restoring old leather

[cdet69]

Any ideas on how to restore an old rifle cartridge shell holder that is showing some age. It is becoming brittle and flaking off in some spots.

[Jack Stanley]

I've used a product called Picards leather dressing in the past and it's worked well . Bought it at a gun show don't know where to look for it again except maybe Google .

Jack

[Just Duke]

Evoo ......

[kmag]

I would clean it with saddle soap first. When dry treat it. I have used neats foot oil and louisville slugger baseball glove oil and liked them both. I think they might be the same oil. Bought the neats foot oil at shoe repair shops and it didn't cost much but that was some years ago. A can of it lasts a long time.

[Splatter]

A good wash with saddle soap is a fine start, then begin treating it before it is completely dry. Neatsfoot oil is great; but beware of "Neatsfoot oil compound" it contains other stuff that can wreck stitching.
Neatsfoot oil will make the leather softer, if you want the leather to remain stiff I like lanolin. Usually I warm the article and apply melted anhydrous lanolin to the suede side and work it in. I've just tried anhydrous lanolin thinned with isopropanol in a spray bottle and then worked in. In the one piece I tried it on, it seemed to work great and it was easy to apply a very light coat rather than the drenching that results from applying the melted lanolin.

[gnoahhh]

Ditto the bit about using Neatsfoot oil compound. The metallic salts in it will attack natural fiber stitching over time (such as linen thread). (If it's sewn with nylon thread it's not so bad.) Trouble is, most stuff sold today is the "compound'. You have to search out the pure stuff. I got a half gallon jug of it at a tack shop.

[smokeywolf]

Hydrophane Saddler's Leather Conditioner has worked well for me. Careful not to saturate the leather with it. A little wicks down into the leather fairly quickly. Used it on a pair of chaps my dad made back in the early 1950s. One application made them like new. I put it on over 20 years ago. They're still perfect.

smokeywolf

[cdet69]

Thanks for all the help. Whent up to tractor supply and got some saddle soap and pure neatsfoot oil. Glad I was warned about using the compound stuff. Most of what they had was it. Now time to get to work.

[Randy C]

http://shop.treatleather.com/
I have used Montana Pitch Blend products for years for my boots and everything else.

[gwozdz]

I got some pure neats foot oil from Amazon and it worked wonders for my old leather slings. Mink oil seemed to stiffen them.

[Dutchman]

Any ideas on how to restore an old rifle cartridge shell holder that is showing some age. It is becoming brittle and flaking off in some spots.

You can retard decomposition in leather. You cannot reverse decomposition in leather. Restoration denotes reversal of decomposition.

Flaking is a sure sign of advanced decomposition of leather. Leather is a biological substance. It is dead tissue. Neither Neatsfoot oil nor saddle soap can un-dead dead tissue. There is a point of no return with aging leather. Brittleness and flaking are nature's way of telling you the animal is long dead and soon to be gone. The next step after "flaking" is dust to dust.

Dutch

[WyoSav99]

Saddle Soap, Lexol, Neet's Foot Oil. The Salty Old Chief taught us that when I was a very young sailor. He learned it from his granddad who was Sheriff of Alamosa County, CO. for many many years.
Lexol restores the natural moisture to the leather.

[Idaho Mule]

The real neatsfoot oil will do the best. In a pinch plain old olive oil works pretty well too but it darkens the leather a tad more. By the way, do you know how many guys it takes to rope a neat and milk its foot?? JW

[jnovotny]

Bear grease, really works wonders on old leather! I really don't know why. An old timer showed me on some harness that laid out in the barn for a long time, and he brought it back to life pretty quick. He gave me some and I have used it for all my leather and it just works!

[GOPHER SLAYER]

Hey Mule, it only takes two to shoot a naga and skin it for it's hide. I understand the critter is almost extinct in the wild. There must be very large breeding farms someplace.

[smokemjoe]

I use neats foot and bear grease or oil mixed, also same for patch lub.

[Idaho Mule]

Gopher, it takes three with a neat, they are bigger than ya think, average adult is right at 800 lb. One guy ropes it and the other two mug it down, then the roper flies in and hog-tie as the two muggers hold it down. At this point the roper starts in to milking, you gotta get all four feet but if properly tied it's no problem. Be sure to put the lid on the bucket tho because when ya turn 'em loose they are a bit agitated and their freshly milked feet seem to go in every direction. Not a task to be undertaken by the meek or mild, as a neat will kick and be wild. JW

[GOPHER SLAYER]

Mule, I know that the neat is important to humanity even if it is in a minor way but it can not compare in importance to the naga. Without the naga where would we get the hides for seat covers for all those new cars and trucks, both forign and domestic. While I have never hunted the naga I understand it is a bit tricky. The trick being, you can only use a headshot. You can't have bullet holes in the seat of your new Pickup.

[Taylor]

Neatsfoot oil,any tack or amish store will have it.