Care For Leather

saturnine138

saturnine138

Joined
Dec 15, 2005
Messages
241
I've got a pair of leather combat boots that I picked up last year. They're the most comfortable boots I have ever had, and are waterproof up to about 8 inches. I've worn them pretty much all the time, and they've taken a lot of abuse. I've brought them camping for three weeks in the Adirondacks, and wore them while I worked at the beach, and they're even good in the snow. They've taken the abuse pretty well until now, there's creases on the toes that are getting deeper and starting to crack, as well as small cracks where the leather meets the sole. The inside by the heel is also getting pretty ripped up. I dont care too much about how they look, but I'd like to maintain the waterproofing and dont want any holes. Does anyone have advice on how to fix/prevent this from happing? Thanks guys.
 
I personally was going to say that prevention works with leather and a cure is hard to come by . Once it has started to degrade you cannot repair it . If the crack is along where the boot bends when you walk it will hinge there and not much can be done . Shoe goo is awesome stuff . It may delay the inevetible .

I know little about modern treated boot leathers . It is sometimes treated with silicone which while not best for the leather makes it water resistant to the point of being waterproof .

I have good tough cheap real leather 70 dollar steel toe workboots . Heavy as a mortgage and built to last . I very lightly brush off loose dirt and pay special attention to sewn/sealed seam areas . I take care not to brush in so much as to brush off any stitching . I then froth on saddle soap with a circular motion of a clean brush . Wait till dry and again brush lightly to a dull luster .

As said prevention is the best cure for real leather . A light treatment of real saddle soap when new will help a great deal . It is not a miracle . It is a degreaser which itself can crack leather even though there is oil in there . Keep them clean and an occasional light neetsfoot oil treatment when they are perfectly clean will help with water resistance .
 
I agree with Kevin on the prevention instead of cure. However, I go with SnoSeal after cleaning. It's worked well for me for years.
 
Mink oil from my experience will repair overworked boots. I've had the same pair of Altamas for over 4 years and the canvas has taken more of a beating than the leather. I neglected shining them for a LONG time and recenly just took some mink oil and a little polish and they came back easily. They don't look as good, and yours may not as well, but you could probably squeeze some more mileage out of them as I have.

The oil may not "repair" the cracks but it has made the ones in mine very soft and much more pliable. So, I would gather from that that they'll not continue to do so. It's worth a shot IMO; it worked for me! :D
 
I put 100's of off trail miles a year on my boots and the only things that work for me are:

"Seam grip" or shoe goo in a pinch all seams after a good cleaning and drying. Repairs cracks and abrasions with it as well.

I coat the toes with ice hockey skate toe protector you paint on and then turns hard.

Snow Seal the crap out of them a couple times per year.

Doing this I get double the boot life and I am very hard on boots.:grumpy:

Skam
 
For the cracks where to the leather meets the sole use ordinary super glue, just try to follow the cracks and with a rubber gloved finger try to make it as smooth as possible. What did you use to waterproof them in the past? The Canadian Armed Forces use a black dye called "Boot Black" to restore the suppleness and color back to the leather. You then apply a coat of a slicone based liquid ( dont recall what it is called) to waterproof the boots. It comes in a light sky blue can. Neither the Boot Black or the silicone stuff will stick if you regularly use shoe polish unless you scuff the hell out of the boots. You should be able to get both the boot black and silicone stuff from any army supply store. Ive had my combat boots for 7 years now, they have been resoled 3 times but the lether still looks suprizingly well. Shoe polish and Mink oil will also work well but youll need to spend alot of time polishing and the mink oil smells rather nasty for a few days.
 
Sno Seal is great but lately I have converted to NikWax. The stuff really works and is less messy than Snow Seal.
 
fedaykincmndr said:
Mink oil from my experience will repair overworked boots.
Click to expand...

I'll second the mink oil! minor cracks and drying cannot be reversed by anything, but the mink oil certainly comes closer than when I've tried Sno Seal or other silicone-based goops.

My brother was in Wally-World a while back buying a tin of mink oil. The cashier (about 22 years old) picked up the can scowled at him and asked, "mink oil?". He leaned in close and with a conspiritorial wink replied, "Got a squeaky mink.", paid the bill and walked out...

J-
 
saturnine138 said:
I've got a pair of leather combat boots that I picked up last year. They're the most comfortable boots I have ever had, and are waterproof up to about 8 inches. I've worn them pretty much all the time, and they've taken a lot of abuse. I've brought them camping for three weeks in the Adirondacks, and wore them while I worked at the beach, and they're even good in the snow. They've taken the abuse pretty well until now, there's creases on the toes that are getting deeper and starting to crack, as well as small cracks where the leather meets the sole. The inside by the heel is also getting pretty ripped up. I dont care too much about how they look, but I'd like to maintain the waterproofing and dont want any holes. Does anyone have advice on how to fix/prevent this from happing? Thanks guys.
Click to expand...

did the cracking start after the snow? i've had this problem after using my combat boots in cold weather
 
It will happen. When I was in the Army, we just kept loading up the cracks with shoe wax. Leather is not a forever material.
 
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