How to Age Leather?

Ageing leather might be an alien idea to some people. New leather buyers might not understand why anyone would want to age their leather goods faster. Well, there’s a reason for that.

We all know that leather is a timeless classic. It never goes out of fashion and is very durable. These are the two main reasons for its popularity. There’s another quality that only real leather possesses is that it gets better with age. As leather grows older, it becomes smoother and more beautiful. Let’s say you purchase a leather man bag. It will be a little stiff when it’s new, but as you use it regularly, it will become softer and have a weathered look that will make it look more vintage. In this blog, we will tell you ways to age your leather so you can make it more valuable faster.

What is a Patina?

The first thing you need to know about ageing your leather is that it needs to develop a patina to become more beautiful. A patina is a sheen fibre that develops within the leather as it grows old. It gives your leather messenger bags a vintage look and makes them softer. However, a patina can only be developed on high-quality leather like full-grain and top-grain leather. If you don’t have a leather man bag made of either of the two types, you cannot develop a patina no matter how much you try to age your leather. There are ways you can fasten the process of ageing so the patina develops more quickly, so let’s look at these methods.

Distress Your Leather

If you have recently purchased a new leather man bag, the first step towards ageing is to distress your leather. Remember that our goal is to distress the leather, not destroy it, so whatever methods we are going to mention should be dealt with care. Leather goods are expensive, and you shouldn’t be carelessly applying things that can destroy them.

Apply Alcohol

The first thing you can do to distress your leather is dampen it with alcohol. We recommend that you use a spray bottle and spray alcohol all over your business bags for men. Make sure not to put too much alcohol so that your leather bag is drenched in it; our goal is only to dampen it. Alcohol dries out the leather, so it fastens the ageing process.

Give a Rough Massage

Once you have applied alcohol to your leather man bag, the next step is to give it a rough massage. While the leather is wet, fold it, knead it, or punch it if you have to. This will create lines and wrinkles on the surface of your leather bag.

Use Sandpaper for Rubbing

The next step is to sand the leather. You can use sandpaper and start rubbing the areas that look more distressed. It can be the bottom or sides of the bag for leather messenger bags. It is also vital to take breaks and check the progress because you don’t want to sand your leather bag too much. Once you are done with sanding, you can also apply a leather conditioner. If you want it to look more distressed, you can also use a heavy bristled brush on your leather, just like you did sanding.

Add a Little Dust

If you want your leather to have a dusty look, you should throw some dirt, dust, or sand on it. Once you have done that, you can brush off the excess dust, and it will look naturally dusty. All this can help you fasten the ageing process of your leather.

Ageing Leather Naturally

Another way to age your leather is going the traditional way. Yes, there is a traditional way of fastening the age of your leather, and that is to use it every day. If you deliberately do things like mentioned above to age your leather, there are chances that you might accidentally destroy the material. Leather is too expensive for such risks; hence, a lot of people want to know what are the safe ways to age leather goods without taking that risk.

The traditional way of ageing leather goods says that you need to use it as much as you can. When leather is exposed to different elements like sunlight, water, wind, dirt, etc., it gets affected by them. You don’t need to add extra effort to distress your leather, but you simply have to use it. Take your leather man bag out with you every day and in all types of weather. Don’t store your leather with utmost safety; a bit of sunlight will help it age faster. If it’s too dusty outside, brush off your leather bag to get rid of the excess dirt. This process might take a bit more time to age your leather, but it surely helps and is definitely less risky than rubbing alcohol on your luxurious leather man bag.

Is It That Simple?

Yes, ageing your leather is that simple. If we talk about the ageing process of leather, it is easier to let it age than to prevent it from ageing. If you don’t want your leather to age faster, you have to keep it safe and out of the reach of sunlight and moisture. As a leather brand, we know how challenging that can be if you have to use your leather goods regularly. It is much easier to let it age because you don’t have to put in extra effort for it. The ageing will eventually happen for all leather goods; you cannot put an end to it. There are ways to fasten and prevent the process. 

Similar to fastening the ageing process, there are ways you can make this process slow. Some people don’t want their leather to age faster, so they keep it safe and use it carefully. However, the longer your leather takes to age, the longer it will be before it develops a patina. You need to age your leather if you want to experience its properties to the fullest. We don’t recommend keeping your leather messenger bags in the cupboard because they need to be used. Leather is too good of a material to be just kept inside. Let nature take its course, and use your leather business bags for men as much as you can. You don’t need to fasten the ageing of your leather by using methods that can destroy the material. You can do it naturally as well.

What type of ageing you choose for your leather goods is completely up to you. However, if you apply the methods we mentioned, make sure that you don’t go too far. We don’t want your leather to be ruined. Follow this guide carefully and only add as much distress as your leather man bag can handle. 

Obi Pelle has magnificent offers for you if you are looking for a retailer who can provide real leather bags and accessories. Visit our website and check out our catalogue to find the best designs for leather accessories. We also allow our customers to customise their leather goods, so if you have an idea, share it with our team, and we will ensure you get the best leather experience in the UK.