Darken and protect your new sheath with one product

[RovingArcher]

Like many others, I have just received the replacement sheath for the NorthStar. I don't much care for lite colored sheaths and because I'm likely to wear the knife during wet conditions, I also wanted to protect the leather from the elements. I did some seaching and on the BRKT forum, I got the tip to use Sno-seal. It is a natural bees wax product that waterproofs, but will also darken the leather as a side effect. Using the instructions on the package, I heated the sheath, warming the leather to an easy to handle temperature, so that it would melt the sno-seal and speed up the process of the leather soaking the product up. After heating and applying the product two times, this is the results.

 

[Squidders]

Looks like it came out well... I would advise anyone to be ultra cautious about even warming leather up.

I once read that "the temperature butter melts, leather burns"...

I use a similar product on all my horse tack but it involves no warming and is very clean and non greasy after application.

It's called hydrophane and you should be able to get it anywhere.

But as I said, yours looks good.

 

[riddleofsteel]

I have used Snowseal on my boots for years.

Good stuff.

 

[leon-1]

I think old jimbo or one of the others put up a thread on one of the forums about treating the sheath on a Grohmann and used a similar process with beeswax, it may be worth looking for.

 

[C_Claycomb]

I bought some Sno-Seal from a store over here a couple months ago. I haven't yet had a chance to try it on a sheath, but it was recommended to me by a US Journeyman Smith by the name of Dan Farr.

I have used it on boots though and was very pleased with the results. The temperature needed isn't all that warm, I applied it then left the boots in my car under the hot sun. That worked a treat! A hair dryer on hot would probably do the job as wood a warm oven (after being turned off...aiming for about 45 - 60degC).

 

[Hoodoo]

I've used sno-seal a lot on sheaths by melting it and applying it with a brush, then using a hair dryer to finish. However now I melt equal parts of beeswax and pure neatsfoot oil together and dip my sheaths in this mixture. It works a treat.

 

[The General]

Much nicer after treatment!

Any UK source for this?

 

[Tantalus]

You should be able to get neatsfoot oil from any saddlers

as for the wax, yeah we have bees here too

Tant

 

[jamesraykenney]

Looks like it came out well... I would advise anyone to be ultra cautious about even warming leather up.

I once read that "the temperature butter melts, leather burns"...

I use a similar product on all my horse tack but it involves no warming and is very clean and non greasy after application.

It's called hydrophane and you should be able to get it anywhere.

But as I said, yours looks good.

The problem with most treatments like that(though I do not know about hydrophane itself), is that is softens the leather... Beeswax HARDENS the leather(it was what was used to make leather ARMOR in the old days). It the heat will not hurt your fingers, I do not see how it could damage leather(which is just dead skin).

Just use a hair blower set to a temp. that does not burn your hands and you should be ok...

I have never burnt leather by leaving it in the sun, but that will SURE melt butter!

 

[Hedgehog]

I've used sno-seal a lot on sheaths by melting it and applying it with a brush, then using a hair dryer to finish. However now I melt equal parts of beeswax and pure neatsfoot oil together and dip my sheaths in this mixture. It works a treat.

That sounds like a good solution to me, I've been testing bees wax on scraps of veg-tan with a view to using it on sheaths but so far have been disapointed by its penetration & the fact it coats the surface too thickly - this combined with some gentle heat sounds well worth a go.

I know some people mix parafin wax (candle etc) with the bees wax to gain greater rigidity, there is alot of info on this kind of stuff among the re-enactment armourers who use this metod to make cuirboilli.

 

[jamesraykenney]

That sounds like a good solution to me, I've been testing bees wax on scraps of veg-tan with a view to using it on sheaths but so far have been disapointed by its penetration & the fact it coats the surface too thickly - this combined with some gentle heat sounds well worth a go.

<snip>

Are you heating the leather first?

Heat the Leather so that it is hot, but not too hot to handle.
Brush on the was untill it is compleatly coated.
Heat again and let the was soak in.
repeat from first step untill you get wax comming out of the INSIDE of the sheath...Then you KNOW that it is compleatly impregnated...

 

[Hedgehog]

Are you heating the leather first?

Heat the Leather so that it is hot, but not too hot to handle.
Brush on the was untill it is compleatly coated.
Heat again and let the was soak in.
repeat from first step untill you get wax comming out of the INSIDE of the sheath...Then you KNOW that it is compleatly impregnated...

Thanks for the tip there, I was only warming the leather prior to applying the wax & not after, I'll give that a go.

Cheers