Thanks again, Garry. Latex gloves (unpowdered), Rennaissance Wax, and treating both sides is pretty much what seemed to me to make sense.

I have cleaned the rifle with Hoppe's solvent while I am waiting for the wax to arrive. It took off lots of dirt, but did not effect the patina or wood finish -- it's BEAUTIFUL!

Once the rifle is done, I'll start with the wax on the leather. Then the swords. The family collection is pretty spectacular, but until now it has just been something taking up space in the closet. When the rifle came to me a couple of months age, I started doing some research on it and immediately got hooked. I plan to build some wall display racks for my home office.