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- Mar 19, 2007
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Fiddlebackoutpost.com asked me to write a set of leather care instructions for our sheaths and I was happy to do so. In future shipments there will be a link to these instructions sent out with each sheath - but for now, and brevities sake, I wanted to link it here - and add to them a little. These instructions will likely work for any sheath made from veg tanned leather.
https://fiddlebackoutpost.com/pages/sheathcare
Congratulations on your purchase of a Diomedes Industries custom leather sheath. Made from 100 % American veg tanned leather, your sheath was built with the craftsmanship that should provide a lifetime service. Leather, however, is a living product, some care will be required to maintain top performance.
The exterior of your sheath was sealed with Montana Pitch Blend (MPB) Leather Dressing. This product is American made and contains bees wax, pine pitch, and mink oil. This provides the proper protection and oils to keep your sheath in top shape for some months. From time to time your sheath will need to be cleaned, oiled, or even re-protected to prevent drying, cracking, or moisture absorption.
TO CLEAN:
Fill a bowl with warm (not hot) water and remove any obvious dirt from the sheath with a clean boot brush.
Wet and ring out a soft clean towel. Drizzle a small amount of MPB Leather Oil Soap onto a wet, clean, soft cotton towel. (If you do not have Leather Oil Soap - simply use a small amount of Dawn dish soap in your water the bowl in step 1)
Swirl towel with soap directly onto the leather to lather as you work gently into skin.
Rinse towel and ring out any excess water. Return to the leather to rinse and dilute remaining soapy water.
With a second clean, lint-free cloth, wipe leather and wick up any excess liquid.
Place sheath on towel and allow to dry in room temperature. Do not apply heat to speed drying.
TO OIL / PROTECT:
If your sheath is not dirty and you simply want to oil your sheath (every six months) please skip the cleaning process. If you have just cleaned your sheath and want to reapply protectant to the sheath you can use MPB Leather Oil and Conditioner (liquid) or Dressing (soft paste wax).
Add a small amount of Leather Oil or Dressing into the palm of your hand then massage directly into leather. (If you are using Leather Oil - less is more - be careful not to over-oil)
Apply a thin, even coat (no need to over-apply)
Allow to dry over night
Finish by buffing briskly with a clean, dry, lint-free cloth or boot brush to help even out your application and remove any excess oil. (This step is important as excess oil or dressing will attract dirt.)
GENERAL NOTES:
If your sheath came with Chicago Screws (solid brass and nickel plated) or a removable dangler (solid metal cast and nickel plated), you may want to secure these screws with a drop of temporary loc-tite. I assemble all danglers with blue loc-tite, but cannot guarantee them from backing out. Always check these before embarking on your adventures.
Pocket clip is made from tumbled stainless steel. Keep clean and dry.
Never insert a wet dirty knife back into the sheath. Cleaning game is one of the times when a sheath can take serious abuse. Wipe your knife clean before inserting it back into the sheath.
Never use petroleum products on your sheath. Do not use any product on your leather that you would not also place on your own skin. Leather is skin after all.
In addition to potentially molding and breaking down, leather is particularly susceptible to damage / marks while damp.
Do not use a leather sheath for long term knife storage as moisture can greatly effect the steel of the knife.
Every effort has been made to ensure that oils or dye does not transfer from leather to clothing or the knife itself. However, some dyes (black for instance) are particularly giving. The first few uses of a knife sheath should be done with clothing that you wont mind becoming soiled in case this happens. Should your knife handle get some dye on it generally rubbing alcohol will take this off with little issue. However, always refer to the manufacturers care instructions for their knife handles.
Always use care when sitting with any sheath and particularly reinserting the knife inside of the sheath. These are the two times when knives are more likely to cut through the sheath, and damage the user. As always, use caution when using any knife and / or sheath.
With all of this said - I would like to add a few notes.
1) I use Montana Pitch blend currently - but have used Obenauf's Heavy Duty LP and their leather oil - and love them both. They are very similar to the MPB products in many ways - but differ in the use of pine pitch and add a few things to the oil not included in MPB - like propolis.
2) Another great product made by a small company in America by hand - batch for batch - is Skidmores leather cream and waterproofing. I wouldn't hesitate to suggest any of the products listed on this page.
3) You do not need to seal your sheath often. In fact, I think you could do a very light coat once every year or so and be fine in normal use. If it were me, and I only owned a few sheaths and leather products - I would buy the MPB, or Obenaufs oil in a small bottle and oil it after I cleaned it - and really only then. It is the cleaning process that can really remove oils from the leather and cause it to dry out. Oiling it after this process really helps inject needed oils back into the leather. I think the MPB oil is very nice because it has some beeswax in it and in successive uses keeps the waterproofing properties of the initial waxing up to snuff.
However, if you have boots and other leather kit you want to keep up to par, I would suggest a bottle of oil and waterproofing and I wager it will last a lifetime.
4) I don't think owning saddle soap is necessary for the casual user. A little dawn dishsoap and warm water really works well when used in moderation and only when the sheath really needs it.
