Let Skully customise your leather saddle: Brooks, Wrights etc - trimming, tying, name embossing and de-hammocking.

7 years later and Skully's work on my seat is still admired everyday. Thanks Skully! :D

Thought you were going to say 7 years later and it's still not ready

Haha

@nosferatu lovely to hear!

Still do the odd chop & lettering if anyone's interested.

I'd be in the market for a custom brooks, is it just the swallow that you'd work on or what saddle would you recommend for the best results?

you figured out cabmiums yet pal?

Hey
Just saw this^

Figured out what? Chopping them?! No ta.

Maybe stamping them? I dunno!

Hey I missed your post ages ago.

I trim Team Professional preferably. B17 if you really want, not recommended unless you’re light. Swallows are the look I go for, so I wouldn’t trim one of those. Can stamp a few letters in most Brooks, or top quality saddles also made of tensioned hide like Berthouds. Not possible on cheap copies. Sorry so slow! Best to @~ tag or PM people here to get a quick reply. Cheers.

hey @Skülly I got an old Selle Italia Flite 1990 that's looking a bit worse for wear. Any chance you're able to reupholster it?

Not my cup of tea, sorry.

Flites are very nice stripped though ...

I do think someone on this forum did re-dress old Selles etc. but I can’t remember who. Maybe do some searching to see if you can find them. Good luck.

Ello ello, still got tools?
I might want a little lettering put onto a leather belt if possible.

Hey B!
Just saw this!
Yeah come round you can stamp that thing and we’ll have a brew

🍵😊✌🏼
I'll shout ya when I'm around x

Big man! Might send a customer saddle your way, by send I mean I'll swing around with it.

Brooks Swift that needs de-hammocking!

Turns out the belt wanted to die instead and broke shortly after I made the last post. I've asked santa for a new one, no idea if it'll be leather though.

Are you still trimming @Skülly? I've got a B17 that could do with a haircut

Hiya max, hope you’re well dude. nah not done one in years.

B17s if new are made of such flimsy hide these days I’d probably avoid cutting much off it in favour of lacing the sides in and leave it at that.

I have bought a b17 and when its arrived well, I defintely know the previous owner dressed to right if you get me! There's also a bit of a ridge running front to back, quite sharp and uncomfortable to sit on.

So I'm going to try blocking it up to get it back in a better shape.

A few of the things I've read talk about taking the tension off the top before soaking but this saddle hasn't had any tension added ie the bolt is at it's most relaxed position, there's nothing to undo. Do I just go ahead and soak it as is or do I need to somehow undo the nose? There's no threads showing infront of the adjuster nut but maybe I can still undo it a bit? I haven't tried yet, just reading up while at work and the saddle is at home.

I've also read of people soaking their saddle then fitting it and going for a decent length ride and it does a sort of accelerated break in/reshaping. Anyone know whether this or blocking is a better idea?

There' seems a bit of debate about whether to soak in cold or warm water. Some people saying warm water works quicker, some people saying cold doesn't disturb and oils etc that are already in the leather. Any words of wisdom here?

Cheers.

Heard good things about neats foot oil if saddle has lost oil, so it may help recover it if you do use warm water, proofide takes much longer to soak in.

Hey!
re: the tension bolt -- the fact it's never been used is probably the reason the saddle's sagged in an uneven way (also CocknBalls obvs). They do sometimes do that where there's a ridge along the middle (seen it a lot on Swifts). Might be something to do with the leather, it varies lots. B17s are pretty thin stuff these days - it's basically the saddle flattening where the sitbones are, and not where the bumcrack was (sorry ew). For this reason consider seriously the option of tieing the side skirt flap things down/together once you've tried to restore the shape. You punch some holes either side, and lace it up.

No bother loosening it if you can't, just be sure add some once you've blocked it and dried it so it keeps taught and doesn't immediately sag again. When it's been wetted, just be sure to really stuff the shit out of it, improvise something to keep the stuffing in place (like some leather belts) if needs be.

I always use lukewarm water, and dry it out somewhere warmish too (window sill), but not hot like on a radiator.

Not tried the ride it when wet route, seems like a way to make a saddle that's rock hard shape to your sitbones a bit, not a way to make a saddle that's been saggy no-longer-saggy. But it could be good when the saddle's nearly but not quite dry I guess. Neatsfoot would be a safer route.*

*re: the above
Use neatsfoot with caution, i.e. much less than you think is necassary, as it can really soften the leather a lot.

Sorry this help is late, you may have already done it. Thanks to @wildwest for bumping while I happen to be on here.

@wildwest

I ended up managing to undo the bolt a tiny bit so did that, soaked it in water that was warm when I started but I left it in there soaking for a good 24hrs I think so obviously the water wasn't warm for long.

Stuffed it full of newspaper and wrapped some toestraps around it and let it dry in a warm(ish) room for a couple days, kept checking it and smooshing the newspaper and leather into the shape I wanted.

Heavy coat of Proofide once it was dry.

The results, it's a lot less lopsided but probably not 100% symmetrical. An awful lot more comfortable - it was pretty much un-ridable before.

Re tieing, I have another one I've done this to, didn't block it just tied the sides in as they were quite flattened out when I got the saddle (another 2nd hand ebay one). Its worked alright, the shape isn't the usual flattish top and verticalish sides, more like an 'O' sort of shape now but its comfortable, I rode 48 miles of gravel on that saddle last weekend .

It’s nice to make them a bit better. Good stuff (no pun intended)

Hey Skully
You initialed a saddle for my (now) ex wife and it was fab ( 10 years ago I reckon)….
Would you consider doing an HH on a saddle for me… I’m down in brighton now
Best
H