To clean a leather bag or wallet, wipe it with a barely damp cloth, let it dry at room temperature, then condition it with a leather conditioner. That covers routine care. Beyond it, condition the leather every 6 to 12 months, keep it out of direct heat and sun, and store it stuffed and covered when it sits unused. The rest of this page is the full routine and the reasons behind each step.
How to clean a leather bag or wallet
1. Wipe it with a barely damp cloth. Use a soft cloth, water only, wrung out until it is just damp. Wipe the surface and let the dirt come off on the cloth. A dry rag drags grit across the grain and leaves fine scratches; a soaking-wet one pushes water into the leather, which is what you are trying to avoid.
2. For a real mark, use a little gentle soap. On finished leather, build a light lather with a small amount of mild soap on the damp cloth, wipe the spot, then wipe the lather away without getting the leather wet. This is the method Ezra Arthur uses in the workshop. Work on one small area, not the whole panel, so the surface dries evenly.
3. Let it dry on its own, away from heat. Set it somewhere with normal room air and let it dry. Never put it on a radiator, in front of a heater, or under a blow dryer. Heat pulls the oils out of the hide too fast, and the leather stiffens and cracks as it dries. Same reason a wallet left on a car dashboard in summer goes hard.
4. Polish it dry, then condition. Once it is dry, buff it with a clean dry towel, then condition it (see below). Cleaning lifts oil out of the leather along with the dirt, so conditioning afterward puts it back.
How to condition leather
Condition full-grain leather every 6 to 12 months, or sooner if it looks dry or feels stiff. Conditioning replaces the natural oils the hide loses to use, cleaning, and dry air, which is what keeps the leather flexible instead of brittle. Full-grain takes conditioner well because the grain, the dense outer surface of the hide, is left intact and open; it drinks the oil in rather than sitting under a plastic coating. (For what "full-grain" means and how it differs from lower grades, see full-grain vs genuine leather.)
How to apply it. Work on clean, dry leather. Put a small amount on a soft cloth, rub it into the surface in thin coats, let it soak in for a few minutes, then buff off whatever the leather did not absorb. Two thin coats beat one heavy one, because the leather can only take in so much at a time.
Pick a conditioner made from natural oils and waxes, not petroleum. Beeswax and lanolin-based conditioners carry fats with long-chain fatty acids that bond to the leather fibers and feed them. Avoid anything built on mineral oil or other petroleum distillates. Petroleum is occlusive: it seals the surface and traps moisture inside the hide, which starts dry rot. The distillates also rot the stitching directly, since cotton and linen thread break down on contact with mineral oil, so a petroleum-dressed piece tends to give way at the seams. It can look good for a week and shorten the life of the piece.
What Ezra Arthur uses. Ezra Arthur conditions its leather with Armstrong's All Natural, a petroleum-free leather care line the workshop uses and recommends for upkeep. Ezra does not sell its own conditioner, so this is an outside product to buy rather than a store item.
What to do after leather gets wet
Blot it with a dry cloth and let it air-dry at room temperature. Press a dry cloth on the wet spots to lift the surface water; do not rub it in. Then let it dry slowly in normal room air, away from any heat source. Forcing it dry with heat dries the oils out faster than the water leaves and leaves the leather stiff. If the piece has a shape, like a bag, stuff it with paper while it dries so it holds its form. Once it is fully dry, condition it, because the water carries oil out of the leather as it evaporates.
How to store leather goods
Store leather covered, stuffed to shape, somewhere cool and dry with some air. Keep it out of direct sun, which fades and dries the surface, and away from heat vents. A few specifics:
Use a dust bag, not plastic. A cloth dust bag keeps dust off and still lets the leather breathe. A sealed plastic bag traps moisture against the surface, and trapped moisture grows mildew.
Stuff bags so they keep their shape. Fill an empty bag with acid-free tissue or a shaper so the sides do not collapse and crease. A hard crease in leather is a weak line that can crack over time.
Empty a wallet before long storage. A wallet stored stuffed with cards holds the spread shape and the leather stretches to it. Empty it so it settles back flat.
What not to do
Don't use saddle soap on a finished bag or wallet. Saddle soap is alkaline, around pH 9 to 10, and leather is acidic, around pH 4.5 to 5. On finished or oiled leather the two react: the surface hardens and darkens, the finish strips, and the hide and stitching weaken. Saddle soap belongs on raw, untreated leather like saddlery and tack, which is the only place Ezra Arthur uses it. For everyday bags and wallets, a barely damp cloth and a little mild soap is the right tool.
Don't dry leather with heat. No radiators, heaters, blow dryers, or direct sun. Heat drives the oils out faster than they can be replaced, and the leather goes stiff and cracks.
Don't over-condition. More is not better. Too much conditioner oversaturates the fibers and clogs the pores, which traps moisture, invites mildew, and softens the leather until it loses its temper, the firmness that lets a belt or a bag hold its shape. Thin coats every 6 to 12 months, not a heavy coat every month.
Don't soak it or scrub it. Water is the thing leather likes least. Keep the cloth just damp, work the surface lightly, and let water dry slowly when the leather does get caught in the rain.
A simple routine
Wipe it down when it looks dusty. A barely damp cloth, water only.
Condition it every 6 to 12 months. Thin coats of a natural-oil, petroleum-free conditioner; sooner if the leather looks dry.
Dry it slowly and away from heat whenever it gets wet. Blot, air-dry, then condition.
Store it covered and stuffed. Dust bag, cool and dry, kept its shape.
Full-grain leather is built to last when it is kept fed. It will scuff and darken with use, and it will not stay new. That is the point: it records use instead of hiding it. Ezra Arthur makes its wallets, belts, and bags from full-grain leather. See the full range in our leather goods.