Homemade Dubbin (Leather Conditioner)

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Janne

Sent off - Not allowed to play
Feb 10, 2016
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Grand Cayman, Norway, Sweden
Excellent video, excellent subject!

I hope you take a small amount of Cod Liver Oil today. Good for the old ticker and the Vit D is not to be frowned upon too!
Choose one made in Norway. Taste really good, not like those fish oils made in South America.
 

slowworm

Full Member
May 8, 2008
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Devon
Funnily enough I was thinking about making something for leather as I've bought another 2nd hand pair of leather boots and I've got loads of bees wax from our ladies.

I know what you said about the lard, but do you think there's any veg oils that would work? I'm mostly just curious as I'd like to try extracting our own veg oils one day. More likely that keeping pigs for us.
 

British Red

M.A.B (Mad About Bushcraft)
Dec 30, 2005
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You certainly can use vegetable oil in these types of preparations. Take a look at our saddle soap video. You could easily substitute rapeseed oil for neetsfoot. A simple blend of oil and wax would work, although I do find a grease / fat element helps with waterproofing

 

Janne

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Feb 10, 2016
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What about vegetable shortening, type Crisco?

I found the metal oxide addition interesting.

Your mix is of course universal, but in Scandinavia we liked to have tar oil in it.
Tar and tar oil was not only a huge export, but used to preserve/ waterp4oif boots, and smeared in the skin, kept the plentiful biting and sucking insects away
Plus used in treatment of various skin conditions on both animals and humans.
Plus mixed into sweets.
 
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British Red

M.A.B (Mad About Bushcraft)
Dec 30, 2005
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Thank you! There's likely to be quite a lot of preserving over coming weeks as we are in harvest time. We will move into more building and making in late Autumn
 

Janne

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Well, traditionally it was considered that clear Birch bark oil was the best, used neat or mixed with animal fat, but most ( more modern) recipes use tar from trees with leaves ( birch, beech for example), mixed just like your way.


Several commercial ( using traditional recipes) dubbin makers exist now in Sweden.
The more exotic fats they use are fat from bear, badgers. Mink oil and fat.
Light coloured ones use the bark oil, darker ones the tar.
I have one jar of dubbin that uses oil from Pine needles, bear and badger fat.

( yes, I bought it because it sounded interesting.:) )

I think the dubbin you make is just as efficient as those Swedish exotic ones.
Fat, oil, wax. In a proportion that suits the climate.
A dubbin developed for Arctic Sweden will be to soft for UK.
 

Janne

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Feb 10, 2016
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Grand Cayman, Norway, Sweden
I suspect most of these tars are very similar in how they work.

I have no clue why they are used to be frank, do not know the benefit of them over a more normal oil.

Tar has a preserving ability ( think smoked food) maybe leather in the past was unevenly cured and lasted longer?
 
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British Red

M.A.B (Mad About Bushcraft)
Dec 30, 2005
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There's no smell at all when solid, but if you wanted to add some essential oil, it would do no harm!
 

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