How do you prefer to break in your strap?
Round two on the strap conversation.
Do you have a preferred method to break in a new strap?
When I was selling timepieces, I had a customer that would steam and then apply a conditioner to his straps. He owned a detailing business and did the same to leather seats. Seemed to work for him.
18 comments
Sort by
Craig
Reformed watch dealer, now in Supply Chain. Seattle. CWU Alumni. WSU MBA.
Seattle
Member since
Last active: 3 days ago
17.78 cm
I usually sit with them and explain in a quiet voice what happen to straps that don't conform to my wrist. It's usually enough and it help that I can show pictures of straps that tried to defy me in the past.
They break in and down immediately, some of them even confessed to crimes I didn't know could exist.
I connect mine to a watch head and then occasionally wear them on my wrist. 😜
Time is the key. So when I'm not wearing one, it's in the watch box, wrapped around one of the oval keepers.
For leather straps, I usually tighten it one notch tighter on the keeper than I would for my wrist. That seems to make it conform a little better as it "relaxes" when I remove it from the box.
I like to put them on my wrist. This has always seemed to me to be the best method.
err...is this really a question?
I condition leather straps before start using them. And repeat the conditioning once a year. Similar to other leather goods. Just be careful to use the right type of product for the type of leather you have.
I like to put them on my wrist. This has always seemed to me to be the best method.
err...is this really a question?
I spent many years as an AD for about a dozen brands. Haven’t been in the business for 15 or so years. I have witnessed some…..unique……methods to break in a strap. This is more of my own curiosity as to what techniques people use today to get a strap wrist ready.
Like you, I just put it on and go. Others have a multi step process before it gets wrist time.
I condition leather straps before start using them. And repeat the conditioning once a year. Similar to other leather goods. Just be careful to use the right type of product for the type of leather you have.
What conditioner do you use?
Don't say L'Oreal. 😛
Serious time
Usually I just try to..uh...roll them before putting it on the watch (which would explain why my fake croc leather straps look beaten up, I suppose).
I just kinda bendy twisty them every now and then, and wear them.
What conditioner do you use?
Saphire, Bick4, but TBH any neutral leather conditioner would work fine.
Edit: I have also used leather conditioner left over from my car seats. Lol
I like to boil the hard rubber straps.
I use this for my goodyear-welted leather shoes as well as for dry or refractory straps. It's not cheap, but it's the first choice for all fine leather goods.
I just broke in a new Barton strap. I wore it for a week. By the end of the week it had confirmed to my wrist and was much more comfortable than at the beginning.
Depending on the strap, But I like to work in the leather or nato strap for at least a few minutes before wearing. If it's half decent leather it can be broke in! When I do use a conditioner I use Blackrock Leather conditioner. It's what I use for most of my leatherwork when need be.
I put it on my wrist and let the natural oils of the skin take care of the rest. florida‘s humidity helps break it in as well.
I just broke in a Barton strap. I just wore it for a week and left it at that. Now, hiking boots are a different process.