Long time lurker, first time posting! I wanted a Taft, as a travel bag (i.e. not pristine), and I wanted it to be a project. And I definitely found one. This bag had cracked piping, missing piping, overall darkening, lots of abrasions and surface loss, a filthy interior with pet hair stuck in the seams, and very dry leather. Writing out the entire rehab process turned into a long post, so I'll do my best to abbreviate!
(before photos from original listing)
I did a traditional dunk and started testing conditioners. Some of the abraded areas had so much surface loss they felt like suede. Several coats of Chamberlains made zero improvement, and neither did Obenauf's Heavy Duty LP. After searching the forum, I tried Obenauf's Leather Oil. This bag soaked up four applications, but was still very far from being in a state I'd be willing to carry, so I moved on to pigmentation.
Saphir Juvacuir in "Dark Brown" was a near-perfect color match. Unfortunately I experienced color transfer in my test areas--not sure why. Perhaps the leather oil? This product cleans up well with soap/detergent, so while I hope to minimize transfer, I'm also not terrified. I diluted it with water to dull the sheen slightly and applied everywhere except the back panel.
The good results from the Juvacuir motivated me for the real work of this rehab. During manufacture the piping would have been attached with an industrial sewing machine and a binding feed, but this was not available to me! I ordered a 1mm/2.5oz panel of semi-aniline full-grain leather in a similar shade and cut .75" strips. I skived and glued them to achieve the lengths needed, then punched stitching holes using the original machine-stitching holes in the straps as a guide. This was tedious but ultimately less work than trying to align & awl through three layers at once, and also hopefully keeps the leather stronger.
(right-hand side: original flap stitching above; new strap stitching below)
When sewing, I decided to completely remove the straps from the bag, as well as the rivet near the buckle, and this made the work easier to handle. I used a saddle stitch with Vinymo MBT #20 thread. I also replaced a cracked section of piping on the bag itself. Ideally I would have replaced everything, but sewing got much harder with multiple layers, and I was satisfied enough with the results of the Juvacuir to leave the rest alone.
The last step was to reattach the straps to the bag (I switched them so that the buckle would be to the back when wearing the bag on my left side), and put a Chicago screw in place of the rivet. I finished with a generous coat of Obenauf's Heavy Duty LP. I enjoyed the process, learned a lot, and am enormously happy with the outcome!
Earlier owner had knotted the shoulder strap and I'm working to unkink it as well. Sharing some photos.
So, I'm going to wait a day or 2 more, then remix color and redo. In the meantime, I'm using brown edge kote to restore around the strap attachments.
