Why and How To use Beeswax

[Dwight]

Just was reading another thread, . . . use of beeswax was mentioned, . . . did not want to hijack the thread, . . . so here goes:

1. What can you use beeswax for with leather?

2. How do you apply it?

The reason I ask? I have several pounds of raw, real, natural beeswax from the hives I used to have, . . . and since I am doing leather holsters, belts, etc. . . . figured if it is useable in my work, . . . should save me some bucks somehow.

Lookig forward to all the replies. Golly, . . . this is a great website!!!!

May God bless,

Dwight

[MADMAX22]

All kinds of things lol

You can mix it with reson, some oil, and make little balls that you use to wax linen thread with if you want to wax your own thread.

I rub the wax on my edges to aid me in burnishing the edges.

Most seals like snowseal and severl others use a mix of bees wax but Im not sure of the recipes of the wax for these applications.

[TrooperChuck]

Dwight:

The old cowboy who taught me to make saddles only used one type of finish on all his leatherwork. It was a mixture of pure neatsfoot oil and beeswax. He's been using that mixture for 60+ years, and now I use it.

He didn't have a formula for the mixture. He took about a quart of neatsfoot oil, put it in a pot and added a tennis ball-sized lump of beeswax, then heated it up so they'd mix thoroughly. After it cooled, he simply kept the pot near his work bench and rubbed the room-temperature stuff into whatever leather he was finishing.

I keep mine in a cheap crockpot because I found it penetrates the leather better if I heat the mixture before applying it.

[Dwight]

Dwight:

The old cowboy who taught me to make saddles only used one type of finish on all his leatherwork. It was a mixture of pure neatsfoot oil and beeswax. He's been using that mixture for 60+ years, and now I use it.

He didn't have a formula for the mixture. He took about a quart of neatsfoot oil, put it in a pot and added a tennis ball-sized lump of beeswax, then heated it up so they'd mix thoroughly. After it cooled, he simply kept the pot near his work bench and rubbed the room-temperature stuff into whatever leather he was finishing.

I keep mine in a cheap crockpot because I found it penetrates the leather better if I heat the mixture before applying it.

Thanks, Trooper, . . . I guess I knew there was some reason I kept all those little bags of wax after I got the honey out of it. I very slowly warmed the honey to the point the wax melted, . . . after it cooled and hardened, . . . I just picked it off the top and jarred up my honey. Now I have a use for it, . . . and I will be buying a quart of neatsfoot oil come next Monday so, . . . when I "go to town".

May God bless,

Dwight

[UKRay]

Just was reading another thread, . . . use of beeswax was mentioned, . . . did not want to hijack the thread, . . . so here goes:

1. What can you use beeswax for with leather?

2. How do you apply it?

Dwight, I use beeswax almost every day when I make up my linen threads for hand-sewing bags. First job when I start is to make up half a dozen or how ever many I need. I make them about 5-6ft long and often around eight or ten strands thick for some heavy jobs. I take a chunk of wax and run it down each thread and then roll them together on my thigh to form a cord. The beeswax sticks all the strands together and helps to keep them waterproof. It makes a horrible mess of your jeans so I tend to use an apron these days! LOL

Okay, I guess this isn't so important if you are using man-made fibres but even then it helps a really thick thread slide through the leather without snagging. Hope this helps. Ray

[Hilly]

You can also keep a little chunk to stab the tip of your awl blade into when hand stitching. Helps the blade pierce the leather easier.

[AgronZoti]

If your hand stitching then you

have to wax the thread. The amount of friction the thread gets really weakens

the thread also it helps to conserve the thread.

Its can also be used to polish

the leather and gives it a really nice silky feel to it… it takes some elbow

grease though to work it in.

Just be careful on none died

natural leather… because if its home made wax it might have impurities and might

give your work a dirty look.

[ChrisHodge87]

Im looking to start making drinking skins as well. Someone mentioned that I might be able go to the 99cent store and clean them out of their candles and use that to seal the skins. What are the differences in waxes and what can be used for an item that needs to be food safe?

[Itch]

I use it on the edge of my holsters and also use it to make my own Mustache wax..

[WinterBear]

Im looking to start making drinking skins as well. Someone mentioned that I might be able go to the 99cent store and clean them out of their candles and use that to seal the skins. What are the differences in waxes and what can be used for an item that needs to be food safe?

This is a really old thread, so you'll probably want to look for something newer or start a new topic to get the information you need. But I'll see what I can do to help out.

I'm thinking you'll probably want to avoid the dollar store and other candles, especially if the candles might possibly be an import. There has been a stink about metals in the wicks--lead and cadmium, but also arsenic and mercury. If it's in the wick, chances are it will be in the wax.

If you want food safe wax:

Parafin: A parafin wax can be found where you find home canning supplies are sold. Most groceries should have it.

Beeswax: It is difficult to find a true food-grade beeswax, but as beeswax is edible, most seem to use a cosmetic-grade wax. Cosmetic-grade beeswax can be found at health food stores, usually near where soaps are sold. It usually runs around $1/oz, and is sold in small bars. Sometimes it can be found in larger blocks at hobby stores for candle and soapmaking but it may not be as clean as cosmetic wax.

Carnauba: Found in health food stores in cosmetic grade, and can usually be found in specialty food stores in food grade.

You'll have to talk to the folks that make bottles and maybe drinking horns about the wax mix and where they get their waxes and what proportions they use if they use a mix of waxes. Try also this topic:

http://leatherworker...?showtopic=3084 (page 4 has the tutorial with all of the pictures still, but read the whole thing, as they really have some good tips in there on the waxing process)

Edited November 20, 2012 by WinterBear