Leather Oil for sheaths

[BKW]

I have been told a basic recipe for good oil to soak my sheaths in for my knives

Turpintine, Beeswax and Neats foot oil

Does anyone know the proportions for this recipe

 

[Hildebrand]

I like 50:50 beeswax:neatsfoot oil by weight melted together. 

Todd

[BKW]

13 minutes ago, Hildebrand said:

I like 50:50 beeswax:neatsfoot oil by weight melted together. 

Todd

Thanks, so no Turpentine to allow it to soak in?

 

[garypl]

Here is my recipe:

Beeswax - 50%

Carnuba wax - 10%

NFO - 30%

Lanolin - 5%

Lexol - 5%

Paraffin - 1 shaving

Makes a fairly soft leather balm that you can rub into the leather and heat with a hair drier to let it quickly soak in.

Gary

[BKW]

14 minutes ago, garypl said:

Here is my recipe:

Beeswax - 50%

Carnuba wax - 10%

NFO - 30%

Lanolin - 5%

Lexol - 5%

Paraffin - 1 shaving

Makes a fairly soft leather balm that you can rub into the leather and heat with a hair drier to let it quickly soak in.

Gary

Awesome thank you

[MikeRock]

Gary,

That sounds like it would come real close to Sno-Seal for application and effect.  Nice recipe!  Thank you.

God bless

 

[Hildebrand]

32 minutes ago, BKW said:

Thanks, so no Turpentine to allow it to soak in?

 

No no terpentine, I got this recipe off this forum.

[MikeRock]

Somehow turpentine and leather don't seem right.....does anyone use turpentine?  Woodworking, okay, carnauba, beeswax, linseed oil and turpentine, great for handles from plow handles to hoes, rakes and shovels.

God bless

[TargetRockLeather]

I also use 50/50 by weight beeswax and neatsoot oil. I wouldn't use terpentine . Instead I warm the leather with a blow dryer, then warm the mixture briefly to soften it a bit. Then rub the mixture onto the leather. It will soak in. You can apply a bit more heat to make it penetrate some more. Eventually there will be none left on the surface. After it cools, buff with a soft cloth and it will have a nice luster to it. Note: this will darken the leather, though the darkness will fade somewhat over time.

[garypl]

33 minutes ago, garypl said:

Here is my recipe:

Beeswax - 50%

Carnuba wax - 10%

NFO - 30%

Lanolin - 5%

Lexol - 5%

Paraffin - 1 shaving

Makes a fairly soft leather balm that you can rub into the leather and heat with a hair drier to let it quickly soak in.

Gary

Forgot to mention I heat this in a jar in a pan of water on a hot plate (double boiler) stirring to blend the ingredients.  I use an old jar to make a batch, then pour into a smaller jar for daily use.  When I make something for somebody I give them a small tin filled with this balm to use on their leather item.  I bought the tins on Amazon, they hold about 1 tablespoon full of balm.  I use a heat gun to melt it into the tin.  Works great!

Gary

[Dwight]

The 50/50 beeswax and neatsfoot oil is an old, . . . old, . . . recipe from what I've been told.  I got it from the Pacific northwest, . . . believe the lady said her grandfather or father gave it to her.  

Been using it for over 10 years, . . . no complaints so far.

May God bless,

Dwight

[Rockoboy]

On ‎9‎/‎19‎/‎2019 at 10:36 AM, BKW said:

Thanks, so no Turpentine to allow it to soak in?

 

I know a bloke who mixes neatsfoot oil and lanolin (proportions are a bit vague depending on the consistency required) and a dash of PURE GUM TURPENTINE, not the regular turpentine. Its has a pleasant smell, I think, from the pure gum turpentine.

[battlemunky]

@BKW you mention soaking the sheath... I wouldn't fully soak it but as the others have suggested apply on the exterior and let it soak in. Soaking it could have some unwanted consequences and needlessly use a lot of product. Also, if your ratio is off, over oiling will make a messy, oozing, floppy mess of an article. Too much oil is not a good thing. I oiled the living hell out of a few items with NFO early on and they got sorta mushy and were ruined. Completely unusable. Higher wax content if you are going to soak, but then you have to deal with wax all over the knife.

[BKW]

So I have come up with a recipe based on all the info I received (thanks too all)

beeswax

neatsfoot oil 

and using a vegetable turpentine made here in Japan. I screwed up the percentages so I am not exactly sure on the mixing but the turpentine is the infusion agent and yes needs to be heated in a double boiler to 70c then submerge the entire sheath in the solution let it drain then hang for 3-4 days and the turpentine completely evaporated and leaves no smell but the leather is totally infused with the beeswax and oil and polished up beautifully. 
the lighter leather is Tochigi Veg Tan and the darker is an old piece of leather I had stored for about 10 yrs. not sure the tanning process. 

[battlemunky]

Looks like it worked out for you, congrats!