Slippery Saddles
February 7, 2009 by Saddle Sense
Filed under Featured Posts, General Saddle Topics
I receive a fair amount of mail asking me what causes slippery saddles and how to deal with them. I have to be a bit delicate in my answer because the culprit is invariably a low quality saddle.
Slippery saddles are almost always caused by a finish that some saddle manufacturers put on their saddles. Good leather doesn’t need a finish and you won’t find any finish other than a coat of oil on the better saddles.
Manufacturers put the finish on because they think customers like the shiny finish and because they’re using lower quality leather that needs the finish to make it look better.
The best way to get rid of the slipperiness is to put a lot of miles on the saddle. Wear is what breaks in saddles. Adding oil or conditioner won’t really help.
If you’re really desperate, a conditioner that could give you some grip is a product called Black Rock, but it will darken your saddle and will rub off some on your clothes. So, it’s a case of picking your poison.
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