Caring for leather

[Marshal Will Wingam]

Is there a way to use some kind of gentle solvent to soften the beeswax to a mixable consistency? After it was mixed into a solution, the solvent could evaporate out of it and you'd be left with the right mixture. You'd need a solvent that didn't attack or contaminate the beeswax or the EVOO.

[Mogorilla]

Well, I can't think of a solvent that would soften the wax and not be easy to work with.   But all this talk did get me to thinking  and here are they are:  Note, all theory, haven't tried it. 
Olive oil will degrade with heating, but Beeswax, especially the good organic variety will melt at ~ 65°C.   I know a lot of Black Powder shooters use a 50-50 mix of beeswax and olive oil for lube.   I think in a controlled preparation, you could limit the damage to the olive oil, especially if post-storage was controlled.    I would put a water bath on the stove and try and maintain it at ~70 °C.  In a bowl over the water batch, break up the wax into small pieces to speed up the melt.   When the wax is nearly melted, add the oil, this may cause the wax to set up again, but it should quickly melt, stir to evenly distribute the oil.   Once the entire pan is liquid, remove from the water bath.   Here is where I am going on a limb, take an old electric hand mixer and slowly begin to whip the wax/oil.  My thought is it will lighten the mix, adding air which really may not be a good thing for the oil, but may make it easier to work with and I think storage will eliminate the issue.  I should become a fluffy mass as it cools while being whipped.    When somewhat solidified and whipped, use a spoon or small ice cream scoop to place small balls of the wax/oil onto a cookie sheet and freeze.   Frozen, degradation of the oils should really be slowed and once frozen, the individual balls of mix can be stored in a large Ziploc for use as you need them.    A little time at room temp should thaw them for use.  If you don't do the whipped variety, I would definitely aliquot the oil/mix into small sizes, freezing what you are not using.  Just my $0.02.   Probably would need to wait for my wife to be out of town to try this on my own.  She is not fond of experiments in the kitche.   

[Dalton Masterson]

Uh oh, my boyhood mind just imagined a slingshot and little beeswax balls flying around the neighborhood.

That may work Mo. I just lubed a bunch of felt wads with a mix of olive oil, beeswax and crisco. Everything was liquid at around 175-200 deg. F. That was on the bbq outside. I know my fingers are now nice and soft, so it might be a good thing if you eliminate my crisco in the mix. DM

[ace1001]

Mineral Oil is good because mold can't live on it.  It is cheap and you should always have a gallon on hand in case your horse is trying to founder.  Get a po-poirie pot from the thrift shop to heat it a little.  And a little hair paint brush.  If you want to wax it a little after to make it shine, it won't hurt, but let the oil soak in first.  Could take 2 weeks for the oil to get to the center of 1/4 inch leather.  Too much of any conditioner will soften the leather too much.   Use your thumbnail where it doesn't show to tell.  every couple of days if it is really dry.  If it is hard don't bend it.  I see so many saddles ruined at sales by everyone who has to crack it to prove that it is dry.  Punch a hole at the end of any rip and lace it up.   NEVER TRUST DRY STURRUP LEATHERS.   They will fool you and you will be busted up.  Don't ask me how I know

[ace1001]

Am I the only one who thinks that oiling and waxing are SEPARATE processes.   Oil soaks in and softens and wax stays on the surface...seals and shines the leather.   Oil will cut your wax job right off so is last and the oil must be soaked in BEFORE the wax or it will dilute it too much.   Try it on some dried up leather.   

