I've got a Canadian issued '14patt snake-buckle belt here, in fair condition with slightly torn up surface on the rear of the belt, but really rather dry and stiff.
Now, the question is;
Should I Ko-Cho-Line it or not?
A Proud Member Of 'Team Spleen!' who play mainly at Gunman Airsoft, Tuddenham, Suffolk.
Ko-Cho-Line? What is that?
It's a leather dressing. Usually used for horse tack and saddlery for restorative and storage use (it stops leather rot/mildew too). The equine world rave about it. I think quite a few of the Axis chaps on here use it on their original leather webbing too.
My main worry is, would I be devaluing it, or would it be better to make it usable. Then again the belt only cost me £4 after all....
A Proud Member Of 'Team Spleen!' who play mainly at Gunman Airsoft, Tuddenham, Suffolk.
I don't think you would be devaluing it McV, you are not adding/replacing anything just taking care of what is there.
Plus, you're right, you paided four pounds for it. Worry about things that are worth much much more 
Plus, you're right, you paided four pounds for it. Worry about things that are worth much much more
Well, it is worth much much more! Just that I happened to find it in a charity shop!
The old ladies, who were the shop's staff, were adamant it was a 1950s ladies belt, and nearly refused to sell it to me because I was a man. Wisdom does not come with age (just ignorance & bigotry it seems... 
)
A Proud Member Of 'Team Spleen!' who play mainly at Gunman Airsoft, Tuddenham, Suffolk.
I bought a dress from our charity shop years back, then again I tried it on in the shop, nd asked the opinions of the ladies working there.
I still think it should be OK though, it's like putting oil on an old sword-blade to stop rust, as opposed to 're-varnising' a baker rifle or some such, isnt it?
Yeah, I suppose so. It can only make it more usable and less likely to cause itself damage in the future...
I've already Ko-Cho-Line'd my 1915 dated '03patt bandoleer I bought at Stoneleigh, and that looks and feel lovely now (but then again the bandoleer was already damaged [but now reapired!], so didn't feel too bad at risking it).
I'll give it a go tonight!
A Proud Member Of 'Team Spleen!' who play mainly at Gunman Airsoft, Tuddenham, Suffolk.
Personally I'd use Neatsfoot compound as it is design to nourishes and restores old and dry leather.
Ko-Cho-Line is really designed for use when storing leather to stop rot and mildew, not for restoration or everyday use. It makes leather sticky and greasy.
And before anyone say it, Neatsfoot does NOT rot stitching!
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Adolf Hitler, November 1942
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...generally causes harm.
Why do you say that? There are some crazy forum myths about and they keep getting repeated without substantiation.
Ko-Cho-Line is a proprietory product - do you know what it contains? I don't. Does it work? Yes. Does it cause harm? Dunno, I can't wait 100 years to do side by side testing. The only thing I don't like about Ko-Cho-Line is it's red dye - OK for saddles but if you use it on haversack straps (say) you have to be careful where it goes, don't get it on the cloth. I'd say ANY leather dressing will be OK, whether liquid or light grease (but liquid has a chance to soak in further). Apply lightly and frequently, give it time to soak in, and when done polish the best face for smartness.
I think the neatsfoot myth goes back to a synthetic version the US military developed in the 60's or 70's.
It did rot stitching. It was nasty stuff and lots was sold as surplus.
Real, proper, natural, straight from a dead animal neatsfoot wont hurt leather or stitching.
aka Stigroadie
AFRA
better by design
"Truth is a shining goddess, always veiled, always distant, never wholly approachable, but worthy of all the devotion of which the human spirit is capable. "
Ah, that might make sense.
In my 'other' hobby looking back over the last two or three hundred years of boot care I hunted for documentary substantiation of 'this or that product will destroy your boots' and have found none. Well, I say none, poor quality blacking destroyed boots in the 19thC as it was so acidic and there was a study looking into leather preservation (rather for museum and other archival reasons) and the results weren't fantastically conclusive in practical terms. Basically leather is an organic material so it will decay over time and, depending on the circumstances, the decay can be accelerated or delayed. Practically speaking, doing nothing or mistreating leather is worse than putting the wrong slap on it - as McV's belt testifies. As a kid I'd chuck my wet and muddy leather football boots in a bag and forget them until the next week - only to find them either covered in mould or dried as hard as steel. I'm quite the opposite now, spending much more time than is natural on boot care, and whether you slap on porpoise oil or mutton fat, goo out of calve's hooves or vaseline, it all works!
I had a German water bottle strap repaired recently and both of the old pappy cobblers I consulted were adamant that re-stitching elderly, dried out leather was a big mistake, no matter how much product had been added.
Cobblers... 
Was applying the final application of Ko-Cho-Line to my '03patt bandoleer, when I decided to bite the bullet and give the '14patt belt a good smathering too. That was 4 hours ago. Picking it up now and wiping off all the excess and it's already becoming wonderfully flexible and usable! 
A Proud Member Of 'Team Spleen!' who play mainly at Gunman Airsoft, Tuddenham, Suffolk.
