Hotwaxing leather - help needed

[Survivalmike]

Hi folks!

I´m planning to hot wax a leathersheath and watched some videos on YT for this!

I hope you can help me with some advice:
1.) Which is the better wax and why?
Bees Wax or Parraffin wax
2.) Should the leather be warmed up before it goes into the melted wax?
I heard that the warming up of the leather helps to open the pores from the hide (like shaving your face with warm water).......And so the leather could absorb more of the hot wax!
Also heard from the other guy, that this is not necessary at all!
Don´t know whats better - so any help would be highly appreciated!

thx my friends
all the best
Mike

 

[MSkiba]

try it on a bit of offcut.

I dont see point in heating leather up as the hot wax will do that anyway? I would use beeswax, not sure what the other stuff is.

 

[MartiniDave]

I've always used bee's was, mainly because that's what I;ve got. I've never pre-heated the leather, but I can't see it doing any harm.
When you first put the wax on it'll look truly awful, don't panic, stick at it and it sorts itself out as you carry on.

Dave

 

[JohnC]

I use beeswax, (I'm sure Eric Methven has a posting about this on here somewhere) I do warm the leather a bit, not hot, but warm as it helps the wax to soak right in, especially thicker cuts.
I recall putting wax over a cold piece of work (a pouch that had been sitting in the shed) and the wax set immediately on the surface and flaked off. I think that was unusual, but I do get better results with the piece being warmed first.

 

[paulnb57]

If you are giong to dip the whole thing in wax (I use beeswax) the I wouldnt warm it up first, but if you are going to apply the wax with, for example anold paint brush then Id warm it a little first. Dont overheat the leather tho as you will ruin it. I use an old oven roasting tray and the oven at 100 for about 5 mins then apply the wax then back in the oven, then rub in the wax with an old towel then repeat until its got a good coating.
Never melt you wax on direct heat - I use an old baked bean tin in a pan of hot water.

Paul

 

[Black Sheep]

Personally I use Bees wax as it's a natural product and smells great. I warm the leather in the oven for about 20 mins on a low heat, remove it and brush on the melted wax with a brush.

If you try to brush hot wax onto a cold sheath it just sets and doesn't soak into the leather.

I also use a hot air paint stripping gun to warm areas that need a little help.

Richard

 

[Survivalmike]

thx for all your kind advice.......
Bees wax isn´t that easy to get here - and paraffin is easy bought (this is the white wax where grave candles are made of) these are very cheap to get - are 100% paraffin and melt great (also are very resistant - think at the grave candle which burns very very long and is absolute resistant for wather conditions)!
I have some bees wax left in my garage, but I think it´s not enough for a whole sheath!

I plan to melt the wax down and put the whole leathersheath in the melted wax and let it soak up......
After your kind words - I think I´ll warm the leather a bit up.......a few minutes at very low temperature should do the job!

cheers
Mike

 

[casyis]

I've had good results using paraffin instead of beeswax -- paraffin being a hydrocarbon, it tends to bond better with the leather fibers.

 

[tombear]

Inspired by this thread I've just melted some beeswax in a double boiler improvised from a tin can and a small pan and painted it on the slightly warmed leather and it soaked in fine.

It's still lightening in colour as it cools/cures. I thought the wax would stop the oil on the file getting on the other contents in my belt pouch. Incidentally the file is the Martindale sharpening job I cut 2 inches off so it would fit and the case is mainly to protect it from the wet and everything else from it! In the end I used a cutting wheel on the Dremel and plenty of spit to stop it heating up. I'm still thinking of pinning scales to the handle.

One thing I did do was wrap the file in several turns of cling film, I'd wet formed the leather around it and once the clamps was off and I'd sewn and cut it I left the film on to protect the file from the wax as that was applied. Its kept it's shape anyhow.

ATB

Tom

 

[Andy BB]

Are you going for the Brazilian or Cuban look?

 

[John Fenna]

Parrafin wax tends to give a stiffer result in my experience. A blend of the two is my usual choice.

 

[Survivalmike]

A blend of the two is my usual choice.

This sounds like a great idea (thx)
In fact that I have just a small amount of bees wax left - I think I´ll mix it with 2 or 3 grave candles (100% Parrafin) and so I have plenty enough for my sheath

How often can i reuse this wax? Is there any point, where the wax left it´s features or would be "dirty"?
cheers
Mike

 

[Doc]

I followed Jimbo's instructions here:

http://www.oldjimbo.com/survival/grohmann.html

Worked very well.