Is Sno-Seal the way to go...?

S

Snowman366

Joined
Apr 16, 2006
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What is best for preserving and protecting a leather knife sheath? I bought some "Sno-Seal" on the advice of an acquaintance, because of the beeswax component in it. Later on, I heard that leather needs to "breathe" and the small, natural pores in the leather shouldn't be sealed over with anything. What's a good treatment for sheath leather...just some sort of shoe polish?

Thanks...!
 
You will get a lot of advice with this thread. I asked a similar question for moisturizing a leather handled Camillus Pilot's knife that had been sitting for 20 years, and had lots of dryness and cracking. I rubbed Sno Seal into it generousely. It's worked very well, and makes the knife a joy to use. The handle has held up very well.

That was about 2 years ago, so far, so good. As always, YMMV.

Also, you might want to post this in the maker's forum also, many makers also make sheaths.
 
Snowman366,

Don't now where you live, but I am up here in Alaska, and I use sno-seal on all my leather goods. It keeps it (the leather) plyable, and protects the leather better than anything else I have found. The best stuff I have ever used is Dubbin. It was from England and also Australia. Dubbin is the old English type of Saddle soap, and that stuff works. I think Dubbin is the best in the world for leather preservation, but hey I'm here and have to settle for what I can get. DO NOT USE Neatsfoot Oil. That stuff WILL degrade your stitching in time, as well as it (the oil) will leach out on to you and your clothing. Messy. This is just IMO. Good luck.

Russ
 
I've used a beeswax mixture or neatsfoot oil on every sheath I've ever made and had good results with both. I'll offer a comment from master sheathmaker Chuck Burrows in defense of neatsfoot oil that was taken from another site:

PURE Neatsfoot oil (not neatsfoot compound) was scientifically tested in the laboratory and proved NOT to be harmful to leather. The test was funded by a custom saddle maker and was reported in the Leathercrafter's & Saddlemaker's Journal sometime back - don't remember when or which issue though.
There has been much written/discussed over the years about the "bad" effects of using animal fats on leather, but the fact is animal and fish oils are used in the tanning process! Otherwise vegtan leather would be as hard as a rock and brittle (alcohol/chemical based will in fact dry out vegtan as many of you may have noticed - one reason I add a touch of olive oil to my mix.) Heavy using leather such as harness leather has been more heavily treated with fats & waxes (the process is called stuffing). Montana Pitchblend also had a lab test run on their product which uses mink oil and it was found to have no deleterious effects on good leather.
Now with that said like anything leather goods should be treated sparingly - over oiling can cause "damage" by over softening the sheath or other like product that needs to retain stiffness. And there are bonafide makers that will tell you that neatsfoot will rot threads, but in my experience thousands of leather goods of all kinds I believe that the worst culprits are sweat (salt and water), water damage, and crud/abrasion. Over oiling or over waxing acts like a magnet to crud and the subsequent abrasion. Water damage often occurs when leather is not allowed to PROPERLY dry in between soakings.

I'll take that as the gospel.
 
Sno-seal works great. If you are trying to condition leather, try some Lexoil. Awesome stuff.
 
IUKE12 said:
Sno-seal works great. If you are trying to condition leather, try some Lexoil. Awesome stuff.
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My recommendation also. I've used both the above products for yrs., and have been very pleased. "Snoseal" will not harm your leather @ all.
 
For a sheath I'm not so sure, because this isn't the first time I heard it may harm stitching. But I use mink oil to great success to condition and tighten my USMC kabar.

I also have been using it on my boots for a long time, using a heater/radiator or a blow drier really helps the leather soak it up.
 
There's some stuff I use on leather bicycle saddles and pretty much all leather stuff I have - Brooks Proofhide - similar to Sno-Seal (but more exensive) - being a mixture of cod oil and beeswax. It's great for preserving, protecting, and moisturizing leather, and helps break in those hard leather saddles w/o letting them get soft or saggy. Sno-seal should have similar results.
 
Buck268 said:
For a sheath I'm not so sure, because this isn't the first time I heard it may harm stitching. But I use mink oil to great success to condition and tighten my USMC kabar.

