Sno Seal and Tooled Leather

NJBillK

NJBillK

Custom Leather and Fixed Blade modifications.
Joined
Mar 27, 2014
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Can anyone inform me as to their experience on using Sno Seal on a tooled leather sheath?

I have one and I would like to seal it using Sno Seal and I haven't been able to find any info regarding whether it will relax the leather and I will lose a decent amount of the stamping, or if the standard answer of "it depends" still holds true.

Edit to add: I also have another product I picked up in a saddle shop. If this is suggested over Sno Seal, I would appreciate the heads up.


Thanks in advance
 
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Went with Sno Seal after I did some testing on a spare piece. Theread was a very slight amount of fine detail wqsh, but nothing Too significant.

The other product I had shown in the photo left behind a whitish residue in the small creases. Though that May have been from lack of sufficient heat in the leather prior to applying the sealant and thus not getting a fuller pent ration. That would also be supported by the way that the Sno Seal performed better by a large margin.
 
SnowSeal works great on all kinds of leather. I take my sheathes apart and apply SnowSeal inside and out to totally seal the pores -- otherwise the leather can absorb moisture on the inside and that will rust your blade. Re-stitch with waxed nylon thread using cobbler's stitch (thread the needles through from each side of the hole). It's a good idea to melt in each coat with a hair dryer or similar heat source.
 
NJBillK said:
Went with Sno Seal after I did some testing on a spare piece. Theread was a very slight amount of fine detail wqsh, but nothing Too significant.

The other product I had shown in the photo left behind a whitish residue in the small creases. Though that May have been from lack of sufficient heat in the leather prior to applying the sealant and thus not getting a fuller pent ration. That would also be supported by the way that the Sno Seal performed better by a large margin.
Click to expand...

Sno Seal I have some knowledge of, its a great product and like everything else use it in moderation. A light coat left to soak in over a few hours and wipe off the excess. Thats all you need.

The other product sounds a lot like it has Mink Oil or a similar white oil. Just use a toothbrush and scrub it out of the tight areas. No worries.
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I've never found that SnowSeal softens leather; just the opposite. I like to make sure the leather is completely sealed, with two or three applications, inside and out. Rarely had a problem with rust, as a result.
 
Its all good, post retracted. Just cautioning on over use of the product not criticizing your methods Ed. No worries.
 
Well, it turned out nicely. I would post up a photo but the knife is being traded out and I tooled the leather for the new owner. Once he has it in hand, I will post again and add the photos.

The main reason I went with the sno seal over the snow-proof product was after one coat of comparable thickness, the sno seal held off water while the other still absorbed some...

I have two coats on the tooled area, and one coat on the inside. It is a kydex cross draw sheath with a 2"ish leather strap for a belt loop that is reversible for left/right side or back carry.
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Thanks for the help folks.
 
I really like these real world tests on products out there. Its amazing how different some of them really are.

Thank you for posting your results. :D
 
Np. While looking over the back of the snow-proof tin, I noticed it said that snow-proof was a division of feibings. That has caused me to want to investigate a bit more, since I like their dyes and they probably know their leather products and processes fairly well.
:D

I will update with future usage and additional information as it is garnered.
 
I've been using Sno-Seal on leather boots (mainly Scarpas) for many years. Love the stuff--I've never had a problem with rotting stitching, and I've had plenty of smug moments when my feet have stayed dry while my companions' feet have been shredded by walking in wet socks for days at a time. Certainly never had any issues with stretch or movement in the leather, but I don't know enough about sheath making to know whether a sheath might behave differently under different stresses.

I've also been poking around these forums picking up some basic info as I get started in knife and sheath making. Just to clarify--is using Sno-Seal being discussed as a way of finishing a sheath (as opposed to using something like neatsfoot oil), or a way of proofing a completed sheath?
Sorry if that sounds like a silly question. I'm on a pretty steep learning curve here, as I've never worked with steel or leather before!

Oh yeah, and this is my first post. First of many newb questions, I suspect ;)
 
Welcome to the Forum Feoh!! :D
 
I am way above my pay grade as far as practical knowledge of Sno Seal use is concerned, having never used it, but logic would seem to be that the Sno Seal product should be applied and used prior to any other product which might have a sealing effect on the leather so that maximum absorption may take place.

Paul
 
Since the sheath I made is a kydex hybrid, I only needed to add some water resistance to the strap. I used a shoulder from Tandy, and some corby's from a local saddle shop. No dye or stain was used, and the dark brown was achieved by using the Sno Seal alone.

This is the finished product. I sanded the kydex to smooth it out a touch instead of using the inside since I wanted some texture still and the inside to remain smooth.

I just soaked the leather in warm water for 10 secs or so, tooled it, then let it sit for two days to ensure it was thoroughly dried.
Then I warmed it with a blow dryer and applied my first coat, let that soak in expedited by the blow dryer. After that was soaked in I let it sit for a few mins and then I repeated the steps including a coat of the inside of the strap.

As stated earlier, this was part of a trade and I wanted to hold off on I'm posting these photos until I was sure the other party was content with the results.
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Thanks for the discussion and feel free to add any other comparisons, for better or worse, to this thread as a database of sorts
 

All sno-sealed as the last step.
The tooling didn't suffer at all.
I run the hair dryer laying on the counter with the tube of ss and sheath in the hot air flow. The tube gets hot, the sheath just warmish.
As the ss gets liquified I scoop it off with a finger and rub it into the leather spreading it out as much as I can.
Once covered I let the sheath sit till it is cool and then buff it out with an old washcloth or towel.

The only negatives about Sno-Seal for me are that it makes one of the eco-flow antique stains* take on a (slight) greenish tint and that when using it on my boots in the winter, the boots feel like they aren't as warm. YMMV on the boot thing :)

*Medium Brown Gel Antique
 
I have used snow seal. I also have a big container of Aussie leather conditioner, which has bees wax.

I also have Atom wax which I will apply on sheaths that need to be stiffened up a little. It seems to help, and shines up nicely too.
 
I have been using Sno-Seal for years on my leatherwork. After dyeing is dry, I'll take a heat gun to the piece and heat it in sections until it's just too hot to hold. At that point I take a cloth and wipe on a big chunk of sno-seal and wipe it into the leather like you would an antique finish buff. Nice and brisk. The heather leather sucks the sno-seal in and you can gauge application by the color the leather is turning. Afterward I leave it to cool, then buff with a clean terry towel, and finally a boot shining brush to bring out the lustre. I have yet to lose any detail on stamping or embossing. Works great every time!
 
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