DIY leather conditioner

[deboardp]

I'm a 77 year old man who is disabled by exposure to agent orange during my service in the Vietnam War. I lived on a base cleared with that herbicide from which we flew combat missions of fighter escort and EW escort for the B-52's. We also connected the Vietnam command to the US by phone and teletype. I worked with that crew, in the multiplexing center. 

I became disabled in 2004 by the developing illnesses caused by herbicide exposure. I had to stop working and was homeless for 15 of the past 18 years. I became housed in September of 2023 because i received a HUD-VASH voucher.  In 2022, mainly due to Jon Stewart, the comedian and talk show host, the US Congress passed the Pact Act which says that soldiers such as myself no longer has to prove they were exposed to herbicide if they were at particular places at particular times. Jon had yelled at Congress, "SHAME ON YOU!!" More than once, for not granting us disabled veterans disability compensation. (It's usually not possible to prove exposure.) So in December 2023 I was granted disability compensation, just 30 days ago. My disease disabilities add up to 190% disability, but of course they round it off to 100%.

Although i had the housing voucher, my SS retirement benefits were roughly $500  a month shy of covering all my expenses, so until 30 days ago I was facing homelessness again without that $500 additional income. I had started making this sandal shop in September 2022 because I used to make a good sandal 50 years ago, and I didn't think the VA would ever compensate me.

But now I'm being compensated and will not become homeless again in my 80's. 

I joined this leatherworker.net group because of all the questions I had about leather working and I've gotten most of my answers. 

If folks think I'm a troll I can leave. @fredk and @SUP had jumped on me for being humble so I instinctively explained why I am humble, which is that I'm trying to act like a Christian. Maybe if they stop trying to tell me I'm wrong to be humble I wouldn't explain why I am. 

I don't know how that makes me a troll. 

[dikman]

3 hours ago, deboardp said:

The can says that this Colorado Leather balm goes liquid at 95F. That's like close to how warm a sandal will get with a foot in it. A bit more beeswax will raise the melting point.

In that case there's not much beeswax in it! Mostly tallow.

I have a mix that I use for leather, it's beeswax, tallow and a little bit of baby oil (mineral oil) from memory. It's pretty stiff and while it softens slightly in a hot sun in doesn't go anywhere near melting. So, today I decided to remix it to soften it slightly by adding a little bit of lanolin grease and a bit more baby oil. It worked - too well! It's what one might call semi-liquid, too runny for my liking, looks like I'll be adding more beeswax. All good fun.

[deboardp]

1 minute ago, dikman said:

In that case there's not much beeswax in it! Mostly tallow.

I have a mix that I use for leather, it's beeswax, tallow and a little bit of baby oil (mineral oil) from memory. It's pretty stiff and while it softens slightly in a hot sun in doesn't go anywhere near melting. So, today I decided to remix it to soften it slightly by adding a little bit of lanolin grease and a bit more baby oil. It worked - too well! It's what one might call semi-liquid, too runny for my liking, looks like I'll be adding more beeswax. All good fun.

Can you tell me the exact amounts you used?

[dikman]

Just now, deboardp said:

Can you tell me the exact amounts you used?

Sorry mate, I just wing it until I get what I want. Initially I tried measuring parts but I didn't write them down (I thought my memory was better than it is!) so don't bother. I think it's called "experience".

[deboardp]

@fredk this is another thread I started that proves I have a shop. In my apartment. 

Hope that helps change your mind. 

Edited January 14 by deboardp

[deboardp]

4 minutes ago, dikman said:

Sorry mate, I just wing it until I get what I want. Initially I tried measuring parts but I didn't write them down (I thought my memory was better than it is!) so don't bother. I think it's called "experience".

Got it. One part experience, 2 parts diddling, 3 parts fiddling. 

I'll play with it. 

Edited January 14 by deboardp

[dikman]

 Pretty well. I've just re-mixed it, waiting for it to cool, tried a couple of drops on a plate to cool it and it looks promising.

[dikman]

Ok, it's cooled enough to get an idea of what it's like, I can push my finger down into (with just a little bit of force) so it's pretty close to what I wanted i.e. like commercial paste waxes. I wouldn't mind it a little bit thicker but I'll try it as it is first. Before I had to scrape the mix out and apply heat to the leather to rub it in.

