I’m not sure exactly who/what person coined the term buttery leathers. I hate it but I have used it on multiple occasions to describe leathers and suedes and it ranks up there with “hope things are well” as one of statements I use often but loathe. I think with the influx of attention spent on raw denim over the last few years, natural leather which follows a similar aging/transformation process has become a popular fixture as well. Maybe thanks to a number of different aspects involving the intersection of fashion and culture today, there’s something about leather that develops its own patina that appeals to a growing crowd. I don’t think I’m far off at all when I say that the very same crowd that appreciate heritagewear and artisan craftsman enjoy watching quality products and their respective lifestyles affect the overall aesthetic of their products. I had zero plans to apply any sort of condition or oil to a bunch of leather shit I own. Partial reasons are cause I was lazy and cause I always hadn’t really known of any products worth checking out but I’m sure a trip to Hong Kong’s denim haven Take 5 could have quickly solved that problem.

Upon the gifting of my Engrave Your Book leather sleeve it came with a small packet of Pitch-Blend. From what I gather, Pitch-Blend includes mink oil, pine-pitch (is that the sticky shit that is seen on the trunk?) and beeswax. I really have no idea if it was any good but I figured it was much better than my alternative which was nothing haha. Luckily the small packet was more than enough product to be used over a 2nd x Red Moon wallet, a Red Moon phone strap, a 3sixteen x Tanner Goods double-wrap bracelet and of course the Engrave Your Book sleeve. The actual use of the Pitch-Blend left the leather in a weird state. The darkening of the leather was a given but it also got really “grippy”, to the point I had trouble sliding my wallet into my back-pocket. But at least that shit smelled real good haha. Eventually the top coating wears off and you’re left with a nice soft and smooth final product.

The before and after pics are divided up below. The Red Moon wallet I personally think looks like shit cause of the indigo stains creating an outline of the interior of the flap and the Red Moon phone strap could probably go for a saddle soap cleaning. I honestly can’t tell if the darkness is patina, dirt, an accumulation of indigo or the likely scenario of all three combined… but until I get a sample of saddle soap…

-Eugene

Before

I personally thought they could have used a different font.

After