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+---- Thread: Caligae treatment? (/showthread.php?tid=24498)
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Caligae treatment? - Scream92 - 12-03-2014
Ave! I suppose I'll keep it short and sweet.
Where does one go to find oils/substances to kind of "treat" their caligae? I spoke with a local leatherworker, and he said he could possibly work something out, and that he may have some oil in stock. However, I came back two days later and the business closed... so I guess the bottom line is, what should I get and where?
Caligae treatment? - ANTONIVS MAGNVS - 12-03-2014
You mean neatsfoot oil? A leather shop like Tandy's sell it.
Caligae treatment? - Martin Moser - 12-03-2014
Or check stores selling horse riding equipment -> leather grease et al. for treatig saddles etc.
Caligae treatment? - Crispianus - 12-03-2014
Would agree with Martin an equestrian shop or suppliers usually stocks various brands of leather grease this is usually a mixture of various fats and oils including neatsfoot..... I only ever use straight neatsfoot for softening and reconditioning old leather..... alternatively make your own dubbin there are recipes online.
Currently using this one seems widely available search for "Effax leather grease"...
http://www.effax.de/produktuebersicht.php?p=566&s=%&g=
Sports shops or shops selling Hiking/climbing gear may also stock similar...
Caligae treatment? - Sextus Saturninus - 12-04-2014
Both neatsfoot oil and harness oil would be good for protecting the leather in long term circumstances. I use neatsfoot on my Cingulum ( military belt ) to keep it nice. Leather grease is good too but, well, greasy.
Caligae treatment? - Flavivs Aetivs - 12-04-2014
I use Neatsfoot, and Olive oil also works because you'll have to re-fresh it before it goes rancid anyways.
Caligae treatment? - agrimensor - 12-04-2014
in hiking stores you can buy snowseal it is oil and wax based (you can make it yourself too) it conditions the leather and you just need to grease it now and then.
Caligae treatment? - A_Volpe - 12-04-2014
Weird.
I got a bottle of Neatsfoot oil on Amazon some years ago. I'd also check Tandy leather, area Tack shops.
You could also use mineral oil. It doesn't seem to stain/darken leather like neatsfoot can.
Caligae treatment? - Medicus matt - 12-04-2014
Best 'modern' solution I've found is Ballistol. Good for leather, wood, metal (ferrous and precious) and all manner of other stuff.
Doesn't go sticky, doesn't attract dirt and smells pretty good too.
Caligae treatment? - Crispianus - 12-05-2014
Quote:Best 'modern' solution I've found is Ballistol. Good for leather, wood, metal (ferrous and precious) and all manner of other stuff.
Doesn't go sticky, doesn't attract dirt and smells pretty good too.
Apparently produced from a specification for the German Army in 1904 and used until 1945 by them, the object was to have a universal oil with some medicinal properties.. that could be used on all equipment.. so for metal wood and leather, its alkaline in nature.... sounds ideal, curiously enough I bought a bottle a few weeks ago to try it out...
Caligae treatment? - Dan D'Silva - 12-05-2014
Quote:Weird.A lot of people say that mineral oil damages leather in the long term. I haven't found a reliable study yet though.
I got a bottle of Neatsfoot oil on Amazon some years ago. I'd also check Tandy leather, area Tack shops.
You could also use mineral oil. It doesn't seem to stain/darken leather like neatsfoot can.
Caligae treatment? - Frank Anthony - 12-05-2014
I really like mink oil myself.
Caligae treatment? - A_Volpe - 12-06-2014
Huh. Well, FWIW, I've been using food-grade or medicinal grade mineral oil (bought at a pharmacy) for about 3 years now and had no problems; although I haven't really used it on my leather stuff. I've used min oil once or twice to clean some dirt off or just as a quick use, as I still tend to use neatsfoot oil.
I've used Baby oil (mineral oil with "fragrance") in a pinch, since the bottle was small and can just toss in a bag or satchel for travel, etc. If it's supposed to be "safe" for use on babies, then I'd like to think it'd be "safe" to use on adults and organic material like leather.
(and my metal stuff then has a nice freshly-oiled Baby smell to it
)Unless the "fragrance" is a compound that ruins leather?
I really only use the mineral oil for my metal stuff, replacing 3-in-1 oil and machine oil that I'd been using. Just wanted to move away from something potentially toxic.
Caligae treatment? - 66kbm - 12-06-2014
I use god old Spit cause I'm hard :woot: ....does take 3 years to soften though.... :-(
Kevin
Caligae treatment? - Dan D'Silva - 12-06-2014
Google mineral oil leather. As I say, I haven't yet found a source that looks authoritative, but better than half the results insist that mineral oil will weaken leather, trap moisture and cause dry rot, or something else undesirable.