I don't think I needed to add the baby oil as I reckon the lanolin grease would have been enough to soften the original mix, as it was I had to add nearly a third in volume of beeswax to start thickening it.

deboardp, I think you might be able to achieve what you want using the same ingredients (which is what Colorado use). Start with, say, 80% tallow, 20% beeswax (just weigh them out as a starting point) and add a small amount of lanolin, if it's liquid then measure it out. so you know how much you've used. Melt it together then put a few drops onto a cool surface, once it's cooled down push it with your finger to check the consistency. You should be able to adjust the consistency by varying the amount of lanolin. If you think it needs too much lanolin for what you require then reduce the beeswax, which means you'll need less lanolin. Make very small quantities until you get the mix right.

Reading Colorado's story about how they got started, I suspect they began with tallow and added lanolin to soften it, then added a small amount of beeswax to stiffen it back up. This also lets them advertise that it contains beeswax, which always sounds good to anyone looking for a leather conditioner.

I forgot to add that some of the Aussie conditioners add a few drops of eucalyptus and/or tea-tree oil to give them a fragrance.

Edited January 14 by dikman

[deboardp]

6 hours ago, dikman said:

Ok, it's cooled enough to get an idea of what it's like, I can push my finger down into (with just a little bit of force) so it's pretty close to what I wanted i.e. like commercial paste waxes. I wouldn't mind it a little bit thicker but I'll try it as it is first. Before I had to scrape the mix out and apply heat to the leather to rub it in.

I don't think I needed to add the baby oil as I reckon the lanolin grease would have been enough to soften the original mix, as it was I had to add nearly a third in volume of beeswax to start thickening it.

deboardp, I think you might be able to achieve what you want using the same ingredients (which is what Colorado use). Start with, say, 80% tallow, 20% beeswax (just weigh them out as a starting point) and add a small amount of lanolin, if it's liquid then measure it out. so you know how much you've used. Melt it together then put a few drops onto a cool surface, once it's cooled down push it with your finger to check the consistency. You should be able to adjust the consistency by varying the amount of lanolin. If you think it needs too much lanolin for what you require then reduce the beeswax, which means you'll need less lanolin. Make very small quantities until you get the mix right.

Reading Colorado's story about how they got started, I suspect they began with tallow and added lanolin to soften it, then added a small amount of beeswax to stiffen it back up. This also lets them advertise that it contains beeswax, which always sounds good to anyone looking for a leather conditioner.

I forgot to add that some of the Aussie conditioners add a few drops of eucalyptus and/or tea-tree oil to give them a fragrance.

Colorado uses essential oils of orange and vanilla. Thanks for this description of how you did it! I'll use it as a guide!

Gotta go. 

[Northmount]

It is time to stop the religious rants, etc.  I have hidden a number of posts.  Get back on topic please.  This was a good thread.  You don't need to be calling each other down.  If it continues, those contributing to the problem will be put under moderation.

[dikman]

I've been pondering the subject of tallow and trying to do what little research I can on it. It seems that traditionally tallow is made from beef or sheep fat as both of these appear to store indefinitely without refrigeration. When using pork fat it's called grease as the chemical structure of pork fat is different to beef and sheep fat and it also has a finite life. Tallow can be made from other animals - bear, elk, deer, buffalo - but from what I can glean none of them have the shelf life of beef or sheep tallow BUT I have no experience personally with them. Quite a fascinating subject, did you know that tallow was used for lubricating steam engines? Amazing stuff, really.

[deboardp]

29 minutes ago, dikman said:

I've been pondering the subject of tallow and trying to do what little research I can on it. It seems that traditionally tallow is made from beef or sheep fat as both of these appear to store indefinitely without refrigeration. When using pork fat it's called grease as the chemical structure of pork fat is different to beef and sheep fat and it also has a finite life. Tallow can be made from other animals - bear, elk, deer, buffalo - but from what I can glean none of them have the shelf life of beef or sheep tallow BUT I have no experience personally with them. Quite a fascinating subject, did you know that tallow was used for lubricating steam engines? Amazing stuff, really.

That is interesting. I didn't know tallow was used to lubricate steam engines. I don't actually know how a steam engine works, therefore don't know what are the parts that need lubrication. 

Did you know that tallow can have two sources within each animal? One is the fat under the skin or surrounding muscles, and the other is called leaf fat, and it surrounds the kidneys. Leaf fat has a different texture and color from body fat, and I think I read that it's chemical formula differs from that of body fat. My impression was that it's the best and most stable as tallow. But my memory fails me. 

