Olive Oil Vs Neetsfoot Oil

[wyomingcowboy]

Does pure neatsfoot oil rot in the bottle? I have a quart that I bought a few years ago (3-5 years, I can't remember exactly) and it smells like it's starting to go bad once it's on your hands. It doesn't smell on the leather or sheepskin while it's applied, but only on your hands. Maybe its always smelled that way and I'm just now noticing, but I don't think so

[Tannin]

Hi, my first post. Here goes...

Interesting discussion

Castor oil is supposed to keep vermin away.

Kevin

I've been trying to sort through contradictory advice in books and on the web re. oils/saddles soaps(soft/hard)/neatsfoot oil/neatsfoot compound/cod liver oil/lanolin/glycerine(glycerol)/beeswax/etc. - and castor oil is looking quite promising as a possible alternative to neatsfoot oil (neatsfoot oil looks promising too, for softening & waterproofing).

I wondered if anyone has tried using a castor oil based grease (e.g. "red rubber grease" or "red lithium grease")? I see that Ko-cho-line (Carr & Day & Martin by Appt. to HM the Queen no less) lists its sole ingredient as "red grease" but no specifics. It seems well liked for softening & preserving leather by those that use it & it is supposed to offer good protection when leather is stored.

Ko-Cho-Line Leather Dressing

The main things I've gleaned so far though is:

1. There are a lot of different opinions out there, often contradictory and

2. if you use any type of oil use it sparingly, don't overdo it - a little now & then rather than saturating it.

Edited July 26, 2014 by Tannin

[Catfan63]

Just curious as I'm a noob to leatherwork and this process seems promising... a quick question:

I understand that the oil (EVOO or Neatsfoot) is applied after tooling and before finish, yes?

If that is accurate, how long to wait after applying oil until its optimal to apply the finish?

Thanks so much- I've learned a ton already and have barely scratched the surface here.

[camano ridge]

You will find as many opinions about that as have been expressed above on the original post. Myself I wait at least 24 hours to allow the oil tim to migrate through the leather. On thicker or really dry leather I may wait a couple of days. When you first apply the oil you will notice darkening and possibly even some splochiness given some time this will even out lighten up and the sploches will fade away..

Edited December 11, 2014 by camano ridge

[J W Craftsman]

Sorry for the noob question here but the application of the oil is essentially to take the stiffness out of the leather? Also, I assume that applying dye over say the evoo is no problem as well?

[camano ridge]

Like stated above let the oil migrate into the leather first. I prefer to oil after dying as the dying process tends to draw some of the nutrients out of the leather. I make a lot of holsters my goal is not to soften the holster just to put some nutrients back in the leather. I use finger tip application only. Just a light oiling.

[Catfan63]

Thanks, Camano Ridge!

[oltoot]

My experience from repair of using stuff has been 1) Water is not your enemy but it must be controlled. Dirt is your enemy. Sharp corners of tiny particles can cut and grind and the softer portion attracts and holds unwanted things of all kinds [they have been discussed] 2) 'Dry' leather lacks moisture and the associated tiny 'thingys' that lubricate the fibers and keep them soft enough to bend rather than break in use. 3) A little bit of moisture in the leather enhances the dispersion of the 'thingys' in whatever oil is applied [plant or animal only, please]. 4) Rancidity in storage is just from not using it up fast enough, rancidity on leather from allowing too much to accumulate in places. 5) thread rotting is from allowing too much to accumulate in stitch grooves and from false accusations for age or wear related events. [newer threads don't rot anyway]

New stuff: When leather is tanned correctly, live fluids in skin [that would rot and stink] are replaced with plant compounds that won't. Water content is retained and balance is restored with refined animal products. Good leather is balanced when it comes from the tanning process and manufacturing doesn't have a lot to do to maximize durability. Using means depleting: first moisture through evaporation and then on from there. Responsible use means replacing moisture and 'thingys' and a gradual keeping up with the ravages of use is much preferred to letting things get way out of whack and then trying to get them back.

To the original question, I have added oil darkeners to olive oil with some success but better and easier has been to use a light colored dye first and then oil but !!!!NATURAL IS BETTER!!!

[amcardon]

I only have a fraction of experience compared to the majority of workers on here, and I use neatsfoot fairly exclusively, but have used EVOO in the past. I switched to just neatsfoot after taking a tooling class in Portland, OR and the instructor was asked about which oil is best. The instructor, who was also a chemist, said he would only ever use neatsfoot or legit EVOO since so many other oils are solvent extracted and have some amount of solvent remaining in the oil that can affect the leather. Granted, I don't know much past that, but that was enough to make me not want to try anything else. Can anybody support or debunk this?

[unicornleather]

OILING LEATHER:

NEATSFOOT OIL, is a popular choice to condition modern hides BUT although modern neatsfoot oil is still made from cattle-based products, it has a tendency to speed oxidation of the leather.

If mineral oil or other petroleum-based material is added, the product may be called "neatsfoot oil compound".

Some brands have also been shown to be adulterated with rapeseed oil, soya oil, and other oils.

The addition of mineral oils may lead to more rapid decay of non-synthetic stitching or speed breakdown of the leather itself

AVOID!

You won't always see the damage to the fibres of the hide with the naked eyes and think it's ok to use it but you get down to the cellular level and look at the fibres under a microscope of hide oiled with neatsfoot and you'll see what I mean.

Don't use just oil of any kind on veg tanned hide, use fats,waxes and greases.I have posted a leather conditioner recipe in this thread below, post number 29.

http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=46931&page=2

Oz