Cleaning/Restoring Leather Sheath

L

Legendary_Jarl

Joined
Feb 8, 2010
Messages
1,120
Hello!

I bought a couple of cheap knives on fleebay as potential restoration projects. They both came with leather sheaths. One of the sheaths has a nasty mold/humidity smell and the other has worn out paint and the lash feels thin and dry. It feels as if it could be cracked if nothing done about it.

I have renaissance wax, I wonder if that would help the sheath that seems worn. As for the other with the smell, I don't imagine soap and water would be a good idea, is there another substance/solution you'd recommend?

Thanks for any ideas/help.
 
Once mold is in a sheath, it's not an easy fix. If you do a search restricted to the Sheaths and Such subforum, I know I've seen this pop up before. Sometimes a blast of WD40 does amazing things with killing biologicals where you don't want them, but then it smells like WD40 for a few days so you can't tell if it worked right away. Dry leather won't be helped by wax, but a few applications of Neatsfoot Oil will rehydrate the leather. If it's close to cracking it may not restore the flexibility, but the oil can restore a lot of functionality.

If those are project knives, then maybe the best thing is to make project sheathes, too. Leatherworking isn't hard to get into, there's just a learning curve where the final product looks like NeoCaveman until you get better tools and more skill using them.
 
Saddle soap first to clean the leather as much as possible, then some good leather oil, and as you already have the renaissance wax use it. I use it on my leather products and have never has an issue, just remember light coats, and you may need a few with the oil. As these are cheap project knives and sheaths use them to learn. Hell if you bugger them up put it down to experience. Keep us updated how it all goes.
 
Clean liberally with saddle soap, if unsure how, there are tutorials online for boot care and other leather goods, saddle soap used with a horse hair or nylon bristle brush (toothbrush) alone will work wonders, keep repeating the process until you aren’t wiping dirt off anymore.

After it’s completely dry from the saddle soap cleaning, I would apply a leather conditioner such as mink oil, bear grease, hubberds shoe grease, bick no. 4, or similar quality boot conditioner.
It might take more than one application if severely dried out, but don’t overdue it or the leather will get too soft.

You could then apply a wax if you so desired, I like sno seal myself, it’s not really necessary for a knife sheath, but helps with moisture and might help with mold do to sealing the leather pores and keeping it dry.
 
Obenaufs....... Best stuff I've used......Cleans and protects.....

Ballistol is another I've used........One either hates or loves the smell of it.......Kinda like black licorice😁
 
Neatsfoot oil will oversoften and weaken leather. Instead use Obenauf's Hubert's oil, or Lexol oil. Then a wax to protect it. Waxes don't really do much to treat the leather. Obenauf's and Hubert's do have some of their oi in their wax, but not enough on it's own to bring it back, just enough to slightly replenish what's there.

Be careful to not use too much of any oil though. All oils will cause the leather to become too soft and weak. These don't cause the leather to break down or get too soft as easily as neatsfoot or mink oil though. Those two are animal fat based. Some oils also oxidize over time and can cause the leather to crack.
 
If it were me I’d clean with saddle soap, let dry, then a light coat of 100% pure neatsfoot oil and let soak in, then for a sheath a coat of Montana pitch blend.
 
Neatsfoot oil, while better than many alternatives back when it was first actively used, eventually oxidizes and hardens, which is what causes cracking in antique leather. I formulated my Desert Whale leather balm specifically to address that issue. It's a refined clay-filtered grade of jojoba oil (which is actually a liquid wax) which is naturally non-oxidizing and indefinitely stable, blended with cetyl alcohol and cetyl palmitate (both similarly stable to the liquid wax, but a waxy solid at room temperature, which gives it the balm consistency.) The jojoba is structurally similar to winterized whale oil and the oils naturally found in skin, making it very hydrating to the leather, and the cetyl alcohol and cetyl palmitate are the primary constituents found in prized spermaceti wax, but are synthesized from natural vegetable sources.
 
FortyTwoBlades said:
Neatsfoot oil, while better than many alternatives back when it was first actively used, eventually oxidizes and hardens, which is what causes cracking in antique leather. I formulated my Desert Whale leather balm specifically to address that issue. It's a refined clay-filtered grade of jojoba oil (which is actually a liquid wax) which is naturally non-oxidizing and indefinitely stable, blended with cetyl alcohol and cetyl palmitate (both similarly stable to the liquid wax, but a waxy solid at room temperature, which gives it the balm consistency.) The jojoba is structurally similar to winterized whale oil and the oils naturally found in skin, making it very hydrating to the leather, and the cetyl alcohol and cetyl palmitate are the primary constituents found in prized spermaceti wax, but are synthesized from natural vegetable sources.
Click to expand...

I bet you go down some odd and interesting rabbit holes.
 
Agree with everyone recommending saddle soap to clean. Of all the leather conditioners I’ve tried over the years, an old buddy of mine (retired attorney) showed me a trick on my truck seats, the last time I was at his house, working on electric and it’s all I’ve used on leather since; cheap ole Suave hair conditioner. It also works great to darken micarta.
 
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