Leather Care

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

I've got an old saddle and a few knife sheaths I want to rub down.

What do Y'all use?

A friend told me Mink Oil is what he recommends.
Some people use Saddle Soap on saddles...but its all leather.
My question is....can I use tongue oil? I'm talking about the same stuff I use to rub on wood...it's oil.

Thanks.

[redprospector]

I've never heard of anyone using tongue oil on leather. I've used it on wood, but don't think I'd use it on a piece of leather I cared about without trying it out on an old worn out belt or something.
In another life, I had a saddle repair/leather goods shop. This is what I used.
If the leather is in bad need of oil, I would heat up neetsfoot oil to the point it was almost too hot to put your finger in, and rub it into the dry leather. The hot oil will really drive into the leather. After it was pretty much soaked in, and dry to the touch, I'd finish it with saddle soap or mink oil.
If the leather's not too dry you can skip the neetsfoot oil if you want to.

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

Thanks Red.

[Kcwoodbutcher]

Don't use tung oil unless you want your saddle to crackle when you ride. It hardens as it dries. First wash the saddle with a wet rag and saddle soap. Get as much dirt out as you can. Let it dry completely and then oil it. You can use mink oil if you don't mind a bit of darkening of the leather. There's a ton of products out there for leather care and most are pretty good. Several applications should be done if the leather is dried out. Even if you use oil I would finish with a wax or wax/oil mixture as the final coat. It's more durable than oil and helps keep the dirt out of the leather.

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

Going up to Tractor Supply tomorrow. They're suppose to have a whole line of products. Thanks.

[gfadvm]

Being a lifetime horseman, I have used every leather concoction known to man. I now use mineral oil on all my saddles and bridles.

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

Never thought of that. 

[elk42]

  I to use mineral oil.

[fstedy]

What would you recommend for a leather Flight Jacket?

[Claybraker]

I don't know anything about saddles, but lately I've been using something called Obenauf's on boots, sheaths and holsters. It's mainly beeswax. When I've used neatsfoot I tended to over apply, leaving the leather a bit oily.

[Raider Bill]

There's a product called Lexol that I've used that works pretty good on jackets. I believe you can get it in a pump bottle.

I'd do a bit on the side to check for color change though.

[hardtailjohn]

I agree with Redprospector and KCwoodbutcher.  We've got 20+ sets of harness as well as saddles and lots of leather stuff (and we seem to 'aquire' more all the time). We clean with hot/warm water and saddle soap, then let it dry and hit it with Neetsfoot oil. One of the things I do if I can is to put it in the sun to warm, or even better, stick it in my paint booth with the radiant floor heat cranked up for a day or two...then hit it with warm oil...it really penetrates then.  I love the smell of the shop when we're going through, oiling and checking over harness every year!!
John

[ST Ranch]

X3 -  treat with saddle soap and neetsfoot oil.  My wife uses the saddle soap followed by a leather conditioner [which is usually an oil based product with some wax type thickener - seems to repell water better and shines up nice]
Tom

[21incher]

I use mink oil for shoes and boots, and Harley Davidson makes a good leather conditioner I use for the jackets and saddlebags. But for saddles I have to leave that to the experts. I think tung oil would harden and cause the leather to crack after a couple of applications.