Axe Sheath

[KeithRobicheux]

I have a 2-1/4 # axe that I am sprucing up, and I wanted some expert advice on my sheath. This is the sheath I've bought:

http://www.amazon.com/Nupla-22213-Rawhide-Campers-Utility/dp/B004UMH18S/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1394648504&sr=8-1&keywords=nupla+22213

It's pretty stiff and undyed. I was gonna treat it with mink oil.

One of the Amazon reviews had a guy who soaked it in warm water and then pressed it between stuff, so that the leather conformed to the axe. I would like to do something like that.

Does anyone have any thoughts? Can you soak leather in water, press it into form, then apply mink oil?

I'm open to suggestions if y'all know how I can do it better.

Thanks

[Tree Reaper]

You can soak it completely in warm water for twenty seconds and then press it with the axe in it between two pieces of foam.

Let it stay that way for three hours, take it out and let it dry and then treat it with neatsfoot oil.

[KeithRobicheux]

Thanks. Sounds easy enough.

Do you have a reason for liking neatsfoot over mink?

[Tree Reaper]

Better penetration with the oil.

You can put mink on after the neatsfoot dries a couple of days, sno-seal would be better for an axe sheath.

[KeithRobicheux]

Should I just do the whole thing in sno seal, or the combo neatsfoot and sno seal? It's gonna be a camping axe, so having the leather protected would definitely be a plus.

[Dumfist]

Should I just do the whole thing in sno seal, or the combo neatsfoot and sno seal? It's gonna be a camping axe, so having the leather protected would definitely be a plus.

If you want it to be softer, you should oil it beforehand so the leather can regain some suppleness.

The sno-seal will act as a topcoat (maybe it even has oils to help it work into the leather) that protects against moisture entering the top surface. It's not meant to soften the leather, just to help weatherproof it.

[Tree Reaper]

The neatsfoot will help rejuvenate the properties lost when soaking, the sno will protect it from moisture.