[Ace Lungger]

  ???Here goes This might back fire on me, But you all know I like to make my own stuff, sometimes you win and sometimes you loose This is how I make my finish. I take a hot plate set on 1 I put a small amount of virgim oilvie oil in my stainless container, then I put small piees of pure bees wax and start stiring untill it gets just melted, then I pull it off and put in a plastic container, at this time it has turned to a butter, i put the lid on it. When I want to finish my leather, holster, belt, ect.  Then when I am ready to use, I get another clean container and put a half of teaspoon in the container and start adding right out of the bottle virgin olive oil stirring it as it goes untill I get a thin liquid, and it will stay liquid, and then I apply! When ever I think I need to treat the leather Or clean, i take a piece of old blue jean material and rub the leather real good, and ad a light coat of neats foot oil. Also, I have only been playing with leather for a few months!!!
I used to do a lot of wood working, beden redoing old antique furniture for 25 years, and i allways use the same process, I put multi thin coats of boiled linseed oil letting each coat soak in for about 15 mins. depending on the humidity, afte the grain of the wood has all it wants, I let it dry for 24 hrs. then I apply coats of Johnston paste wax, same process, then the last coat I let dry untill it is dull and dry, i take my big buffer ans melt the top coat into the wood! I have 4 old chairs that have been used everyday for 25 years and they look brand new!
I guess the only way i will know if it is good or bad, is if I am at ashoot and my holster roots and falls off
ACE

[HorsePen Henry]

It just might work, Ace. Ya know? That recipe is a good one for bullet lube if ya shoot any black powder. EVOO thickened up with beeswax. It's good for leather or bullets.

X Horse Pen

[Ace Lungger]

HP, when are you comeing down to see me? Like I said, got a good place for ya!! I wished I could win a big lottery, I would go to Germany to this Nerosurgen that can fix my back, and then when I was healed, i would pay for all you pards to meet somewhere for a week and talk leather and shoot, would that not be a HOOT To get everyone at one place, rent a lodge, talk leather, do some shooting and then eat some BIG RIB EYE's and then  shoot some breese
I know I am dreaming again
But we got the second best thing to that! Right HERE!!!, maybe this is better, you pards see my ungly mug and might blast on me!!

Later Pards
ACE

[Marshal Will Wingam]

Welcome, ace1001. Thanks for the input. Looking forward to your posts.

[will ghormley]

Hey Ace 1001,

No, you aren't the Lone Ranger.  I'm pretty sure most folks know oilin' and waxin' are two seperate functions.  Earlier in the thread we had talked about what made good oils for leather.  Then, we started talkin' about using bee's wax as an edger and burnisher for the flesh-side of leather.  But, since it takes a lot of elbow grease to work bee's wax into leather, I had mentioned earlier experiments at combining bee's wax with extra virgin olive oil, as a way to make it easier to apply the wax.  So, jumpin' in there on the end, it may have seemed like we were confused, but we were simply following a stream of collective conscien..., consceintiou..., con..., thinkin'.

Welcome,
Will

[Ace Lungger]

WG,
Pleae give me your opition wheter or not you think my finish is good or bad? Virgin olive oil isn't cheap, and i have not check on mineral oil? But I would like you thoughts!

And I wasn't xing anyone out, HP voiced his opition, but I would like to hear from others! I have not found that there is anything in the virgin olive oil or the natural bees wax I buy is harm full to leather! But I would like to know about this mineral oil, since my sister in law works for a Vet. she can get the mineral oil for me cheap, I just don't want to do anything that will cause a problem down the line!

I would deeply great full for any and all advice on this!!
ACE

[will ghormley]

Hey Ace,

Extra Virgin Olive Oil is inexpensive, compared to other marketed leather treatments.  Think about what you spend on a small tin of your favorite leather treatment, and what it costs in evoo to do the same job.  It may not be the cheapest, but again, you get what you pay for.

Evoo, followed by bee's wax is a very good leather treatment.  There isn't anything about it that harms the leather.

I've never tried mineral oil and I doubt I'll ever be tempted to.  It may be the cheapest thing on the market, but that doesn't make it the best.  I would use a good quality, pure, neetsfoot oil before I would think about using mineral oil.  I would use mineral oil on my knife blades, (but I already use evoo for the same thing), but I wouldn't put it on my leather.

Now, that's not to say mineral oil isn't an exceptable treatment for leather.  I'm sure there are some properties about mineral oil that make it a very suitable treatment.  It's just not what I use.  I'm not sayin' that anyone who uses mineral oil is wrong or damaging the leather.  It's just not what I use and suggest.  I hope everyone understands I'm not saying using mineral oil is bad.