I also have been using it on my boots for a long time, using a heater/radiator or a blow drier really helps the leather soak it up.
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"Neatsfoot oil" will clog leather pores and can rot stitching, but "mink oil" or "Sno-seal" will not. I have used both these products for YRS. on everything from "mukluks", to moccasins, to baseball gloves, to knife sheaths, to $700 "Cavasos boots", to holsters, to.............you name it, and have never had a complaint with either. "Mink oil" will soften leather more than "Sno-seal". "Sno-seal" will provide better water protection, but neither will "waterproof" leather.
Apply both with a blow dryer, but don't over-heat leather. Rub into leather with your bare hands, (good for your "hide" too), use blow dryer to warm leather & aid absorption, let set, wipe excess, repeat.
 
oldfogey said:
...neither will "waterproof" leather.
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Anybody have any suggestions for what WILL waterproof leather (or as close a facsimile as possible)? I had assumed Sno-Seal would do the trick, given its name, but if that's not true, I figured I'd ask y'all. I recently got a new pair of leather boots that I was planning on using for mild winter boots, and I'd rather not have the slush melt THROUGH my boots.
 
Lucky Bob said:
Anybody have any suggestions for what WILL waterproof leather (or as close a facsimile as possible)? I had assumed Sno-Seal would do the trick, given its name, but if that's not true, I figured I'd ask y'all. I recently got a new pair of leather boots that I was planning on using for mild winter boots, and I'd rather not have the slush melt THROUGH my boots.
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Nothing will truly water-"proof" leather, although "Sno-seal" will probably come the closest. I have a pair of moose-hide "mukluks" I used to use to cut firewood (fell trees) in the winter, and regular treatments with "Sno-seal" would keep my feet dry. "Steger", the company that makes "mukluks", has a spray "sno-seal" that I really like.
 
oldfogey said:
Nothing will truly water-"proof" leather, although "Sno-seal" will probably come the closest. I have a pair of moose-hide "mukluks" I used to use to cut firewood (fell trees) in the winter, and regular treatments with "Sno-seal" would keep my feet dry. "Steger", the company that makes "mukluks", has a spray "sno-seal" that I really like.
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Spiffy! Thanks for the info... here's hoping Wallyworld carries it.
 
Waterproofing a sheath could trap moisture inside, around the knife. If you seal the leather, store the sheath without the knife inside until any moisture trapped inside has had time to evaporate.
 
I have never used Sno seal on a knife sheath but have used it on my boots for about 35 years. It has never damaged anything. I give it a thumbs up for sure
 
I use Sno Seal on all my leather sheaths and it works great. It does seal the leather as well as any porous material can be sealed. I take the sheaths completely apart and rub it in well inside and out and along the welt if there is one, melt it in with a hot air dryer and then repeat. If you're in rainy Alaska though it would be a good idea to wipe the blade down with BreakFree or Tuf Cloth or equivalent. For boots, I now use NikWax, an aqueous based waterproofing that is less hassle to apply and IMHO works better on boots than even Sno Seal.
 
This seems like a Sno Seal promo and I used to use it myself for many years, but I've found the NikWax products to be much better. By better I mean it lasts longer. If the leather is new, start with the aqueous to get a deep base, then the paste is appropriate for following applications or on leather that had previously been treated with one of the other products such as SnoSeal. I use it on my knife sheaths too, but if I want the sheath to be stiff, I'll use beeswax...in each case I rub it in with the help of a hot air gun or hair dryer. If my fingers can stand the heat then I assume the leather is not being degraded.
 
I don't live in Alaska, live in Michigan. So I do understand conditions are different. I have started using baseball glove spray on my leather sheaths. I can get it into the inside (spray) and it does seam to soften and condition the sheath. If anyone thinks this is a bad idea, please let me know.
 
michdad said:
I don't live in Alaska, live in Michigan. So I do understand conditions are different. I have started using baseball glove spray on my leather sheaths. I can get it into the inside (spray) and it does seam to soften and condition the sheath. If anyone thinks this is a bad idea, please let me know.
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"Sno-seal" makes a spray, sold by "Steger" (the folks that make "mukluks") It will serve you well for all your leather goods. "Alaska" has nothing to do with it......it just makes good sense to take care of your leather wherever you are, and "Snoseal" & "Lexol" are two of the best products available to do just that. I am not "promoting" "Sno-seal", just sharing my experience with it. Use it, or not, it's completely up to you.
 
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