Implement Care Guide

Every Collared Foxy implement is cut by hand from a hide we chose for its weight, thickness and temper. Leather is skin. It stretches, it creases, and it holds onto how it was stored. Look after it and it will keep throwing the way it did the first night you swung it.

Storing it

  • Hang it by its loop. Straight falls stay even, and even falls throw true.
  • Keep it out of direct sunlight. UV fades colour and dries the hide until it turns brittle.
  • Store it somewhere dry. Damp leather grows mould.
  • Every implement ships in a black cotton bag with a window to write its name on. Cotton lets the leather breathe. Plastic bags, sports bags and suitcases trap moisture against the hide, so keep it out of them.
  • A tail left crushed at the bottom of a kit bag takes a permanent crease, and a creased fall throws off line.

Keeping it clean

  • Implements that only meet intact skin rarely need cleaning. Blood and other body fluids change that. Bloodborne viruses can survive in dried blood for days to weeks, and leather is porous, so it holds onto whatever soaks in. Once an implement has broken skin, treat it as fluid-bonded to that Bottom. Using it on anyone else is a risk assessment for the Top and Bottom to make together. Many Bottoms keep their own implements for exactly this reason, and they get to choose the sensation too.
  • Any cleaning product can mark or discolour the falls, suede most of all. Spot test on a hidden area first. For routine hygiene we use Viraclean, a hospital grade disinfectant. It's made for hard surfaces, so on a porous hide it handles everyday hygiene and gives no guarantee against bloodborne viruses. Factor that into your risk assessment.
  • Keep it dry. If it gets wet, blot it with a towel and hang it to dry on its own. Heaters, hair dryers and sunny windowsills dry the hide out too fast.
  • Wax and massage oil soak into the falls and are hard to shift. We've learned that one the hard way.
  • Our handles are kangaroo leather in metallic foil, shimmer or matte. Clean them with a dry microfibre cloth only. Anything abrasive scratches the finish. Metallic foil also scratches against rings, bracelets and other jewellery.

Conditioning

  • Leather falls: a light leather lotion, about the consistency of a light skin moisturiser. Use it sparingly and only when the hide feels dry.
  • Ninetails: the tails are leather too, so give them the same light leather lotion, used sparingly.
  • Suede falls: products made for suede or nubuck only.
  • Skip oils, heavy leather conditioners, upholstery and saddlery products, alcohol and saddle soap. They oversaturate or stiffen the hide and change how it throws and feels.
  • CrocoDragons: a reptile-specific conditioner such as Angelus Reptans keeps the scales' texture and finish.

After each session

  • Brush the falls with a dry soft brush or microfibre cloth to lift dust and debris.
  • Expect a little shedding, especially from suede. We call it leather glitter. It covers the workshop on cutting days.
  • Check the falls now and then and trim them back to even. Some parts of a hide stretch more than others, and deer stretches more than most.
  • CrocoDragon tips can thin out at the very end. Trim them when they start looking ragged. Every tail has its own thickness, weight and heft, and the finest tips are the most fragile part.

Before you play

  • Use the loop for hanging it at home. Clipping it to a carabiner on your belt strains the loop, and we don't cover that damage.
  • Lighter leathers are built for lighter play. Heavy force wears them out fast.

Our workmanship guarantee

We guarantee the workmanship on every implement for life. The guarantee excludes damage from cleaning or improper care, handle loops damaged by belt carabiners, and wear on metallic foil finishes.

Questions?

Email info@collaredfoxy.com.au, DM us on Instagram @collaredfoxy, or find us on FetLife @collared-foxy.