Neatsfoot oil vs. olive oil.

[Slowhand Bob]

I do know that (at least) some neatsfoot oils wo seperate like fats, with the thick stuff on the bottom, if they are stored for a while.  My point with the earlier comment on Ballistol is that those needs that the leather requires for obtaining a normal lifetime of use just mght not be as critical as many of us tend to believe.  I do know that oldest holster I mentioned probably sat in a drawer or box for around twenty or thirty years being totally neglected and it shows no signs of deterioration after receiving just a light wipe down with a cotton rag that had little more than a trace of oil on it.  I accept that the more abusive the conditions by leather, the more critical the care required becomes.  What one does month to month will be different than what one must do when he spends a day carrying in the rain!

[Horseapples]

I have found that neatsfoot COMPOUND as opposed to oil will, if applied to blanket straps, take the rubber right off a poncho and the tar off a tarred canvas.  This is probably the stuff that rots stitching.
Neatsfoot oil gives, for me, a better colour quicker than EVOO but a couple weeks down the line the difference is not visible.  Neatsfoot oiled leather does go green in a damp environment but a lick of yellow lanolin saddle soap over the oil prevents that.  I have not had this occur with EVOO. But, I have found horses happy to chew on EVOO'd leather while being not the least interested in neatsfooted leather.