# Oberon leather stiffness...?



## Christina (Feb 4, 2009)

Somebody please help me, lol... I have used my lovely Oberon ROH K2 cover exclusively ever since I got it, but have now grown tired of the purple color. I also have a red Oberon River Garden that I've NEVER been to use, due to the leather's stiffness and the painful arthritis in my thumb. It'll never be as supple as the purple ROH, no matter how much it is used/folded/manipulated, as Oberon advised me to do. My Tree of Life Oberon, for my K1, was never that stiff either.

Soooo... my dilemma. Should I risk ordering another Oberon and hope that it will be supple like the ROH (I just can't afford to buy another cover I can't use), or else purchase a cover from another company. My choice for my next Oberon would be the Hokusai Wave - can anybody who owns one report on the stiffness/suppleness of it? Also, what about the fern or red gingko, are they overly stiff as well?


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Leslie has a Wave....and she's online this morning!  Leslie?  Be sure to put the River Garden up in the Marketplace--I'd be interested in it if I had a K2!

Betsy


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## whiterab (May 29, 2009)

The stiffness can be cured.

Go to the Oberon web page on caring for the leather where they talk about using the leather balm.  I few treatments with it will make the leather much more supple.


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## Christina (Feb 4, 2009)

Betsy the Quilter said:


> Leslie has a Wave....and she's online this morning! Leslie? Be sure to put the River Garden up in the Marketplace--I'd be interested in it if I had a K2!
> 
> Betsy


Thanks Betsy, I may just do that. Haven't heard yet from Leslie, or anyone else either about the leather stiffness or lack of - maybe my question is just too subjective...


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## Christina (Feb 4, 2009)

whiterab said:


> The stiffness can be cured.
> 
> Go to the Oberon web page on caring for the leather where they talk about using the leather balm. I few treatments with it will make the leather much more supple.


Thank you for the suggestion re the leather balm, but I've already tried that with the Cadillac lotion that Oberon recommends. It makes the surface feel softer and adds a slight sheen, but the stiffness remains. Maybe it's either a really tough piece of leather, or the dye added stiffness, who knows?

Guess I may have just got an atypical one.


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## pidgeon92 (Oct 27, 2008)

Maybe your cow didn't get massaged as much as the rest of the cows....


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## Someone Nameless (Jul 12, 2009)

I'm interested in your purple Oberon ROH K2 if you want to sell it.


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## Christina (Feb 4, 2009)

pidgeon92 said:


> Maybe your cow didn't get massaged as much as the rest of the cows....


Hehe, guess not! Or she was very thick-skinned, lol


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## Christina (Feb 4, 2009)

Kindle Gracie said:


> I'm interested in your purple Oberon ROH K2 if you want to sell it.


I'm still using it at the moment, but as soon as I decide which other cover to get, I'll put it up for sale. It's still in very good shape


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## mistyd107 (May 22, 2009)

if you decide to try another company might i suggest trying Bobarra.  I have use of one hand  and absolutely love these covers.  I will have a review up in the next week or so.  just a suggestion


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## lesedi (May 3, 2009)

My Dad has a Noreve cover for his K2 and it is a wonderfully soft, supple, elegant leather product. I haven't checked prices lately but I think they're a bit less than Oberon covers. You can order them from Amazon or from their website.

If I didn't love my Oberon cover so much, I'd buy one from Noreve.


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## LCEvans (Mar 29, 2009)

I have a red Oberon River Garden and mine is very supple. I love it. It folds back with no problem and is easy to hold. I would guess the others are right when they suggested your cover must have come from a tough-skinned, under-massaged cow. Or maybe it was a bull. Anyway, I'm sure you could sell both your Oberons and go with another brand. I haven't tried a Noreve, but that's the one I'd get if I didn't have Oberon.


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## Kathy (Nov 5, 2008)

I have the Sky Blue Hokusai Wave cover and it is really soft. I had the Navy cover and it was stiffer. I also had the Fern Dragonfly Pond with my K1 and it was soft. I think that the cover that do not have the wrap around designs seem to be lighter and softer. My daughter has had to wrap around designs and they seemed stiffer to me. I also noticed the darker colors seem to be stiffer than the lighter covers.


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## MJ5 (Aug 26, 2009)

I also have a sky blue Wave.  I used to have the regular black Amazon cover and this one is definitely not as easy to fold back, but it seems to get better as I use it (I have not had it very long).  Maybe you could try taking the Kindle out of it and repeatedly folding closed and folding all the way back, kind of like working a baseball glove?  My guess is it may soften up quite a bit.  The wave doesn't have a wraparound design so if you work the spine a little it won't mess up the design.


