About why crocodile skin is expensive, which genre is good, how to distinguish, and even how to distinguish from crocodile print cowhide, there have been many articles on the Internet. I only focus on care.
The surface of crocodile leather contains a calcified layer, so it looks shiny and hard. This is something that is naturally contained in the skin, not introduced during the tanning process.
The tanned crocodile skin is soft, yes, you read that right, softer than cowhide! But this layer of calcifications is still there. Therefore, if it is folded too much at a certain point or area, crocodile skin is easy to form folds and cracks. This trait is most evident in the skin of the caimans.
Caimans are originally the lowest grade crocodile leather, and it is not suitable to use for shoes.
Clean
Do not use any chemical substances to clean crocodile leather. Because the calcified layer mentioned above is fragile, on the one hand, bending will destroy it, and on the other hand, it is not resistant to chemical cleaning agents and is easy to dissolve.
Maybe you think that you are cleaning but if this membrane is removed, the crocodile leather is more likely to dry and crack. Moreover, this is also an irreversible process.
In the care of crocodile leather, even if you take it to a leather care store, you must ask a few more questions, such as what detergent and what protector to use. Don’t think they know much at this point.
In order to write this article, I made an extensive research, and to be honest, I could only write this unsatisfactory article. Don’t mention that people who haven’t done research will certainly have misunderstandings.
If you buy a Hermes bag, it’s okay to give it back to them for care, but such people are not interested in learning about this knowledge.
I am not sure there are any special cleaning products on the market exclusively for crocodile leather.
So as far as my current knowledge is concerned, I recommend non-chemical, or absolutely non-toxic and harmless things. What? Foodstuff. Food that people can eat. Cornstarch, sprinkled on oily surfaces, and then wiped off with a cotton cloth after a few hours, has a very good effect. For the cleaning of crocodile leather, it is better to use cotton cloth instead of a brush (this is said for shoes, because basically no one brushes the bag), because it is easy to produce some fine scratches.
Care
The principle of all leather care is no different.
Crocodile leather will dissipate the lubricating grease in the leather during use, so it is necessary to apply oil into it. It is better to have a better viscosity vegetable oil than animal oil. I came to this conclusion that the leather care products for crocodile leather are basically liquid rather than paste. Beeswax is always something that can’t be wrong and helps form a film on the surface.
My personnal experience is that Leather Milk No.1 really works well on crocodile leather.