New 9016 Beckman’s. Any tips for Featherstone leather?
For starters, regular brushing with a horsehair brush, followed by wiping them down with a damp microfiber or soft cotton cloth. Deep cleaning is best done with saddle soap, water, and a horsehair brush, while wiping off the suds as you go along with a microfiber or soft cotton cloth. You'll want to let the boots dry completely overnight before using a conditioner of your choice. Almost any saddle soap from the name brand manufacturers will work. For that particular leather, I recommend conditioning with Bickmore's Bick4, while considering Venetian Shoe Cream as a top coat for an additional sheen. I also use Saphir's neutral colored Pate De Luxe wax on the toes, heels, and heel counters of nearly all my smooth finished leather footwear for an extra shine and added protection in high contact areas. When the welt and midsoles are looking a bit dirty you can always take some sandpaper to them and make them look like new again (more contrast). - SI
Black Featherstone Leather Care?
ick4 works. My two pairs of black featherstone always crease more than other colors of featherstone. I kinda suspect it is because how Red Wing dyed the leather black.
If you need high shine or mirror shine, try navy wax polish and black shoe cream. Enjoy the boots!
From my experience the featherstone is actually pretty well oiled. The black cherry I have from 2015 had held on really well and never been conditioned.
In fact I have some cigar featherstone from 2012 and it has been conditioned twice in 10 years.
The creases are always going to happen. Just be sure to brush out the dust from the creases or else it acts like sand paper.
This is a great question ive also wanted to ask but was too scared too...what exactly is featherstone leather? It does feel kinda like its coated...is it? If not, what exactly gives it the look/feel that it has which sets it so far apart from all other RW leather ive experienced? Its got the really slick, shiny and smooth surface that exhibits a higher/est rate of "crackle" ive come across with RW. I wouldnt put money on it being coated, because i have not seen any evidence anywhere of any coat peeling in any pictures...yet I cant help but wonder...
I found this on a may 2014 styleforum thread about featherstone that expressed the same concerns as you and I:
I emailed the company to get more information. Dave Hill, the director of product development, sent me this
Featherstone Leather Attributes/Benefits:
· Featherstone was developed as a heavy and medium weight full grain leather with 100% "natural" appearance, slight pull-up and semi-bright luster. It is made with U.S. cattle hides-specifically, heavy Texas steers.
· The wet blue sides for Featherstone are taken from the top 3 to 5% of the available blue stock--this is necessary to achieve the best grain/selection for leather cutting and final appearance in the Beckman collection.
· The wet blue sides are drum dyed using a special, premium coloring formula to ensure the correct temper, utility, waxy surface feel and appearance.
· The coloring formula, in combination with a select wax and oil mixture (mechanically applied to the surface of the leather) provides exceptionally high water and stain resistance. Featherstone will retain its temper, surface feel and appearance after repeated wear and/or use.
· No pigments are used during the tannery finishing process--the transparent finish method enhances the beautiful, "naked" appearance of Featherstone.
· During the shoe finishing process--premium shoe finishing waxes, resins and dye stains are used to achieve the signature Beckman appearance and performance.
Had these iron rangers for 4+ years now, wearing them 5 days a week. Posted a few weeks ago and was informed that I was waaaay over conditioning and not brushing enough.
These are my results after a couple scrubbings of saddle soap and some Bick 4 application. So much misinformation and different application methods online, but really happy with how it all turned out!
You should really give them 24hrs rest inbetween each wear if you want it to last another 4+ years. Not letting them fully dry can cause them to deteriorate
Hey I like your handle! Lol.
We’ve all gone through phases of over conditioning and thinking we are doing the right thing. What I like about that is you can always strip like you did and have pretty healthy leather underneath. Versus never conditioning and have cracks which are not fixable.
Anyways they looks great to me!
You should start using lexol and shoe trees. Bick 4 doesnt do much according to tests
People on this sub way overemphasize the need to brush. Look on goodyearwelt and youll see that shoe trees and the occasional condition is most important. Obviously brush off once in a while but its not even once a week unless they get dirty.
Mine are 6 yrs old with no cracks after several summers on motorcycles etc and winters in snow.
Goodyearwelt is obsessive- compulsive about brushing with a horsehair brush and in love with Bick4
Are you feeling OK?
Dirt and grime can be abrasives and get stuck in the creases that are then flexed against the leather over and over. Over time that will cause tears or affect the integrity of the leather. Brushing your boots after every wear, at the bare minimum, doesn’t hurt and potentially could extend the life of your boots. So why not? Plus it takes like 5-10 minutes max
I believe that, I went 4 years with 0 brushing, and I don’t think my cracking is terrible. Wiped with a wet rag if they got real dirty. I’m just giving them a quick rub now when I take them off and notice some dirt on them.