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## luvshihtzu (Dec 19, 2008)

I mentioned it in another thread, but I took my wraparound Oberon Gingko and did a lot of stretching and rolling.  First remove the Kindle and be sure to remove those plastic inserts.  Then roll up cover in all directions tightly a whole bunch of times.  The next day I did it again and finally it started to soften.  Actually, the cover softened so much, I had to put the plastic inserts back in.  The cover feels and looks so much nicer now.


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## Kind (Jan 28, 2009)

Since the cows didn't get massaged, perhaps give the cover a massage? As long as the color doesn't come off.


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## Christina (Feb 4, 2009)

Wow, _*thanks so much*_ for all the replies and suggestions, I really appreciate them. 

Think I'll try luvshihtzu's method first, and see if that helps!


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## luvshihtzu (Dec 19, 2008)

Christina,

Just don't be afraid to really bend the heck out of that cover. The more you bend it the better it gets. 

luvshihtzu


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## JeanThree (Feb 22, 2009)

I have bought two used Oberon covers, a wine Celtic hounds and green Tree of life. They are quite different. Hounds is stiffer and was never used, Tree is much softer and they said used only four months. I used the hounds for four months and never noticed a change in the leather. I am thinking it is more the original hide the cover came from, neither of mine are wrap around designs. The Tree cover bends where the bungee cords wraps but the hounds is stiff enough you don't see any bending. The Tree kind of hugs the Kindle but hounds if more like a stiff book cover.I really don't mind either one, but I can see how the softer one might be preferable to you. To me it is just different. 

I wonder if you asked Oberon to find one that is softer if they could help?


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## Tippy (Dec 8, 2008)

The first Oberon cover I had was very stiff -- sold it.  Then I purchased one from a Kindleboards member -- better.  Then decided I owed it to myself to purchase exactly what I want.  Sheesh.  Well, I did and this cover is terrific -- it is not stiff at all blah blah blah.  I'm so happy -- until I decide to go shopping again.


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## Christina (Feb 4, 2009)

JeanThree said:


> I wonder if you asked Oberon to find one that is softer if they could help?


I did call Oberon when I received my covers - I explained about my arthritis and how the purple ROH cover was perfect, but the red RG was so stiff and thick. I was told it would soften in time, and that it was the nature of the wrap-around covers - not necessarily true, as the ROH and Tree of Life are both wrap-arounds and I've had no problems with them. Also, I had ordered the two covers in two separate orders, apparently on the same day, but received only one charm. When I asked about it, I was told, "one charm per order." Had I known that, I would've waited a day to place my second order. Anyway, I felt they just blew me off. 

But I still think their covers are gorgeous.



luvshihtzu said:


> Christina,
> 
> Just don't be afraid to really bend the heck out of that cover. The more you bend it the better it gets.
> 
> luvshihtzu


luvshihtzu - I think your method is helping.  Thanks again!!


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## JeanThree (Feb 22, 2009)

Whoops, my softer oberon cover I bought used, the one that is more supple is the world tree, not tree of life, so it is not wrap around-- I get them mixed up, sorry.


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## BlueQuill (Jun 4, 2009)

I tend to agree that the actual piece of leather and maybe the dye color influence the softness more than the design. My first K2 Oberon was the purple (new) Butterfly, which was immediately quite soft and flexible and after a few months wear, very nice and soft. My next K2 was the red Gingko leaf, which was quite stiff at first but after a few weeks and some manipulating, is soft and comfortable now. I also recently ordered two K1 covers as gifts: a blue Dragonfly Pond, which was about as soft as the purple Butterfly initially (but not as soft as I expected for a front-only design) and a sable Maple Creekbed, which was by far the softest cover of the lot! We're all thrilled with our covers (my daughter inherited the purple Butterfly along with a Kindle for her birthday)!


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## Patrizia (Oct 29, 2008)

I have found my red covers tend to be less soft it maybe something in the dyes.. not sure of course just a guess but my red ones (I have three) are not as soft as my blue or purples


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## BlueQuill (Jun 4, 2009)

Patrizia, even so, I love my red Ginkgo the best! So much so that I've found myself looking longingly at the red River Garden cover, but I'm trying to tell myself that if I get a second cover for my K2, it should at least be in a different color...


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## artsandhistoryfan (Feb 7, 2009)

Why is everyone so soft on Oberon's unwillingness to have her exchange it for another less stiff one since she had bought another one and *that* one is okay.

I think it's really questionable customer service. She called on the same day and has another one to judge it by.

Oberon can't afford an exchange ?


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