What do you use to treat your leather sheaths?

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Jul 9, 1999
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This is a poll of sorts.
I'm looking at the various ways other makers are using with the hope of finding a better way than what I do.
In the past I've used Neetsfoot oil, Feibing's Leather Sheen and Neat-Lac. They all do the job in varying degrees and each seems to have it's own strong points. Yet, my mind won't let go of the idea that there must be a better way.

So, what do ya'll use to get those sheaths ready for the rigors your customers are going to put them thru?

Thanks for your replies! It's much appreciated.:)


All the best,
Mike U.
 
Some of the leather folks take an old coffee pot or electric skillet and melt a mixture of 50/50 bee's wax and paraffin wax into it and when they have a sheath finished, they heat the sheath in an oven at about 120 degrees for a few minutes and get the wax melted and dip the sheath in the wax a couple times. That leaves a good coat of wax on the sheath and seals and protects the leather. Naturally it has to be rubbed down alot before it's finished.
I rub in a couple heavy coats of saddle soap. Even though it's a leather cleaner, it also moisturizes and protects the leather.
 
I was using 60/40 mix of bee's wax and neatsfoot oil. I couldn't find any of the pro sheath makers using it or reccomending it. Something about it getting too soft when it got warm from the sun, high heat, etc. I've seen my own wax'd sheath sweat wax/oil on a hot day. I've now gone to Fiebings Sheen or Tandy's super sheen (which ever is closest when I reach for some) but I prefer Fiebings I think. Last time in the leather store I tried to get some Neatlac, but they were out. Next time I'll give that a go.

On a tangent...
Using the wax/oil mix was me trying to get a harder sheath. I am now using a food dehydrator at 145degrees to fast dry the leather. I'm wetting the leather to nearly short of dripping wet(after any casing and molding, stamping or carving) and then throwing it in the dehydrator. It gets as hard as I suspect leather can get with out any additives. Picked this up from Chuck Burrows of Wild Rose Trading.
 
On a tangent...
Using the wax/oil mix was me trying to get a harder sheath.


Hmmm, I get my sheaths real hard just by soaking them with warm tap water when I'm shaping them to the knife. I soak them real good, then put the knife thats been wrapped in saran wrap, in the sheath and squeeze the sheath around the knife, pinching it where it needs it and leave the knife in till the sheath is almost dry. Then I unsheath and resheath the knife several times to make sure it does both smoothly and then I set the empty sheath in front of a fan over night to dry. They come out real hard.
 
I usually just use straight neatsfoot oil as well. If I dye a sheath then I will just spray it with Leather Sheen. These are pouch sheaths that I am referring to.

One word of caution...here about a month ago I took a blade to my "Mississippi Blade Runner" and was showing him the knife. I was putting it back in the sheath and the blade went right through the side of sheath. It send shivers up and down my spine. It could have gone right through my hand. This was a formed pouch sheath and it was bit tight. Uh, the knife was sharp too! I never even dreamed this would or could happen. Anyway, I had to do another !@#$ sheath! I'll be careful from here on out.

C Wilkins
 
I use Lexol NF. It's the modern version of Neatsfoot oil, without the greasy residue. I heat the formed and dryed sheath to about 180-200 degrees in the oven, for about 10-15 minutes, and dip it for 5-7 seconds. Let it drain and dry, put a coat of Kiwi shoe wax on it. You will get a nice golden tan color resulting from the dip IF you are using vegatable tanned leather. If you are using chrome tanned, you better dye it first. It will not impart a color to that.
 
tmickley glad it worked for you.
L6 your method is good to (it's the warm water and quick drying that do the trick) but the added heat will harden it to a greater degree.

Neatsfoot is also good but it doesn't really make the leather water resistant(helps but not for heavy use although I'm sure I'll get some arguments and BTW nothing I've found so far makes leather waterproof).
No I'm not the final word by far, but I've been studying leathercraft for 40+ years plus I've carried leather in all kinds of weather and all kinds of conditions (I've worked as a packer and as a logger so I reckon I have some experience.)
Here are some suggestions (for real using sheaths - art pieces are a different ball game):
A good cleaning with saddle soap should be on anyone's agenda and depending on amount of use/conditions 2 or 3 times a year is sufficient.
I then use Lexol Conditioner. It is hydrogenated oils that "feed" the leather without leaving a residue. I've only recently tried out the new NF neatsfoot oil and it looks good as an alternative but I haven't used it enough to say for sure.
On new leather I usually finish up using Leather Balm w/atom Wax. I soaks in and gives a real nice sheen. Neatlac is a leather "lacquer" and after a while it shows all the scratches and such. It's hard to refinish too. Fiebings Tan Kote is also good and gives areal nice satin sheen. Leather Sheen and Super Shene also work OK but put to much of a high sheen on for my taste.
I'm not sure who started the wax oil dip, but I find it messy and unnecessary. For a similar finish without the fuss and muss I use Montana Pitchblend www.mtpitchblend.com It can also be applied over any of the previous finishes and is one of the best weather resistant finishes available.

Cutting through the side of a sheath is a major concern of mine. It's one reason I harden the leather and don't use heavy oil finishes. The heavy oil finish can soften the leather too much and make it easy for a sharp blade to pierce the side and other more important things. The wax/oil will stiffen leather but it doesn't really harden it like the heat drying method which has been used for several thousand years.

One last hint: after you dye a sheath make sure you buff it well with a coarse cloth. Leather dye is powder ins suspension and after it drys a thins film of the powder gets left on the surface. If this film is not removed completely the dye will bleed through ANY finish and rubs off. A major non no.

Finally experiment, experiment, experiment. One mans... and all of that.
 
Hi this is DaQo'tah

well...okay, Im new to this part of knife making too, so, perhaps I might be doing something really wrong, but this is what I have been doing...

