Care for your leather camera strap

Our leather camera straps are made from one of the world’s finest leathers, Horween Chromexcel. Tanned in a building used exclusively for this leather and comprising five stories, this is the ultimate leather from which to make premium leather camera straps. It is tough, durable, soft and has very little colour-transference, meaning, your white shirts will stay white.

However, it is also a natural material. And, like all natural materials, it needs a bit of care in order to provide the user with years of faithful service. Think of your leather camera strap in the same way as you do your nice pair of leather shoes. If you walk in your shoes each day, get them wet without allowing them to dry, don’t put shoe trees in them at night to allow the moisture to evaporate, or fail to apply shoe cream and wax occasionally those shoes will wear out far quicker than the same pair of shoes that have been taken care of properly.

In this guide we hope to show you how to care for your leather camera straps. This guide is what we found to work for our straps. If you don’t own a Hawkesmill leather camera strap, you may want to check with your manufacturer first.

What you need:

• Clean rags

• Water

• Leather conditioner (we use Saphir Greasy Leather Cream)

• A good quality leather wax

• A metal cleaner, such as Brasso.

• Blow dryer

First steps:

The first thing you need to do is inspect your leather camera strap for nicks, scratches, dings, dents, wear marks, etc. If you’ve managed to nick, or cut your leather strap in any way, stop using it immediately and either get it repaired professionally, or replace it. A nicked leather camera strap will soon split and your expensive camera gear will get scratched from the fall, or worse. A good cobbler may be able to repair your strap for you.

*You should thoroughly inspect your leather camera strap every now and then to see if there are any issues. You don’t need to wait until you are cleaning/conditioning it.

Next:

• Using a soft, clean cloth with a dab of water, remove any obvious dirt and debris from the strap, then let it dry thoroughly.

• Apply the leather conditioner and wipe off any excess.

• Using your clean cloth apply a good dab of wax, wiping off any excess.

Finish:

Boil the kettle and while your well-earned tea is brewing, apply medium heat from your blow dryer to the strap from a distance of between 8-10 inches, until the strap is looking rich and smooth again.

Clean hardware with a good quality metal cleaner, such as Brasso, using the instructions given.

Job done. You have now treated your leather camera strap to a spa day. It will thank you by being even more comfortable, more supple and more beautiful than it was before you started this process.