Leather handle oxidation. HELP!

shaving sharp

shaving sharp

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Dec 19, 2007
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I am wondering if anyone has a suggestion about what I can use to prevent my leather handles from doing this. I have tried Neatsfoot oil but it is not helping. They look great when applied but a month later they look like this. Other knives stored in the same area do not have this problem or any of their leather sheaths. It looks bad but it does wipe off with a little friction. I should also note that the knives are all from the same maker. As you can see the sheaths are fine.

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Did you try some mink oil? Super cheap on the big river site, and works great on my boots and sheaths!
 
I like boot guard. It's been great for leather handles, belts, sheaths and obviously boots...

If you don't have anything like boot guard, try something with beeswax in it. Otter wax, sno seal etc

Try whatever you use in an inconspicuous place to see how the leather looks, but you have already oiled it up so it shouldn't change the color darker than that.
 
I use bag balm.

It has 3 ingredients petroleum jelly, lanolin, and an antiseptic.
 
I believe that's mold, not oxidation.

I would stop putting neatsfoot oil on it for starters and instead use something wax based. Could be what you're treating it with. Golden mink oil is paste is great stuff. I think the trick here would be to make sure you buff whatever treatment out as best as you can (not that it needs anymore treatment) and try to keep it dry.
 
Just to clarify I put the Neatsfoot oil on because it was doing this. All good suggestions and I agree it does look like mold it is just confusing because nothing else leather in the same storage area is having this problem and I use desiccant to keep the moisture out.
I think I will try something with wax in it.
 
shaving sharp said:
Just to clarify I put the Neatsfoot oil on because it was doing this. All good suggestions and I agree it does look like mold it is just confusing because nothing else leather in the same storage area is having this problem and I use desiccant to keep the moisture out.
I think I will try something with wax in it.
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Could be what the maker treated it with. Snoseal used to do that for me on vintage leather pieces. You can always buy a can of saddle soap, which will clean it and treat it a bit. When your done, try buffing it out with dry paper towels.
 
I've heard that Ballistol contains something (lanolin?) to inhibit mold on growing on leather but I've never tested that property of the stuff. I've used borax-water solution to kill mold on similar knives and sheaths, but I can't really recommend it, because I suspect there's a risk of corrosion with borax. Lastly, I believe that ethylene glycol (the green anti-freeze) will inhibit mold growth, but it's also very toxic...so...
 
shaving sharp said:
I am wondering if anyone has a suggestion about what I can use to prevent my leather handles from doing this.
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Hygiene. Wash your hands with soap and water before handling your knife. Also take care not to do anything too strenuous or else your hands will get sweaty, and the salty sweat will seep into the leather.

shaving sharp said:
I should also note that the knives are all from the same maker. As you can see the sheaths are fine.
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The sheaths are fine because you're not constantly holding them with your dirty hands.
 
I have a couple hundred custom knives. They are stored in several different places in the house. These are the only three knives doing this. I have another from the same maker with a leather handle that has no problems but it is in a different location. I am going to treat the leather and move them to a different location and see if that does it.
I am also going to contact the maker to see if he has any suggestions.
 
I would work on killing the mold first. Thin applications of rubbing alchohol shouldn't hurt, followed by a cleaning treatment of saddle soap and you should be good to go.
 
are ya keeping these in a basement or safe or somewhere with high humidity, as in more than 60% rh?
 
Guy McVer said:
It actually could hurt. It might dry out the leather.
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I've personally used both rubbing alchohol and nailpolish remover on leather without issue.

If you soak it in alchohol, yes. A thin quick drying application won't hurt the well treated and compressed leather that's on those handles, but it will stop mold from regrowing.
 
Mold is the reason I use bag balm. It has an antiseptic ingredient. I’ve never had mold return. Mink oil seems to feed mold.
 
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