I do a fair amount of repair/restoration work on knives and knife related items as a hobby (less so now days, since my son was born).
It is rare, but on occasion I get leather sheaths that are very old and are dried out and stiff. An old Western knife and sheath came in the shop last week, and the leather is as stiff as wood, so much so that I fear any flexing will break it.
I would love to hear if anyone here has a favorite way to bring some life back into dried leather (make them a little softer again). From what I understand there is no way to get it as supple as it was, but any thoughts on this would be greatly appreciated.
My approach has always been to wash the item with glycerin saddle soap, let it air dry for several days, warm it a little with a blow dryer or oven (~100 degrees max) and apply a little Neatsfoot oil , until it absorbs no more, then rub it down. I am not really pleased with this approach, so was wondering what you have found.
For newer working leather, I usually warm the leather and treat with a 1:1 mixture of beeswax and Neatsfoot oil.
Thanks,
Brome
It is rare, but on occasion I get leather sheaths that are very old and are dried out and stiff. An old Western knife and sheath came in the shop last week, and the leather is as stiff as wood, so much so that I fear any flexing will break it.
I would love to hear if anyone here has a favorite way to bring some life back into dried leather (make them a little softer again). From what I understand there is no way to get it as supple as it was, but any thoughts on this would be greatly appreciated.
My approach has always been to wash the item with glycerin saddle soap, let it air dry for several days, warm it a little with a blow dryer or oven (~100 degrees max) and apply a little Neatsfoot oil , until it absorbs no more, then rub it down. I am not really pleased with this approach, so was wondering what you have found.
For newer working leather, I usually warm the leather and treat with a 1:1 mixture of beeswax and Neatsfoot oil.
Thanks,
Brome