Leather Preservative Experiment

[Giles]

OK, so this is 5 minutes after the olive oil application…...

[Seul]

Brilliant stuff here!.. Really comes in handy!.. Thanks, G!..

[bagley920]

I think my belt will be heart healthy very soon!

[mvb]

great idea monday and mr.g

[RedStripe]

look forward to seeing the updates, great idea

[Giles]

On the basis that we can't have too much comparative data, here they are after 6 days outside:

I'll apply the potions again tomorrow….

[jacoavlu]

I wonder what kind of oil is in Obenauf's… I don't think it's neatsfoot, though neatsfoot oil does tend to darken leather quite a bit

[Giles]

I think that part of the reason that the Ober Oil sample is so dark is that it is very fluid, so it soaks in big time….

[Giles]

The appliance of science…....Well some oils......

[ChuckDenim]

Olive is my favourite.

[simonc]

Can you do a suppleness, bend or texture test to see which has softened more?

[Giles]

I will after a few months.  Pretty pointless imo after a week….G

[Giles]

Wandered past the experiment a few mins ago.  It is raining here, this is what we have got….........

[madmonday]

wow, look at the way the water beads up on some.

[bagley920]

I still like the color of the olive oil best

[seawolf]

A bit of warning: Olive oil rots over time, and smells really bad. I thought it would be a good idea to oil my big butcher block with olive oil, because, you know, its a cutting board, so what better to oil it with than olive oil, right? Wrong! After about a year, I noticed a foul odor that actually permeated the food and tasted horrible. I can't imagine the effect would be less on a nice piece of leather. Since that incident, I got a new butcher block, and oil it with mineral oil, which won't rot, and keeps my block looking (and smelling) fresh!

As good as that olive oiled leather looks, I would strongly advise NOT using olive oil on your own belts!

[jacoavlu]

G already did, many moons ago…

[Giles]

Bummer, that's what I use on mine….....

IHB-01 Tan (or natural)

Approx 3 years. no smell, no rot - but i have only applied a couple of times - the rest is probably sweat….

[seawolf]

That's good to hear. Maybe it affects wood differently than leather? That's great if it works for you! I'm too scared to try it at this point after my butcher block incident

[LandoCal126 0]

Great idea/ experiment G. Thanks for doing this!~