Have a leather saddle on each of my bikes - Brooks among them.
First thing I do when I get a new one home is let the saddle warm in the sun and work into top a small amount of Proofhide, then let the saddle sit a couple days. On the saddle underside, especially wire- spray a tiny amount of WD40 to help stop break in creeking sound. Then go riding.

Road Fan

I don't know that I'd do anything with WD-40, I'm not sure what the benefit is.

Regarding the thread starter's question, I would definitely Proofide the topside including the skived faces. Not much, the saddle just wants a little of those oils. I also tend not to use anything other than Proofide.

oldwinger14

Go to the Brooks website and follow their recommendations.

Ptcycles

Well I never went to the Brooks website, but here is what I did. Bought an old Fugi, with a Brooks saddle that sat outside in the sun and rain for a decade. It was hard, curled and dry as a bone, stiff to the max. Logic told me if a little Proofride is good, then a lot of neatsfoot oil would be better. So I wrapped the saddle in aluminum foil and commenced to soaking the saddle everyday for a week. A week later my saddle was the consistency of wet cloth. No structure whatsoever. It has regained some structure, about 10%, This was 3 years ago and I consider it a failed experiment. This summer I will let it sit in the sun for a couple weeks just to see what happens. Lesson learned, less is the best approach, and add a little as necessary.

Rolla

I've never had a Brooks that didn't feel perfectly comfortable after a dose of proofide and couple of rides; the Professional is probably the stiffest, but the B-17 is pretty supple right out of the box. All these "home remedies" sound like great ways to ruin an expensive leather saddle.

Ptcycles

Right On!

FBOATSB 

You should be applying far more quantities of body heat and butt sweat to your Brooks saddle than any other treatment. Pretty sure there are only two active ingredients in Proofide - fat and bees wax, to be used sparingly.

Edit: OK, I looked it up just to check my failing memory: Ingredients: Tallow, Cod oil, Vegetable oil, Paraffin wax, Beeswax, and Citronella oil.

SurferRosa

I've never added anything to a new Brooks saddle besides my own ass.

Used, on the other hand, sometimes they need a little bit of attention, tension and conditioning.

Doug64

IMO Neatsfoot oil should never be used on leather. When I was a kid, my dad put Neatsfoot Oil on my hockey gloves. I've never let Neatsfoot oil even get close to any of my leather products since then.

pdlamb

Proofide everything you can see on the B-17 that isn't metal. Yes, that includes the skived sides.

alcjphil

I have a tin of Proofide that I bought in 1973 for the Brooks saddle that came with the Raleigh Professional I bought that year. There is about 1/3 of the tin remaining despite having used it on 2 different Brooks saddles

Road Fan

I'm sure this is an older yarn: Ride Lots!

phughes

Just follow the directions from Brooks. Don't make it complicated.

"Apply a small amount of Proofide to the finished top side of the leather, allowing it to permeate until dry. Polish off completely with a soft cloth to avoid getting any residual Proofide on your clothes. Also apply Proofide to the underside of the saddle. Leave this coating on to protect against dirt and moisture. Proofide may be used several times during the ‘breaking-in’ period and periodically thereafter. Do not overuse. :"

Note that you apply to the underside when you first install the seat, don't wipe off from the underside. After that, just apply a small amount to the top. I still have my original tin of Proofide from 2011. It goes a long way. The only reason I use more that most people, is that I occasionally apply it to my leather bar tape.

oldwinger14

I agree with phughes....follow the very clear instructions that Brooks has on their website. Too many people have their own techniques which claim to be better. All most of them do is lend to the false impression that Brooks saddles are onerous to maintain. They are not.....if you simply follow Brooks’ guidelines.

Road Fan

I'm not surprised at that result. First, Brooks recommends not letting it get soaked too much. "waterproofing" is essentially about keeping spray and rain off of the unprotected leather. I don't think anything can prevent a soaked saddle if it's left out in a driving rain.

A sagged-out saddle has essentially lost the internal structure and tensile strength of the original leather - the beast's skin is disintegrating, and the oil just helps the internal fragments slide against each other. A saddle found in the condition of yours should just have a new top made for it. Rudi Mayr here on the site is an expert at doing that, rmayr.

Neatsfoot is a tricky topic, at least in the several long threads here over the years. Oil is not all the same, and some products labelled "neatsfoot oil" are largely synthetic. Who know what's really in there. Real neatsfoot seems to be pretty expensive. My local shoe repair likes it for maintaining and restoring baseball gloves. They need to flex smoothly, not to maintain enough tensile strength to support a porky rider (like me) over most of my life (the Brooks dream).

Overuse of any oil can cause trouble. Brooks recommends, after over 100 years experience with the B17 design, leather prepared in their method, and enough product acceptance to survive for that length of time, to only use Proofide and not to use more of it than a thin coating 2 or 3 times a year, and not to heat the stuff into the surface except perhaps with sunlight.

If you look at the Proofide tin, you can see an ingredients list, written out pretty explicitly. I have two fairly recent tins (less than 20 years, lol) which have slight differences. If you look aa container of Obenauf's LP there is also an ingredients list but it's pretty vague, except to claim no animal products. Proofide has tallow, which is made from animal fat. Does this make a real difference? I'm not sure, but I don't have the science to figure it out. I have not had any negative results with Proofide used sparingly. It has failed to restore a dried, hardened Brooks Professional Select (never thought of as a supple saddle, but I think it is too far gone. Brooks does not claim Proofide is a restorative, and I'm not sure anything really is.

I guess I basically argue for prevention and maintenance, not aggressive restoration efforts. I've believed that for a long time, and have tried some not-inexpensive restorations. I think I just need some leather replacements, and to maintain them.

Freerojo

WD-40 is an old remedy to stop the squeaking from the Brooks saddles with springs such as the Flyer and B67.

Road Fan

Ok, thanks. I can't say I've had that be a problem.