Leather Care

Full-grain leather is not a finish. It is a material that keeps changing, and it responds to being used.

The short version

• Wipe it down when it is dirty. Damp cloth, nothing else.
• Let it dry away from radiators and direct sun.
• Feed it with a wax-based conditioner twice a year.
• That is the whole routine.

When it gets wet

It will get wet. That is fine. Wipe off the surface water, let it dry slowly at room temperature, then work a little conditioner in once it is dry to the touch. What ruins leather is not water — it is heat drying it too fast and pulling the oils out.

Mud, salt and rivers

Rinse salt water off the same day. Salt crystallises in the fibres and cuts them from the inside. Mud can dry and be brushed off.

The brass

Solid antique brass will develop a patina. That is the point — it is why we do not plate it. If you prefer it bright, a soft cloth and a little brass polish brings it back in a minute. Keep polish off the leather.

Waxed canvas

Brush off dry dirt. Sponge with cold water for anything worse. Never machine wash, never dry clean, never iron — all three strip the wax. Re-wax once a year with any standard cotton wax and it stays water-repellent indefinitely.

Fabric covers

Bed covers, robe bodies and fleece cushions come off and go in the machine at 30 °C. Air dry. No tumble dryer.

What we mean by a decade

Vegetable-tanned full-grain leather, hand saddle-stitched with waxed linen thread and set with solid brass, has no built-in failure point. Looked after as above, a Larkwell collar outlasts the dog wearing it. That is not a slogan — it is what the construction is for.