Leather lasts for years if you keep it dry and feed it now and then. Here is what we tell customers who ask.
Leather is skin. It behaves like skin — it dries out, it marks, and it gets better with use if you look after it.
Most bags that come back to us for repair have not worn out. They have dried out, or they have been put away wet.
Keep it dry
If your bag is caught in the rain, wipe it down and let it dry on its own, away from any heat. A radiator or a hairdryer pulls the moisture out too fast, and the leather cracks along the folds.
Feed it twice a year
A small amount of leather conditioner, worked in with a soft cloth, is enough. Twice a year is plenty for a bag in daily use. Let it sit for an hour, then buff off whatever has not soaked in.
Store it with something inside
An empty bag folds, and it creases along the fold. Put a cloth or some paper inside before it goes in the cupboard, and keep it out of a plastic cover — leather needs air.
Marks are not damage
A light scratch on full-grain leather will usually rub out under your thumb. The colour deepening around the handle is the bag ageing, not failing. That is the part you paid for.