Other petrolium by-products can be used on leather too.  I've heard of folks using petrolium jelly, (basically gelled mineral oil).  Many commercial leather treatment compounds use mineral oil and other petrolium by-products as well.

So, there ya' have it.  That's my two-cents-worth on the subject.
Will

[Ace Lungger]

 :)Thanks WG,
I am sure that no one will take what you said as offensive!! That is what makes this the forum  greatest in the world! And I hope it allways will be.
With the great devotion of all the Pards on here the ART of Vintage and new leather work will allways grow will knowledge
I am so great full for the forum and the pards on here, there are no words that I could ever say that would express my true feeling I depend on you guys, to keep me motavated, and my mind off ofmy petty problems!!!

I thank you, I thank you, I thank you!!!
ACE

[oregontrailcrossing]

I really enjoyed reading this thread thanks for stickying it 

Since I deal in so much antique gunleather it's great to know I'm doing it right, ie cleaning with glycerine soap first then using a wax to finish it. You can't believe how grotty some of the leather is I get in. As long as it's not dryrotted or water-stiff that seems to work well for me. Lots of what I call "barnyard patina" 

I have tried different brands of cleaner like Fiebings and others but always go back to Bentley's Liquid Glycerine; I like liquid glycerine because it's easy to get into all the little crevices if something is especially deeply carved.. I use a toothbrush for many spots. A good example is some of the older Heiser carvings..they had a very deep poppy design with a miryiad of tiny dots in the center that were difficult to clean between.

The conditioner I find that works best for me is BlackRock which is Carnuba. The consistency is almost gooey, it's soft but not liquid, and is easy to control how much you apply and it leaves a soft lustre that some of the others don't do. Also I have found that BlackRock really softens the leather much better than any of the Fiebings products I've tried.

It could all be a matter of preference, no doubt.

And on the EVOO? My Italian grandmother used to dab it on her cheeks and face almost daily. She didn't look much over 40 when she passed at age 75  but I'd keep it away from the stitching for sure.

Happy Trails

[Mean Bob Mean]

Hello:

Just came into possession of an English (Westley Richards) gun case.  I would like this to last awhile but don't want to saturate the leather so much that anything else (interior, oak, stitching) is harmed (if that is even possible).

Suggestions?

[Camano Ridge]

What are you trying to accomplish is the leather dried and needs rejuvination or are you just trying to clean it up and protect it? In either case I myself would use either Skidmores leahter cream or Montana Pitch blend, they are natural products. I use finger tip applications of either one then buff between coats with a soft cloth or piece of shearling (synthetic is fine). THey will not soak through if applied properly.

[Mean Bob Mean]

What are you trying to accomplish is the leather dried and needs rejuvination or are you just trying to clean it up and protect it? In either case I myself would use either Skidmores leahter cream or Montana Pitch blend, they are natural products. I use finger tip applications of either one then buff between coats with a soft cloth or piece of shearling (synthetic is fine). THey will not soak through if applied properly.

Trying to clean and preserve, there are a few tears as well and I hope to seal those up seamlessly.  Thought this would make a nice match case for the side by side.

[Camano Ridge]

If the tears are such that the material can just be put back in place use super glue. The skidmores or the Montana pitch blend will do a good job on the case. Any chance you will be posting a picture of the case.

[Mean Bob Mean]

If the tears are such that the material can just be put back in place use super glue. The skidmores or the Montana pitch blend will do a good job on the case. Any chance you will be posting a picture of the case.

At work now, will do that tomorrow, thanks mate!

[MedicineMan]

Olive oil is for cooking.... NOT for leather.   (unless you want to DESTROY your investment)

http://www.fibrenew.com/blog/do-not-use-olive-oil-to-fix-leather/

Stick with saddle soap, mink oil, and other "leather care products".
You'll be happier in the future.