hammanol is okay, i personally think that it probably only works for stubben - to me, it smells like a barbeque and leaves a gross, oily residue.
i’m a hardcore glycerin/neatsfoot girl too, but i’ve branched out a few times.
i like supple (a leather soap conditioner) i believe that dover sells it. i use it, rubbing vigorously, and then while the suds are still on the tack, wipe it off with a clean rag. it brings a lot of the old dirt and residue that stuck to the leather via oil/conditioner out.
horseman’s onestep is great for leather that has not been cared for well. apply it liberally, and then take a clean rag (one tthat has warm water wrung out) and rub it off vigorously. you will probably go through a few rags before the accumulated dirt completely dissipates. follow up with glycerin soap to get excess onestep off and oil/conditioner of choice.
i bought passier leaderbalsam because i had a lot of people on COTH encourage it, but it really didnt do much for me. my leather is already broken in, so it didnt make a difference in that department – but my complaint with the balsams is they leave a residue that collects dirt/fur from the horse’s face.
i’ve tried leather honey, which also has a following - it’s a conditioner. it’s okay, but didn’t hydrate too well.
i stay away from hydrophane, i dont think it conditions very well either.
i like effax leader-combi for cleaning really grimy, unkept bridles.
so, as you can see, i still prefer good old glycerin and neatsfoot – but for the sake of my tack i do branch out and try other conditioners/cleaners that get out the grime/dirt the gylercin/neatsfoot combo can miss.
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