HOW TO CARE FOR YOUR BLUE RIBBON CUSTOM SADDLE

When you start out with the best quality of leather available, like Blue Ribbon saddles are made from, you don't need to condition the leather immediately. We recommend cleaning the leather only with liquid glycerin saddle soaps such as "Fiebings Liquid Glycerin" or Leather New.” You should use these items sparingly. While these products do not darken the leather, with repeated use you will notice the leather turning a golden color. Usually, you can just vacuum the saddle, brush it off with a soft brush, or wipe with dry sheep’s wool pads. If you ever use a product like Lexol or Neetsfoot Oil on the saddle you will darken the color or end up with spots on the leather.

When you do use liquid glycerin soap, NEVER SPRAY IT DIRECTLY ON THE SADDLE! Spray just a little on a sheep’s wool pad then rub into the leather tooling pattern. Take a dry piece of sheep’s wool and buff the leather. HINT: Keep the glycerin sprayed sheep’s wool pads in a ziplock bag for easy access when you need to quickly buff your saddle.

We prefer Haggerty Silver Polish (the one in the blue aerosol can) for cleaning and polishing the silver on your saddle. DO NOT SPRAY DIRECTLY ON THE SILVER!!! The overspray will turn the leather a whitish color and the tarnish and spray will run down onto the leather. Instead, spray onto a clean terry cloth towel. Rub the sprayed area into the silver engraving until it leaves a light film. Then polish with a clean area of the towel, rotating it as it gets soiled. Do not keep using a dirty area of the towel, as this will only rub the tarnish back into the engraving on the silver. It is important to rub all of the Haggerty silver polish off, so use a little "elbow grease". If you accidentally get some black from the tarnish on the leather around the silver, you can usually remove right away by spraying some Glass Plus or Windex on a terry cloth towel and wiping off the leather.

If you want your saddle to keep its light color, it is best to cover it when not in use. The leather will darken from sun and light unless it is covered. A saddle bag is a wise investment. When you put the saddle in the saddle bag, twist the fenders back the way they are when you are riding so that the natural twist we put in them when the saddle is built won’t flatten out.

The serial number for your saddle is located under the left fender, stamped into the leather of the skirt. We suggest you keep a record of this number for insurance purposes.