Mineral oil bad for leather? Or good? Or neutral?

[SUP]

Great @TomE. Thank you.

[SUP]

@chuck123wapati Haha. Can't comment on that.  My dog chews her collars or tries to get them off to chew them, pulling until she somehow slips them off, then chews them. So no leather collars for her now. For some reason, she does not chew any of my leathers lying around, only her own collars. She knows it is hers, 'to do with as she wishes'. Smart!

[fredk]

40 minutes ago, chuck123wapati said:

. . . Any one ever have a dog collar that needed re conditioned?

Not dog but a goat collar. Needed NFO'd once a month

[fredk]

16 hours ago, fredk said:

Now, both of us should try our choice of oils on some different pieces of leather.

i.e.  use oils 1, 2, 3 on leather A, and on B, and on C,, that would be 9 test pieces. 

Keep notes

Lets keep to just a few common oils. Keeps it all simpler

@SUP Remember to keep one piece of each leather free of any oils. Its your base reference

I reckon I'll be using; rapeseed oil, vaseline, Johnson's baby oil and 3-in-1 oil

I too buy my threads for their colours and/or thickness. 

I think polyester thread can 'rot'. Long story short; we have about 350 BMW steering wheels. Sewn with polyester thread. About 2/3 or more of them the thread is or has 'rotted' and is breaking down

[SUP]

@fredk Yes that will be a proper way of doing this.

I will be using coconut oil, food grade mineral oil, probably sesame seed oil and  whatever else I have inside. I will need to check.

 

 I  have veg tanned scraps, oil-tanned scraps and other chrome tanned scraps. I am trying to get some information on what oils and waxes are used to finish oil-tanned leather.  The oils and waxes used in finishing oil-tanned leathers, might affect the results of additional oils.

Do you know anything about it?

[Sheilajeanne]

"People just repeating what they've been told"...

As someone who was heavily into riding and working with horses in my younger days, I was told to only use pure neatsfoot oil on leather, as neatsfoot compound contained petroleum products that would rot the stitches.

Good tack is and has always been expensive. You need to take care of it if you want it to last. And horseback riding and driving has a very long history. So, I am quite happy assuming that what's been passed down to me by other knowledgeable equestrians is the truth - the result of several hundred years of caring for tack. 

My riding instructor served in the Hungarian cavalry prior to, and during WWII. He had an old saddle with his name (and rank) on the cantle from his military days. Except for some wear on the saddle flaps from his knees, it was in excellent shape.

I also briefly dated a guy who was with Canada's Governor General's Horse Guards. They used traditional military tack, dating from when Canada still  had a cavalry. He told me his newest piece of equipment was a curb bit with the date 1913 stamped on it!  

In days gone by, the cavalry knew how to look after its equipment, and I saw it with my own eyes. 

Contrast that with what I once read in Mother Earth News, from the hippie generation. People who subscribed to this magazine were all about going back to the land, and living an eco-friendly way of life. For some of them, that meant using horsepower instead of driving a car.

This particular article talked about what was necessary to use horses for transportation. It said that leather will eventually dry out and crack and break. so once a year, you should give the horse's harness a good soaking in a barrel of oil.* Yes, this is really messy, and you will have to hang the harness somewhere where the oil can drip off it afterwards without harming anything, but if you don't do it the leather won't last...

* I don't recall if they specified what kind of oil, but I'm fairly sure it was motor oil. Probably USED motor oil. 

My reaction to reading this:           

F....ing idiots!!

As students of a former cavalry captain, we were taught to clean our tack EVERY time we rode. The main cause of tack breaking at the stable was either years and years of wear and tear, or a horse damaging it after dumping its rider!

Edited September 20, 2023 by Sheilajeanne

[SUP]

@Sheilajeanne   I agree! About the description specially - idiots! 

And I like neatsfoot oil and use it, never mind what a lot of people say, I notice they are either company sites trying to push their own products or the know-it-alls - It takes all kinds. I'm always glad to hear good reports about it. It has been around and found useful for so long, how can it suddenly become 'not good'? Often, tried and tested are the best or at least as good. Wish it was a little less smelly though.

I spoke to @Northmount about creating a repository and he suggests saving the files that people provide as pdf files.  I am not sure how to do that here. Could anyone guide me on that or do it?

 

[Burkhardt]

8 hours ago, SUP said:

 which vegetable oil do you use?

Which ever ones the cheapest or have in the cupboard

[SUP]

@Burkhardt,  practical.

[dikman]

Chicken fat - that is the last thing I would use on leather! It deteriorates quickly and smells revolting!!!