I got this like, square cooking pan,,,and its about a foot long, and it fits inside a bigger pan that about a inch bigger all the way around.

I got two packages of the wax you get in stores for doing kitchen food stuff. With this wax I added a bottle of mink oil or was it neetsfoot?..well something like that anyway.

I place the one pan inside the other, place on a burner of the kitchen stove, add water to the outer pan (the one without the wax and oil). and heat slowly until the wax and oil are all mixed.

I then put on kitchen rubber gloves and dip the sheath in the hot wax/oil mix.

I really let the hot wax work in to the leather, I make sure the insides gets it too,,,I fill the inside a few times to make sure that every part of the leather is covered.

Then I take out the sheath, let it drip for a moment as I form the opening of the sheath to take the knife better,

The sheath will start now to get hard, I even place the knife in and out a few times to make sure that the opening is just the way I wanted to be. then I might dip it one more time and then I hang it to drip dry and cool,,,I let it cool over night, the next morning it looks so cool!

and after a while if the wax coating get kinda scratched up, I just dip it again.
 
Thanks folks for all your responses. I've gotten ideas and tips I hadn't thought of and that is what makes this forum so cool and such an invaluable resource.



All the best,
Mike U.
 
Something I've tried the last couple of sheaths...I heated the sheath and dipped it in melted parafin. Then, I "dry" it off with my heat gun. Had to be careful not to scorch the leather, but I can chase off all the extra wax with the gun. Most of it gets absorbed by the leather. I keep it up until the wax won't run from the leather anymore. I'm hoping this will keep it from running on a hot day. Will find out this summer. If somebody knows this is bad for the leather, please say so.
 
Coty Handley, hi this is DaQo'tah

that last post of yours was kicking around in my head for a while now. I have not liked the look of some of the backs of my sheaths for some reason. the wax seems to always be too heavy on the belt loop.

I re-read your post, and as I dont have a heat gun, I used the kitchen oven in the same way,,,and it worked like a charm.

I was able to heat under the oven heat untill the wax shimmered, then I took the sheath out and buffed it with a clean cloth... it looks better now than it did when I first dipped it in the oil/wax pan.

thanks for the idea

Now its ready to sell
 
I needed to dye a sheath and was out of the good stuff so I ran to K Mart and bought some Kiwi dye. Was I sorry! It was a mess, all mottled with several colors. My customer was of course waiting for the knife. When I contacted Kiwi they made good the cost of the sheath without argument and were really nice about the whole episode.And K-Mart was really helpful, also. The fellow that built the sheath for me assured me the problem was not the leather, which it surely wasn't. He and I were buying whole bellies and sholders for my sheaths, and the rest of the piece was no problem dying with good dye.
 
Depending on what the maker has already done to the sheath,
I generally wipe it down or spray it with mink oil.

Over the past 30 years or so, I've found nothing better for
treating good leather.
 
I use acetone, or denatured alcohol to harden my sheaths. Then soak them in mineral oil for a few hours, after which they sit for a few days before using. The oil has to be reapplied now and then, but seems to do a good job, and it also makes the leather, most often anyway, a nice mahogany brown.
 
This is a poll of sorts.
I'm looking at the various ways other makers are using with the hope of finding a better way than what I do.
In the past I've used Neetsfoot oil, Feibing's Leather Sheen and Neat-Lac. They all do the job in varying degrees and each seems to have it's own strong points. Yet, my mind won't let go of the idea that there must be a better way.

So, what do ya'll use to get those sheaths ready for the rigors your customers are going to put them thru?

Thanks for your replies! It's much appreciated.:)


All the best,
Mike U.


Mike

All of the methods described by the others sound like they will work, but for starting off I suggest you make it easy on your self.

To stiffen leather you need to remove oil/tallow, this can be done with boiling water, water with detergent in it, alcohol (I prefer denatured), or acetone. In face just wetting leather in warm water under the faucet will stiffen it somewhat. If you want to make leather armor, boil the leather then form while wet, let dry, then coat with a water proof coating.

To soften leather add oil or wax. Oil softens much better than wax. Neathfoot oil is available in most places. There is also many leather care creams with Carnuba wax in the mix which are quite good.

To waterproof leather use paste wax. Most any brand or mix will do. Johnson and Johnson is what I used for years, Boling alley wax is good and I have used Briwax, but it contains Toluene and requires a well ventilated space for use, and is quite flammable. A wax mix with Carnuba wax in it is usually better. Put on a layer of wax, heat it with a hair dryer or heat gun and then apply another coat. Repeat until the leather won't soak up any more. Then buff with a soft rag or Sheep skin. I like the wax because it is so easy to touch up any time. If the leather gets a little stiff add some oil.

If the leather seems a bit stiff after the first coat or two of the wax, add oil, Neatsfoot oil, not motor oil. Mineral oil might work but I would stick with Neatsfoot oil.

I coat the inside of my sheaths with a product called Resoline. I suspect it is identical to the acrylic floor finishes. I do this coat before I sew the scabbard together and before the wax is applied. It adds a water proof coat between the leather and the blade.

Jim Arbuckle
 
Certainly no expert on this but I wanted to chime in and say that I used the method Terry described with the dehydrator after reading a tutorial of his(thank you Terry) and it really worked GREAT! Would highly recommend at least givin it a shot.
Matt Doyle
 
I use Neatsfoot oil then coat with Tancoate and then spray with Neatlac. Does wonders for the color and then leaves nice shiny finish. Mike
 
I use BagKote liberally, and when dry, buff with loose muslin wheel. After a day or so, then Neatsfoot. I find that using the Chuck Burrows stitching method, and the wax/pitch combination seals the stiching quite well, and anything left will be nourished with the neatsfoot.
 
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