Rh36 Maintenance for field use

[smokestakz]

some people would cringe at the thought of actually taking a good condition rh36 into the rough to use as their daily field knife, but i intend to. my knife was my grandfathers main knife while serving in the Navy during WWII and he used it extensively after outdoors...dont have a pic yet because i sent it off to have the edge reground since i dont have a belt setup at home and the blade was past dull for stone work. anyways...what kind of oils and maintenance should i use/do to keep the leather handle in great condition while in use because somehow after 30+ years in a tackle box after i found it some years ago the leather was still in great shape. thx, Pat.

 

[zzyzzogeton]

Different people like different products. I like Obenauf's Heavy Duty LP and Sno-Seal. Mink Oil is liked by many. Overdoing it in applying any of the products won't hurt anything, but excess will rub off on other objects, especially mink oil if you sop it on too heavy. I use Kiwi or Fiebing's saddle soap to clean any heavily soiled leather and then treat w/ OHD or SS. Obenauf has a Leather Oil that is supposed to be good for restoring dry leather, but I haven't tried it yet.

There's another well known product that starts with a "P" that eludes me right now. Someone else probably knows what that one is.