What type of saddle soap did you use? My current can says, “not for rough out leather”. When I use it on the 8085 it gets darker.
Yellow saddle soap. U really need to wipe off the soap with a really wet rag, or even run some water over it. Wiping it off with a dry rag made almost no difference for me.
could you please share exactly what brand/type of saddle soap you used? I'd like to get it to achieve this same affect. while I don't think mine are overconditioned, I do want to brighten them up! thanks
I use bick 4. All conditioners will darken the leather, but the difference is mink oil will permanently darken and change the color of the leather, whereas bick 4 will wear off quicker and not change the color of the leather.
When I use bick 4 it takes the copper rought and tough back to how it looked new, and then as the leather dries out a bit, the nice copper tones start to come through.
Like some have mentioned get some Red Wing Leather Cream. It doesn't darken the leather and will have it looking good again. It won't get as deep as an oil would so you'll have to treat them a little more than you would when using oil but I think it's worth it.
I actually did this exact same thing to a pair of 8085's I had. Took multiple saddle soap washes to them and then conditioned with the leather cream and they looked great after.
Ya I just don't like how dark they got with the mink oil. It's what the Red Hart store used to condition them and what they told me to use. I Definitely won't make the same mistake again.
Be sure to let them sit out overnight and that all the moisture is dried out before applying whatever you use. When it’s still damp like that, it can be hard to apply the conditioner evenly and you can end up with dark and light areas.
I use the RW leather cream on my CR&T and I think it looks like new. Plus it’s almost impossible to “over apply” that stuff
He used saddle soap to try and remove the heavy oils because he wanted a lighter color. Boot oil would just put him right back to the same color. He needs to apply a lighter conditioner.
I learned the hard way that saddle soap will take off coloring.
A solid dose of conditioner is all you need
Plenty of good options but some definitely darken the leather more than others
Below are some of the most recommended products that don’t darken as much as mink oil
Smith’s leather balm
Blackrock leather n rich
Lexol
Bick 4
Red wing leather cream
Red wings all natural leather conditioner is also highly recommended but it does contain mink oil and will darken the leather more than the others listed but nowhere near as much as mink oil alone
I took some advice and completed 2 washings with saddle soap to get remove the excess mink oil. I'm just wondering from previous experience what I should do next. Is there a product that won't darken as much as mink oil? Should I leave them?
edenprairie
commented
1 year ago 
Black Featherstone Leather Care?
ick4 works. My two pairs of black featherstone always crease more than other colors of featherstone. I kinda suspect it is because how Red Wing dyed the leather black.
If you need high shine or mirror shine, try navy wax polish and black shoe cream. Enjoy the boots!
From my experience the featherstone is actually pretty well oiled. The black cherry I have from 2015 had held on really well and never been conditioned.
In fact I have some cigar featherstone from 2012 and it has been conditioned twice in 10 years.
The creases are always going to happen. Just be sure to brush out the dust from the creases or else it acts like sand paper. This is a great question ive also wanted to ask but was too scared too...what exactly is featherstone leather? It does feel kinda like its coated...is it? If not, what exactly gives it the look/feel that it has which sets it so far apart from all other RW leather ive experienced? Its got the really slick, shiny and smooth surface that exhibits a higher/est rate of "crackle" ive come across with RW. I wouldnt put money on it being coated, because i have not seen any evidence anywhere of any coat peeling in any pictures...yet I cant help but wonder...
I found this on a may 2014 styleforum thread about featherstone that expressed the same concerns as you and I:
I emailed the company to get more information. Dave Hill, the director of product development, sent me this
Featherstone Leather Attributes/Benefits:
· Featherstone was developed as a heavy and medium weight full grain leather with 100% "natural" appearance, slight pull-up and semi-bright luster. It is made with U.S. cattle hides-specifically, heavy Texas steers.
· The wet blue sides for Featherstone are taken from the top 3 to 5% of the available blue stock--this is necessary to achieve the best grain/selection for leather cutting and final appearance in the Beckman collection.
· The wet blue sides are drum dyed using a special, premium coloring formula to ensure the correct temper, utility, waxy surface feel and appearance.
· The coloring formula, in combination with a select wax and oil mixture (mechanically applied to the surface of the leather) provides exceptionally high water and stain resistance. Featherstone will retain its temper, surface feel and appearance after repeated wear and/or use.
