Leather Care

Leather Care:

Leather care is an important part of the outdoor life, although many good synthetics exist now that don't require much care at all. I've become a believer in synthetic materials on saddles and bridles, for example -- the leather ones look a little nicer, and feel better in the hand, but they require so much more care and replacement. Still, I do have and use quite a bit of leather, whether boots or vests or holsters/scabbards or other similar things.

I find that there are basically three kinds of leather goods in terms of care. There are leather goods you need to have waterproofed, which are a separate type. Then, of goods that don't really need to be waterproof, there are those you don't care if they darken, and those that you would prefer did not darken.

For waterproofing leather, I use mink oil. It can completely reject water once it is worked into the leather (or across the surface of the synthetic). It creates a fairly ugly, waxy buildup over time and numerous applications, but this too can be a minor advantage if you are in a really damp climate or get wet regularly: any mold or mildew will grow in that waxy buildup, which can be scraped off and a fresh coat reapplied. This is much better than having it grow within the leather itself.

For working leathers that don't need to be waterproof, I use neatsfoot oil. It creates a soft, supple leather (that is also somewhat water resistant). Leather treated in this way will be stronger than untreated leather, and the neatsfoot oil penetrates into the leather better than anything else I've found. However, it darkens leather quite a bit even with the first application.

For leather you'd rather keep the same color it is right now, I've tried several things. I normally use Bick-4 for these things, as it doesn't darken the leather, penetrates moderately well, and does show some decent results.

However, I've recently discovered that Armor All's leather wipes work wonderfully. I hadn't thought of using them because they are made for automotive leather; but one day I tried them out on that vest I mentioned a while back. The formula they use penetrates well, makes the leather very soft and supple, and doesn't darken at all.

I have only two complaints about it: it takes five or six of the wipes to finish off the vest, which is just because it soaks into the leather so quickly and well that the wipe is dry before you know it. The only other thing is that you have to reapply it somewhat often by comparison to neatsfoot oil to retain the suppleness.

Still, it works as well as anything I've yet discovered. I thought I'd pass that along while I was thinking about it.