If you have any questions, please post them here - or check out the "Sheaths and Such" forum on Bladeforums. There is more knowledge in that forum made by GREAT men and women who really take the time to help than I could ever know. Most of those old dudes have forgotten more than I will ever learn.
Thanks and have a great journey.
Jason
https://fiddlebackoutpost.com/pages/sheathcare
Congratulations on your purchase of a Diomedes Industries custom leather sheath. Made from 100 % American veg tanned leather, your sheath was built with the craftsmanship that should provide a lifetime service. Leather, however, is a living product, some care will be required to maintain top performance.
The exterior of your sheath was sealed with Montana Pitch Blend (MPB) Leather Dressing. This product is American made and contains bees wax, pine pitch, and mink oil. This provides the proper protection and oils to keep your sheath in top shape for some months. From time to time your sheath will need to be cleaned, oiled, or even re-protected to prevent drying, cracking, or moisture absorption.
TO CLEAN:
Fill a bowl with warm (not hot) water and remove any obvious dirt from the sheath with a clean boot brush.
Wet and ring out a soft clean towel. Drizzle a small amount of MPB Leather Oil Soap onto a wet, clean, soft cotton towel. (If you do not have Leather Oil Soap - simply use a small amount of Dawn dish soap in your water the bowl in step 1)
Swirl towel with soap directly onto the leather to lather as you work gently into skin.
Rinse towel and ring out any excess water. Return to the leather to rinse and dilute remaining soapy water.
With a second clean, lint-free cloth, wipe leather and wick up any excess liquid.
Place sheath on towel and allow to dry in room temperature. Do not apply heat to speed drying.
TO OIL / PROTECT:
If your sheath is not dirty and you simply want to oil your sheath (every six months) please skip the cleaning process. If you have just cleaned your sheath and want to reapply protectant to the sheath you can use MPB Leather Oil and Conditioner (liquid) or Dressing (soft paste wax).
Add a small amount of Leather Oil or Dressing into the palm of your hand then massage directly into leather. (If you are using Leather Oil - less is more - be careful not to over-oil)
Apply a thin, even coat (no need to over-apply)
Allow to dry over night
Finish by buffing briskly with a clean, dry, lint-free cloth or boot brush to help even out your application and remove any excess oil. (This step is important as excess oil or dressing will attract dirt.)
GENERAL NOTES:
If your sheath came with Chicago Screws (solid brass and nickel plated) or a removable dangler (solid metal cast and nickel plated), you may want to secure these screws with a drop of temporary loc-tite. I assemble all danglers with blue loc-tite, but cannot guarantee them from backing out. Always check these before embarking on your adventures.
Pocket clip is made from tumbled stainless steel. Keep clean and dry.
Never insert a wet dirty knife back into the sheath. Cleaning game is one of the times when a sheath can take serious abuse. Wipe your knife clean before inserting it back into the sheath.
Never use petroleum products on your sheath. Do not use any product on your leather that you would not also place on your own skin. Leather is skin after all.
In addition to potentially molding and breaking down, leather is particularly susceptible to damage / marks while damp.
Do not use a leather sheath for long term knife storage as moisture can greatly effect the steel of the knife.
Every effort has been made to ensure that oils or dye does not transfer from leather to clothing or the knife itself. However, some dyes (black for instance) are particularly giving. The first few uses of a knife sheath should be done with clothing that you wont mind becoming soiled in case this happens. Should your knife handle get some dye on it generally rubbing alcohol will take this off with little issue. However, always refer to the manufacturers care instructions for their knife handles.
Always use care when sitting with any sheath and particularly reinserting the knife inside of the sheath. These are the two times when knives are more likely to cut through the sheath, and damage the user. As always, use caution when using any knife and / or sheath.
With all of this said - I would like to add a few notes.
1) I use Montana Pitch blend currently - but have used Obenauf's Heavy Duty LP and their leather oil - and love them both. They are very similar to the MPB products in many ways - but differ in the use of pine pitch and add a few things to the oil not included in MPB - like propolis.
2) Another great product made by a small company in America by hand - batch for batch - is Skidmores leather cream and waterproofing. I wouldn't hesitate to suggest any of the products listed on this page.
3) You do not need to seal your sheath often. In fact, I think you could do a very light coat once every year or so and be fine in normal use. If it were me, and I only owned a few sheaths and leather products - I would buy the MPB, or Obenaufs oil in a small bottle and oil it after I cleaned it - and really only then. It is the cleaning process that can really remove oils from the leather and cause it to dry out. Oiling it after this process really helps inject needed oils back into the leather. I think the MPB oil is very nice because it has some beeswax in it and in successive uses keeps the waterproofing properties of the initial waxing up to snuff.
However, if you have boots and other leather kit you want to keep up to par, I would suggest a bottle of oil and waterproofing and I wager it will last a lifetime.
4) I don't think owning saddle soap is necessary for the casual user. A little dawn dishsoap and warm water really works well when used in moderation and only when the sheath really needs it.
If you have any questions, please post them here - or check out the "Sheaths and Such" forum on Bladeforums. There is more knowledge in that forum made by GREAT men and women who really take the time to help than I could ever know. Most of those old dudes have forgotten more than I will ever learn.
Thanks and have a great journey.
Jason
