UKH

Out yesterday and noticed a tiny crack has appeared in the leather on my Nepals near the toe - https://imgur.com/a/a2OzTfH

The leather around the crack wetted out a bit (didn't get into the boot thankfully) and took longer to dry than the rest of the boot and other one.

It's only tiny but obviously want to nip this in the bud. I've thought about applying a small amount of Shoe Goo or Freesole to the area in order to seal the damage but wondering if anyone out there has any top tips or suggestions!?

Cheers!

It's right in the crease point isn't it? In which case it will only gradually get worse whatever you do I think. Sad but true... 

I can't actually see anything but if you're worried, clean it out thoroughly with warm water and an old toothbrush, allow to dry (NOT on the radiator or somewhere hot). Once dry, add a boot wax like Zamberlan's hydrobloc, Scarpa's HS12, granger's G-wax or meindl's sport wax. Important that it's not dubbing. I say clean and dry because if not, any bacteria in the crack will be trapped under the wax and eat more of the leather. the above creams and waxes help nourish the leather as well as protect it.

If you're really worried about it, shoe goo might help, but again clean the crack thoroughly first or you'll be doing more harm than good.

both of these approaches will only prolong the inevitable.

I hope this helps.

Leather eating bacteria?! Is that really a thing?

Personally I couldn't even see what the problem is. Personally I'd just wax them and not give it another thought. My Nepal Extremes are coming on 20 years old, have been used loads, and are still going strong.

yup. It's dead skin. If it wasn't a thing, corpses would have their skins on them. Dark but best way to explain it.

It's the main reason one should clean their boots before just waxing on top of caked mud.

Not really "dark", leather is a pretty grim thing when you think about it

That's leather boots for you

I wouldn't worry about it myself, the soles will have disintegrated well before that crack becomes a significant problem.

Roll on the vegan tangent to this conversation that has nothing to do with the OP's question :P

If it didn't involve killing and skinning an animal, it'd be a wonder product!

I still by the occasional leather item (rock shoes, mainly) - just some out of place musing!

True but the tanning process means it is quite a long way from your common a garden corpse skin!

You don't generally tan a corpses skin!.

GRAVEDIGGER

Well, if he’s not rotten before he dies (and there are a lot of people now who are so rotten they start falling to pieces even before you put them in the coffin), he’ll last eight or nine years. A leathermaker will last nine years.

HAMLET

Why he more than another?

HAMLET

Why does he last longer?

GRAVEDIGGER

Why, sir, his hide is so tanned with his trade that he will keep out water a great while, and your water is a sore decayer of your whoreson dead body.

Not quite the tangent I was expecting, but yep. Off topic and weird haha! I LIKE it!

Are they resoleable? If not you're right.

Altberg supply a wax called leder-gris for use on their boots, which does seem to minimise cracking. They also do a more 'aggresive' version that claims to partially 'repair' cracking, but I've never used it. Might be worth a punt.

Lot of recommendations  thanks would you offer your view  on the suitables Neatsfoot oil  beeswax and so seal  as waxes to use   In comparison to the new waxes

 I have always found so seal to be very affective  in waterproofing and Neatsfoot not so effective at waterproofing but very useful if  leather too stiff

 Are you against Dubin for fear of it rotting stitching ? I always wondered if any was in this or if it was  myth    

I couldn't tell you on those two but a beeswax based treatment is likely going to be good.

Yeh Dublin can rot stitching and if not applied correctly can just cause havoc so best to go with something easier that does the job just as well! 

Presumably it's all the Guinness.

Can you even buy dubbin anymore? Definitely not in outdoor shops in the last three decades!

Have you ever seen a pair of boots with rotten stitching?  Let us wind the clock back to the happy days before the invention of synthetic yarn, when boots were stitched together with hemp, linen or cotton thread.  Welts were Goodyear or Norwegian and water would seep in between the layers and soak the thread.  The dubbin would keep the leather dry and so people would put them away, not knowing that the thread was wet.  That would in due course rot - stands  to reason it were the dubbin wot dunnit.  In the days of synthetic thread and bonded soles, that is an anachronism at best and bollocks at worst.  Similarly, you find people saying the same about saddle soap - Here, Sir, rub this well in to your £4,000 saddle - you'll find that it will rot the stitching down nicely.

To the OP - slap some Nikwax or similar on it and don't worry.  It's not even close to cracking

Thanks everyone for the input, much appreciated!

This. Clean it first, and all will be fine, it almost looks more like abrasion to me.