Carr & Day & Martin Ko-Cho-Line Leather Dressing 225G

Worked okay on my old leather saddle, but didnt seem to absorb as well as I thought it would.

Love this leather conditioner.

This is my go-to when I want to treat leather. It oils, strengthens, and preserves leather very well. Ive used it on boots, belts, straps, rifle slings, and other leather items. I havent used it on suede or faux leather, but when it comes to actual leather this stuff is great. Its easy to use, absorbs into the leather nicely and is pretty easy to wash off your hands. Ive noticed that it can darken leather a little bit but I dont mind.

Wow. One coat and my bag is in MUCH better shape. A leatherworker I know recommended this stuff and it is TOP NOTCH

I am also a C&R collector and also have outdoor equipment in leather, such as axe sheaths, and have a few items I keep around for use to restore flexibility to leather items. There are some fast acting treatments that have, as a side-effect, the darkening of the leather from its original tanned quality. That is to say the leather goes from its tanned state to one that is darker in tone towards a darker brown. Those are not, necessarily, rich brown colors but a simple shift in darkness. Ko-Cho-Line is not one of those conditioning treatments. Using it on leather items that have had other treatments that havent done the job, like some pouches and holsters that have been gathering dust in a warehouse for decades, I found that Ko-Cho-Line is just the thing to bring back flexibility and even suppleness to old leather items. Fast acting it isnt, however, and an overnight treatment where you have applied it and then just let it sit and soak in, is required. Are there exceptions to that? Yes, a very dry piece will suck in just about any treatment quickly and on one of the pouch sets I found that even with another product being used so that I could open the flaps left it in a state where Ko-Cho-Line disappeared in about an hour. On new products that have been industrially processed so that next to nothing of the original oils remain (like rawhide) Ko-Cho-Line will also soak into those at a pretty fair clip. One new sheath of rawhide had the same sort of disappearing act as the old pouch did and within an hour it was like nothing had been on the surface at all. For these applications when the surface is dry to the touch I then re-apply and let that set overnight no matter how fast it sinks in. To date Ive had one piece that went through 4 days of treatment with 5 applications until it was suitable for wearing on a belt. The general rule, however, for products that you have previously worked on or on re-treatment, is the overnight sitting. I use cut up t-shirt rags for application to attempt to get an even coating, and that works pretty well. For removing excess the next day, an old sock with fuzzy part on the inside works very well to remove excess material and to give a bit of a buffing all at the same time. When applying be aware that on the edge of leather pieces Ko-Cho-Line will darken the leather, so if you dont want that then carefully apply it to the surface only. And when applied to thread, Ko-Cho-Line will give a red coloration to it for awhile (as the piece is used that will tend to be absorbed and disappear). I do not spot treat with Ko-Cho-Line and when I find a dried patch of leather I will do an even treatment of the piece with just a bit more applied to the dried areas. PROs - Deep conditioning - Low to no smell - Returns flexibility where other products fail even after multiple applications CONs - Not an instant fix, there are other products to get a bit of suppleness back faster - Darkens leather along the edges if not carefully applied to surface - Leaves red coloration on cloth parts Overall for getting old leather pieces to a useful state or for conditioning of new but highly processed leather, Ko-Cho-Line cannot be beat. It gives a richer color to a piece without shifting its color, that is to say the color is more saturated which can be deeper but the overall color is not a darker type. After use other surface treatments can still be applied, like Sno-Seal, which is a big plus for outdoor equipment not meant for any form of skin contact. Other products do have their place, like forms of saddle soap or something like Leather Honey, but if you need deep conditioning of leather, then Ko-Cho-Line is what I would recommend if one has the pure patience to just let it sit and do its job.

Its been reviewed

Best leather conditioner I’ve ever used

This product really helps the look of saddles that need a little TLC. It can go a little darker so if you are working with light colored leather try it on a small area first.

I used Ko-Cho-Line Leather Dressing to clean 6 high quality leather dog leashes of various lengths and 2 leather dog collars that had been packed away in tightly sealed plastic storage bins for over 5 years. When I removed the leather items from the plastic bins, the doggy odor was overwhelming. I seriously debated just throwing them in the trash. Knowing how costly it was going to be to replace all of these leather items, I rashly threw them in my washing machine with copious amounts of detergent. After washing they still had a horrible doggy odor. I had read that sunlight can destroy bad odors, so I left all of them outside in the sun for several days. The smell actually disappeared but the leather items were stiff as a board. I was convinced that I had ruined them. My son, who is an equestrian, suggested that I saturate them well with Ko-Cho-Line. He is a big fan of the product and uses it on his horse tack. I donned rubber gloves and smeared the Ko-Cho-Line liberally on each piece of leather. I was very busy at the time and ended up leaving the items in a box for five or six days before I got around to wiping them off with cloth cut from an old flannel sheet. The leather is all soft and pliable. Everything was slightly tacky at first but after air drying they are all soft and supple with no tackiness or greasy feel. All of the leather pieces look wonderful. Amazing product.

This is the best leather conditioner I have ever seen. I’ve been around horses and tack cleaning supplies all my life.