The Best care & protection for Water Buffalo leather sheaths....

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Seriousbladeno1

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Sep 11, 2014
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Hi guys,what exactly do you use and what works best for this purpose? People use variety of leather protection,from basic like shoe polish,leather creams etc.Some do their own recipes and cook home themselves variety of combinations,for example I recently find out,mix of Olive Oil with Beeswax,makes perfect protection applicable for leather sheaths and also for Indian Rosewood handles of knifes...Anyone tried this?
 
I would be disinclined towards the use of olive oil because you may find it corrodes adjacent metal(slightly acidic).
 
beeswax and mineral oil or hooflex, this seems to be good for the leather
 
Woolfat aka lanolin. Works well on leather steel wood and horn and is nontoxic and even organic if you like for very little money.
 
Any leather specific conditioner will work. I use a product from Australia thats for saddles called Oakwood leather conditioner. Never found anything better. Its made with beeswax, lanolin, eucalyptus oil, and some other goodies. Penetrates and restores old leather too.
 
Agree with Jens, anhydrous lanolin is great for leather things. Anhydrous means without water, the other stuff is thinned out to a lotion type consistency and is 25-50% or more water, you want the stuff with a wax or grease consistency. Can be bought in bulk for pretty cheap and does an incredible job keeping stuff supple and even makes it waterproof. I only use shoe polish if I need to fix scuffs or change the colors.
 
I think lanolin is the accepted best stuff for leather after looking into it a bit-- been used forever and even keeps metal from rusting, amazing stuff those waxy esters
 
If I remember properly Uncle Bill used to recommend standard shoe polish. That's what I've always used. I rub in gun oil on my wooden grips, and lanolin on the horn handles. Hoofflex works well on the horn also.
 
Thank you very much for all your answers guys,i think i may order hooflex,as HI khukuri that will be on the way,will have horn handle...Also will try some beeswax mix with oil,on the wooden handles and leather sheaths...
 
The leather is pretty tough stuff. Baby oil or mineral oil work great when the leather looks a little dry. The sheaths are thick, heavy leather so any good product should work fine. I still with natural mineral oil because I already use it on the horn handles.
 
I use medical grade mineral oil for wood, horn bone and antler and let it soak in good. I have been using 100% pure Mink oil on leather and I think it is the best but it is important to use only 100% Mink oil and not some mix containing Mink oil. I put plenty on and let it soak in overnight. Leather will absorb a lot of Mink oil. I am going to have to compare it with Lanolin now though. Thanks for the good thread.
 
sawgrass said:
I use medical grade mineral oil for wood, horn bone and antler and let it soak in good. I have been using 100% pure Mink oil on leather and I think it is the best but it is important to use only 100% Mink oil and not some mix containing Mink oil. I put plenty on and let it soak in overnight. Leather will absorb a lot of Mink oil. I am going to have to compare it with Lanolin now though. Thanks for the good thread.
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Thanks for new ideas Sawgrass,i am only kind of concerned over using just any shoe polish on water-buffalo scabards,as there are many on the market,with variety of price tags,but didnt want to use just any cheap one,as i wish to keep all knifes and sheats in top condition over long period of time,wish all my collection to be passed on my son and so he can do the same and pass it onto his kids in future......
 
I do not use mink oil any more, because it can soften leather to the point that it stretches out of it's original shape. Probably not a concern with a khukuri sheath, but definately a concern with footware, or fitted leather sheaths that are sized to retain the knife by friction, or anything else where you want the leather to retain it's original size and shape.
 
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