HOW GOOD WAS THE LEATHER TO START WITH?
Leather can only be as good as the hide it was made from. A scarred or insect-damaged hide from an undernourished animal will not make good leather. Tannage also affects leather life. Chrome or mineral tannages are most durable, followed by vegetable tanned leathers. Expect faster deterioration if the leather was tanned using lower cost chemical processes or in animal manures (that’s right—some cheaper leathers come from hides cured in urine or manure). No amount of cleaning or conditioning can make a poor quality piece of leather tack into a better one.
