[Milsurplus] Leather conservation

[Hue Miller]

Something I read online recently reminded me of this issue.
I had a couple leather items I reckoned needed attention, to "soften up"
and protect the old dry leather. However I postponed this project for
years although through  the time I read about various approaches. 
Last year, "Military Trader", a militaria collector magazine, had
two or three articles expressly with this topic. Museum conservators
from U.S. and Canada were consulted and quoted. It turns out,
the smartest advice, for arresting leather degradation and longest-
time preservation, is NO treatment. NO oils, softeners protectors,
nothing other than keeping the leather in the same environment
most comfortable to us, in temperature and humidity. So you have
your choice - you can lubricate and clean the leather to have it
look more presentable during your ownership,which will actually
in the long term increase its degradation,  or you can preserve
it as-is stabilized for owners farther down the timeline. 
-Hue Miller