Sheath waxing?

hiwa

hiwa

Joined
Jun 7, 2009
Messages
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I'm getting some leather factory sheaths soon ( Sharpshooter) and I had an idea. I'd like to melt some Sno-seal in a pot and dip the sheath it it , then let it drip dry for treatment and water-proofing. Do you guys think this is a feasible idea or would I risk ruining the leather?
Thanks for any tips :)
 
You will never know until you try it. I personally would not, but if you do, watch the temperature of the melted product. If the heat is much more than what you can tolerate on your skin, then the heat could damage the leather.

Paul
 
I love Sno-Seal and I use it on just about all my leatherwork but I don't think I would melt it--that just sounds like ruined leather and possibly a fire hazard waiting to happen. Rubbing it on with your finger and heating it with a hair dryer works just fine for me :)
 
Thanks for the advice guys. Perhaps warming the sheath gently with a heat gun and rubbing it in would be sufficient. Better safe than sorry !
 
You dont even need a heat gun, just use a hair dryer on high. Warm the leather, rub the stuff in and blow the dryer over it again to make the dressing soak in deeper.

I did this with Aussie Leather Conditioner instead of Sno Seal and it worked great! That sheath has been through swamps and still running hard.
 
quick Google search for Cuir Boile brings this simple description on Wiki:
"Boiled leather, sometimes called cuir bouilli, was a historical construction material for armour. It consists of thick leather, boiled in water (some sources hold that oil and wax were used as well, others posit the use of ammonia from fermented animal urine[citation needed]). The boiling causes the leather to be harder and more brittle. The boiled leather can be fashioned into lames/scales to make lamellar or scale armor. Or, because the leather remains flexible for a short time after boiling, it can be molded into larger 'plates'."

The leather gets hard, it can be brittle.
If you get it too hot, it scorches and curls.
If it was originally chrome tanned, ir turns into a shrinky dink.
OTOH, this works great for making a leather bottle - so long as you never fill it with hot drinks or high test booze. (alcohol can break down the wax)

As you the other question - yes, I've heated knife sheaths with a hair dryer - or over a floor vent, smeared then with a thick coat of sno-seal, then used the har dryer to melt in the wax. After it cools, buff it with a soft cloth and you get a nice satin finish.
 
Kind of tough this time of year but I like to put the sheath in the window of my car on the dash...before and after application of Sno-Seal. It soaks in really well...does so fast...and does not overheat.

Heat gun or hair dryer too. Heat guns get very hot so watch it. I start all my waxed projects with Obenhauf's HD for a couple of coats and then hit it heavy with sno-seal.
 
I discovered sno-sael a few years ago and threw out all the silicone stuff I had. I'm in Western Canada... lots of snow, salt, and cool weather. Leather really takes a beating all year and Sno-seal works awesome to protect it. I've even used it on carbon blades that I kept in long-term storage to prevent rust. Worked fine. Makes a good zipper lube also.:thumbup:
 
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Unless you ordered them otherwise, the Sharpshooter sheaths should already be sealed, but I suppose the Sno-Seal wouldn;t hurt.
 
I would think that you could melt Sno-Seal at a sufficiently low temperature that it would not harm the leather. I would do it in a double boiler...you know...a pan of water on the stove with a pan of Sno-Seal within that. I would think Sno-Seal would liquify in the low 100's somewhere...probably no hotter than leather would get in the desert or in the sun. We're not talking 350 degrees here.

I melt beeswax with a heat gun in a little flat salmon can and then paint it on stuff...the ends of green wood for drying, some leather projects...etc. That is hot but not too hot.
 
Sno-Seal is mostly beeswax and that melts at about 175° - leather changes at the molecular level (i.e. cuirr bouilli) at around 160° so yes if not careful you can damage the leather big time.

FWIW I've been working leather for 50 years (40 years as a pro) and the whole hot melt wax thing still has me scratching my head since it is totally unneccesary...................and I don't know of ANY full-time pro (and I know/have known many) whether sheath maker, holster maker, saddler, etc.that uses hot melted wax of any type - neats foot oil is often heated but only to about 90-100° at most....

on the other hand each to his own...........
 
I've witnessed a leather sheath dipped into a crock pot of melted bees wax. The result is a sheath that is as hard as a rock...to me it seems like it totally defeats the purpose of using leather in the first place, may as well use Kydex.......not that there's anything wrong with that.....
 
Wild Rose said:
Sno-Seal is mostly beeswax and that melts at about 175° - leather changes at the molecular level (i.e. cuirr bouilli) at around 160° so yes if not careful you can damage the leather big time.

FWIW I've been working leather for 50 years (40 years as a pro) and the whole hot melt wax thing still has me scratching my head since it is totally unneccesary...................and I don't know of ANY full-time pro (and I know/have known many) whether sheath maker, holster maker, saddler, etc.that uses hot melted wax of any type - neats foot oil is often heated but only to about 90-100° at most....

on the other hand each to his own...........
Click to expand...

I've read about that " cuirr bouilli." It apparently hardens the leather. Am I right?
I have a sheath from Rod Garcia ( Skookum bush tool) that was hot dipped in beeswax and that thing is as hard as kydex almost ! After reading these posts I realize hot-dipping may be unnessesary.

Great information Gentlemen :):thumbup:
 
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