· No pigments are used during the tannery finishing process--the transparent finish method enhances the beautiful, "naked" appearance of Featherstone.
· During the shoe finishing process--premium shoe finishing waxes, resins and dye stains are used to achieve the signature Beckman appearance and performance.
Had these iron rangers for 4+ years now, wearing them 5 days a week. Posted a few weeks ago and was informed that I was waaaay over conditioning and not brushing enough.
These are my results after a couple scrubbings of saddle soap and some Bick 4 application. So much misinformation and different application methods online, but really happy with how it all turned out! You should really give them 24hrs rest inbetween each wear if you want it to last another 4+ years. Not letting them fully dry can cause them to deteriorate Hey I like your handle! Lol.
We’ve all gone through phases of over conditioning and thinking we are doing the right thing. What I like about that is you can always strip like you did and have pretty healthy leather underneath. Versus never conditioning and have cracks which are not fixable.
Anyways they looks great to me!
You should start using lexol and shoe trees. Bick 4 doesnt do much according to tests
People on this sub way overemphasize the need to brush. Look on goodyearwelt and youll see that shoe trees and the occasional condition is most important. Obviously brush off once in a while but its not even once a week unless they get dirty.
Mine are 6 yrs old with no cracks after several summers on motorcycles etc and winters in snow. Goodyearwelt is obsessive- compulsive about brushing with a horsehair brush and in love with Bick4
Are you feeling OK? Dirt and grime can be abrasives and get stuck in the creases that are then flexed against the leather over and over. Over time that will cause tears or affect the integrity of the leather. Brushing your boots after every wear, at the bare minimum, doesn’t hurt and potentially could extend the life of your boots. So why not? Plus it takes like 5-10 minutes max I believe that, I went 4 years with 0 brushing, and I don’t think my cracking is terrible. Wiped with a wet rag if they got real dirty. I’m just giving them a quick rub now when I take them off and notice some dirt on them.
What type of saddle soap did you use? My current can says, “not for rough out leather”. When I use it on the 8085 it gets darker.
Yellow saddle soap. U really need to wipe off the soap with a really wet rag, or even run some water over it. Wiping it off with a dry rag made almost no difference for me.
could you please share exactly what brand/type of saddle soap you used? I'd like to get it to achieve this same affect. while I don't think mine are overconditioned, I do want to brighten them up! thanks
Fiebing’s Yellow Saddle Soap :)
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00GRSVTK4?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title
When I use bick 4 it takes the copper rought and tough back to how it looked new, and then as the leather dries out a bit, the nice copper tones start to come through. Like some have mentioned get some Red Wing Leather Cream. It doesn't darken the leather and will have it looking good again. It won't get as deep as an oil would so you'll have to treat them a little more than you would when using oil but I think it's worth it.
I actually did this exact same thing to a pair of 8085's I had. Took multiple saddle soap washes to them and then conditioned with the leather cream and they looked great after. Ya I just don't like how dark they got with the mink oil. It's what the Red Hart store used to condition them and what they told me to use. I Definitely won't make the same mistake again.
Be sure to let them sit out overnight and that all the moisture is dried out before applying whatever you use. When it’s still damp like that, it can be hard to apply the conditioner evenly and you can end up with dark and light areas.
I use the RW leather cream on my CR&T and I think it looks like new. Plus it’s almost impossible to “over apply” that stuff He used saddle soap to try and remove the heavy oils because he wanted a lighter color. Boot oil would just put him right back to the same color. He needs to apply a lighter conditioner.
I learned the hard way that saddle soap will take off coloring.
A solid dose of conditioner is all you need
Plenty of good options but some definitely darken the leather more than others
Below are some of the most recommended products that don’t darken as much as mink oil
Smith’s leather balm
Blackrock leather n rich
Lexol
Bick 4
Red wing leather cream
Red wings all natural leather conditioner is also highly recommended but it does contain mink oil and will darken the leather more than the others listed but nowhere near as much as mink oil alone
They all give a slightly different finish to the leather and some of them have a more natural set of ingredients (which i prefer) so it really depends on personal taste for which would be best for you Previously I posted about my mink oil saturated boots. https://www.reddit.com/r/RedWingShoes/comments/aol5he/i_took_my_boots_in_for_a_conditioning_and_they/?st=JSE5JUZD&sh=704f953a
I took some advice and completed 2 washings with saddle soap to get remove the excess mink oil. I'm just wondering from previous experience what I should do next. Is there a product that won't darken as much as mink oil? Should I leave them?
Any advice would be appreciated!