The B17 Special that is the saddle I ride most often has both the impressed, raised ridgeline in the leather running along the transitions of the leather hide's top to sides, and the "skiving" of the lower edges -- I thought they all did. The ridgeline is more pronounced on mine than it appears in the photos above, and I've never had the sensation of feeling it during a ride. I generally ride in jeans (RBW "ride what you're wearing" style), but sometimes thinner non-athletic shorts; no difference.
Though you didn't ask me, I use very little ointment on my saddles; sort of like the advice generally given for use of the hide tensioning: avoid it, if at all possible. Or the sage advice I received from my favorite uncle when a sprat: "If it's working, don't f*** with it." There is some "lore" from, I think, René Herse/ex-Compass about how Proofide has some property to break down leather fibers, while Obenaufs (which is what they sell, go figure) is simply a "preservative and waterproofing" product and doesn't. Like most ointments of any sort, there's a lot of salesmanship, and very little science or controlled experimentation to inform the consumer -- at least that's my view. So my policy is, if a miniscule amount is helpful and gives you peace of mind, it certainly doesn't follow that regular application is advisable.
Last edited by Charles Wahl; 07-30-20 at 03:06 PM.