The truth about neatsfoot oil

[bruce johnson]

KingsX - Yes it is! The past coming back in a post from Oct 2006. Life has changed a lot since then for me, but I am still an oil user....

[RoosterShooter]

What is the best top coat for NF oil after applying to a new, veg tan holster? I'm slowly getting away from the acrylic finishes as they leave too much of a 'plastic' look and feel to it. I'm wanting something with a medium to light gloss sheen that will give a good finish.

Thanks

[NVLeatherWorx]

I have always used the 50/50 blend of Resolene and water; it gives the finished leather a nice mellow satin gloss without the plastic look that you mentioned. Resolene applied straight has a satin finish but when cut with water it really mellow's it out without all of the glare. The trick is to get a finish that has a matte/satin sheen to it. Clear-Lac (formerly Neat-Lac) also gives the leather a nice soft sheen without all of that high gloss glare. If you want it really dull then you go with Leather Balm with Atom Wax but keep in mind that the finish will have a bit of a waxy feel and look to it and you may experience some additional rub-off for a little while (depending on what type of dye/stain is used).

[oltoot]

First to be clear, I have NOT in my 50+ years at this tried everything or even a lot of things. I was raised on pure NF. We bought it in 50 gallon drums. Later when I went to gallon containers of things I had some bad experiences with NF compounds and switched to Olive oil primarily because it was more readily available. Liked it better but it still left me with some appearance issues on new stuff and could bleed from chrome tanned stuff. Then I stumbled on to the product Lexol NF. For me, it was the answer to my prayers for all new items and chaps and other chrome tanned items. I don't understand why it didn't take the world by storm but it seems to have fallen out of favor and is getting hard to find in larger containers. A while back I gave Weaver's Neatselene a try and was favorably impressed. I haven't tried any of the butters or creams on the market for a variety of primarily personal reasons. First off, I just about refuse to work on anything that won't be thoroughly cleaned first which usually means at least partial disassembly so I haven't seen a real need for anything that is designed primarily for top coating. These are my limited experiences. One thing that I would emphasize is that any oil or conditioner is better than none and just because a dab of something proves beneficial DOES NOT mean that a bunch will be better or IOW be careful not to overuse whatever it is that you are using and be honest about user error when evaluating.

[braden]

Hides are skin. When the skin of a cow is on the animal small amounts of oil are constantly being provided from underneath... the skin is not drenched with a very heavy oil once a year... like an application of Neatsfoot Oil would be... it gets oil which is expelled at the same rate it is bing added all year long. I believe that an application of a lighter oil ... like Lexol, Carnauba cream, lanolin ( in the form of neutral shoe polish) on a REGULAR basis most closely resembles what nature was providing to that skin while it was on the animal... and has the added advantage of minimizing the risk of the leather in its new configuration and use (belt,saddle,etc) imparting unwanted oil to other items like clothes in the local vicinity

Compared to many who post on these forums I am a very novice leatherworker. However, based on my own limited experience, I would definitely say that the proper application of neatsfoot oil as a preservative/restorative agent has it's place within the craft. I think Bruce's point is well taken.

For myself, being a relative newbie, I consider application of neatsfoot to be along the lines of a 'baseline' industry standard practice. Kind of like how 440C is like a 'standard' baseline for stainless steel: there are many other specialty alloys having different characteristics, arguably superior under certain circumstances, but 440C is universal.

Likewise, in leatherwork, I have read/heard about many different mixtures of oils, tallows, waxes from fish, bears, deer, cows, bees, etc. and different methods for applying them. I am sure that many of these recipes/mixtures do produce good results with many possibly performing even better than neatsfoot oil.

However, to continue my analogy, this kind of knowledge is hard-won through experience and it's probably for the best if novice leatherworkers don't try and render animal fats to finish their first project (also that kind of thing isn't sold by the gallon). Similarly it's probably for the best if you don't try to make your first knife out of M390 or something. Start with 440C, see how it goes, gain some experience, experiment a bit, and then branch out.

The second point I want to make is that the argument 'hides are skin' and should be treated as such is logically flawed. I doubt at this point it will affect how anyone feels about treating leather, but anyhow...

Yes, 'hides are skin' when they are still attached to the ass of an animal. However, the 'skin' is transformed into leather through varied chemical processes (i.e. tanning). It was an animal's skin but now it's leather; the two are obviously related but are not the same.

This would be akin to arguing that preserving mummified remains should require lots of water; when the mummy was alive it was a human person, made mostly of water, who drank lots of water, and so therefore as a mummy he must want a drink of water! Not so.

Just because the 'skin' wasn't being 'drenched with a very heavy oil once a year' when it was still on the cow's ass is irrelevant. The skin has now been transformed into a different material and a new set of rules may now apply.

Some food for thought.

The point about too much oil transferring to clothes, etc. is well taken. I imagine this is a mistake that everyone makes once.

Braden

[Walstr]

I "over saturated" my first attempt at a belt. I really liked the darkening color change--until it became a sponge!

Based soley on 'perception', I'll be applying 3 coats to my projects; I'll not re-oil any 'light' areas as they disappear the next day due to 'migration' of the oil throughout the hide.

The results retain the 'wet molded' form & still feels & sounds hard.

It took 2-3 times as much Neatsfoot oil to bring my 40 yr. old tool pouch & belt back to life. It's not a sponge & feels 'normal' & strong.

Good luck to all, & pls. respond to my query for assistance to find a darker Walnut stain formula.

[RidersChoiceSaddleCo]

We used 100% neatsfoot oil on thousands of saddles over the last 40 years and found that it works great as long as it is applied evenly and allowed to dry between applications. Also, note that we only use 100% and not compound. Many makers of the compound use all types of oil to mix in with the neatsfoot and even add baby powder. We haven't had great success with the compound as it brings mixed results. Also, since the neatsfoot oil is made from cattle hooves, it is already used to being part of the animal, and part of keeping it looking good for years to come.

[Rother]

I have a pigskin "western" jacket, with frills all around it. I bought it in Germany in 1974. There is no finish It and you can see the holes where each hairs used to be. It has dried out but not cracked in any way. Mind you, I've never tried to "fold" any parts flat for feat of cracking. Is there anything I can do to it to bring it back to life? I have 100% neatsfoot oil which I'm sure would just get sucked up in a second. I don't care if any treatment changes the colour (currently no colour) of it or if it turns into a project (I'm retired). I know nothing about leather but would appreciate any insight you guys have on the matter...or should I just let it die?