I wonder why beef and sheep tallow doesn't stink after a while at room temperature. That's very interesting. 

I'm going to use some on my first pair of sandals, for my feet. I'll try the Colorado Leather Balm, which has tallow, Beeswax, lanolin, orange essential oil, and vanilla essential oil, all of them in unspecified quantities. It's a soft paste at my apartment's air temperature of 66-68F. I'll do the warm and wet method, massage into the leather as much of the goo that it will take. I hope it turns the leather a nice brown color. I'll show it off in the Show Off forum. Now that I have a knife that can clean out the corners of my slots, I can get back to work on my footwear. 

Edited January 20 by deboardp
My phone changes what I write

[jrdunn]

 

28 minutes ago, dikman said:

I've been pondering the subject of tallow and trying to do what little research I can on it. It seems that traditionally tallow is made from beef or sheep fat as both of these appear to store indefinitely without refrigeration. When using pork fat it's called grease as the chemical structure of pork fat is different to beef and sheep fat and it also has a finite life. Tallow can be made from other animals - bear, elk, deer, buffalo - but from what I can glean none of them have the shelf life of beef or sheep tallow BUT I have no experience personally with them. Quite a fascinating subject, did you know that tallow was used for lubricating steam engines? Amazing stuff, really.

I have always heard rendered pork fat called lard.  I do have some bear tallow mixed with bees wax that a friend gave me.  He uses it shooting his muzzle loading rifle.  He swears the stuff never turns.  I don't know.  I've had what he gave me for about a year.  I've used it here and there.  It hasn't went bad on me yet.  JM2C

[deboardp]

1 minute ago, jrdunn said:

 

I have always heard rendered pork fat called lard.  I do have some bear tallow mixed with bees wax that a friend gave me.  He uses it shooting his muzzle loading rifle.  He swears the stuff never turns.  I don't know.  I've had what he gave me for about a year.  I've used it here and there.  It hasn't went bad on me yet.  JM2C

He greases his rifle? I bet he drops it all the time.

[jrdunn]

1 minute ago, deboardp said:

He greases his rifle? I bet he drops it all the time.

Very funny.   I'm no muzzle loader but I think they lube their bullets with it.

[dikman]

Yep, if they're using Minie bullets then they'll grease the bullets themselves, if shooting more traditional round ball then they'll lube the cloth patches with it. And yes, rendered pork is generally called lard.

[billybopp]

12 hours ago, dikman said:

I've been pondering the subject of tallow and trying to do what little research I can on it. It seems that traditionally tallow is made from beef or sheep fat as both of these appear to store indefinitely without refrigeration. When using pork fat it's called grease as the chemical structure of pork fat is different to beef and sheep fat and it also has a finite life. Tallow can be made from other animals - bear, elk, deer, buffalo - but from what I can glean none of them have the shelf life of beef or sheep tallow BUT I have no experience personally with them. Quite a fascinating subject, did you know that tallow was used for lubricating steam engines? Amazing stuff, really.

If you have 50 TONS or so of lard ... You can launch a battleship!   Before oil became civilization's main source of lubrication, animal fat of one sort or another was used to lubricate.  Everything from wagon wheel axle grease to steam engine bearing surfaces.  I have no doubt it was used to build the pyramids and great cathedrals too!

P.S.  At least for me, Bacon fat does a wonderful job lubricating my cast iron skillet for the eggs that are cooked after.  Just don't tell my doctor that I do that, please.

- Bill

Edited January 20 by billybopp

[fredk]

Not only lubrication, but also used on one-self as a protection against cold weather (goose grease mostly) and tallow was the main source of light, tallow candles and lamps, from Roman times to the invention of the gas light

[ToddW]

I am playing around with my leather balm and saw some people adding Vitamin E.  Looking around there are different IU values which has me real confused what to order..  30,000... 45,000.. 60,000. I am no chemist so curious if I am over thinking this and should just order up some off Amazon or if there is something specific for balms I should be looking at?

As a side note, I saw a balm today that used cold pressed sunflower seed, Shea Butter, Bees Wax and Vitamin E that looks to be softer and easier to apply than the mix of almond oil, bees wax and coco butter I just mixed up..

Any thoughts??