Treatment for Leather Sheaths

K Williams

K Williams

Joined
Nov 17, 1998
Messages
3,301
I use Pecards Leather Dressing on my sheaths. Are there any better treatment methods/products on the marker? Thanks in advance.
 
I've used clear shoe polish, and also Butcher's Boston Polish, Amber Paste Wax... which is like carnuba wax and mineral spirits. The paste wax seeps in very quickly and seems to disappear into leather so I feel like it's treating all the leather as opposed to just the surface.
 
Saddle soap works great has been around for a looong time and proven. Galco puts out saddle soap leather conditioner that is in the form of a spray and works well for cleaning maintaining. I have used snowseal myself before on shoes works good, although I would prefer saddle soap on a sheath or holster.
 
Hello K Williams,
Are you just trying to clean the leather, or put a protective finish on the sheath? You can get both if you use the mehtod I use on all the sheaths I build. 15 years ago, when i started building custom knives, I developed a hot bees wax and saddle oil treatment, that totaly penetrates the leather, and seals it from not only dirt, but any moisture. This is a one time operation, and will last for the life of the sheath. An extra bonus from this treatment; when the wax cools it will stiffen the leather sheath, which is what you want. A lot of leather cleaning products will soften the leather, and then you have big problems. You don't have to use Bees wax, which is over $ 5.00 per pound. You can use regular candle or canning wax, which is cheaper and easier to find.
If you are interested in this method, just ask, and I'll post the information.
Best Regards,
Jay Maines
Sunrise River Custom Knives
www.sunrisecustomknives.com
 
Originally posted by Jay Maines
Hello K Williams,
Are you just trying to clean the leather, or put a protective finish on the sheath? Best Regards,
Jay Maines
Sunrise River Custom Knives
www.sunrisecustomknives.com
Click to expand...

Thanks for ther reply. I want a product and/or maethod that protects the leather sheath from the elements. So far I've been using Pecards, but I know there has to be other products available. Please post or e-mail me your method. I'll use the beeswax if that is better.
 
Hello K Williams,
I build my knife sheaths out of tough Water Buffalo hides, that are 7-8oz or 9-10oz in thickness. If you have a sheath that is made with thinner material, then I would cut back on the time your sheath is in the oven and the hot oil.
One of the reasons I use Bees wax is that it gives the raw leather a nice mellow tan color, and they say it is the best natural wax there is. For the saddle oil, I use Neetsfoot Oil, from the Tandy Leather Company. I melt the wax and add equal amounts, (50/50), of wax and oil, into a long metal Bread Baking Pan. This I set on a hot plate, with lots of newspaper under it. You can use your kitchen stove, but if you spill any of it, it's not easy to clean up, and there could be hell to pay from the little weoman. Slowly heat the wax mixture to a point were it just starts to smoke. While this is heating, preheat your kitchen oven to 250 degrees. I have found that the hot wax will sink into the leather quicker and completely, if you heat up your sheath too. So into the oven goes the sheath, on a pice of foil. For the ones I build, that are big and thick, I let them stay in for about 10 minutes. For a thin, sheath I'd say just until the insides are VERY warm. Then out of the oven with the warm sheath, and into the hot wax, submerging it completely. Only for about 1/2 a minute. Then pull it out and drain the excess from the inside. If you leave the sheath in to long, it will take up to much wax, and will always have a waxy feel to the sheath. If this happens, you can put the sheath back in the oven, and melt out the excess wax. I leave the wax mixture in the pan, it will harden, and just reheat it over and over again.
Best of luck with your project.
Jay maines
Sunrise River Custom Knives
www.sunrisecustomknives.com
 
Take a look at www.obenaufs.com (I don't think this is related to the knifemaker)

A few loggers and smokejumpers I know swear by this stuff. It is also sold under a bunch of other labels.

Mike
 
sometimes I use kiwis leather conditioner, sometimes neutral shoe polish, sometimes rennasaince wax, sometimes bees wax, sometimes neatsfoot oil. whatever the particular sheath needs.
 
For fixed blade sheaths, I do about the same as Mr. Maines. I use a 50/50 mixture of parrafin(canning)wax and neatsfoot oil. I keep it in a coffee can so whenever I need it I just take off the lid and put it on the stove at medium heat for about 1/2 hour till it's all melted and mixed well. The sheath goes in the oven while the wax is heating up, set the oven at 180 degrees, no hotter. When the mixture is ready,I brush it on the sheath inside and out and then stick it in the refrigerator for about 10 minutes. Then all you do is use some paper towels to wipe off all the hardened excess wax and then rub it down good with a towel or washcloth. Two cautions: first, if you make the mixture too hot you will fry the leather like a french fry. If the wax and oil smokes, it's too hot. Second, never put a factory sheath or any sheath that you dont know what it's already been treated with in the oven. I did it with a sheath I wasnt familiar with and it shriveled up like a prune. BTW, I learned the above method from Barry Jones.

For folder sheaths I use Feibing's Leather Balm and Atom Wax($4.99 from Tandy's) as recommended to me by Gary Graley. Put it on with a clean rag and use a shoe brush to buff it off. If you want a high gloss finish use a t-shirt to buff instead of the shoe brush.
 
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