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The Grizzly

Hot Wax Finish Scratches Easily, Doing Something Wrong?

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I think I'm having an issue with my hot wax method. The last 2 sheaths I used it on were black and light brown Fiebing's Pro Oil dye. They both took the wax well and seemed fairly scratch resistant. My latest sheath acted a bit funny.

Once dyed and wetformed and dry, I did my normal procedure for hot waxing. But noticed immediately that the leather turned very dark brown instead of darkening a little like the last brown sheath. Once finished, I did a small scratch test using just my fingernail. The finish scratches kind of easy and shows a lighter brown beneath...it's kind of strange because the others done this same way don't scratch as easy. Now, I will say this sheath was made with leather from a different company than my others, which might be the reason. It also black spotted on me when wet working it which my last pieces of leather never did. Weird.

Anyway, this is my method for hot waxing, if there is anything I can do afterwards that will help, please let me know.

-Mix equal amounts of beeswax, paraffin, and neats foot oil and melt in a double boiler.

-While melting, heat the sheath in the toaster oven on 150 til fairly warm/hot.

-Take sheath out and apply mixture with wool dauber over all parts of the sheath inside and out.

-Place back in toaster oven till absorbed.

-Repeat a couple times till wax begins to sit on surface (showing that the leather is getting 'full')

-Buff down with a soft cloth to remove any residue.

-While hot, put on a coat of Kiwi Neutral Shoe polish and let haze, sprinkle with water, then buff off for a nice shine.

I love the feel and the stiffness the hot wax gives the leather. Is there anything else I could do that would help against scratches?

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