Quote:
Originally Posted by Dave Workman
SPOT ON!
As a guy who builds holsters as kind of a hobby business, you should NEVER use an oil or other softening agent on a holster, especially a CCW rig.
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Well, gee, Dave, that's going to disappoint the heck out of Bianchi, Galco, et. al, who use neatsfoot oil to achieve their tan colour! For like 50 years. And the vintage ones are bought and old every day on eBay, so they obviously hold up well. Lawrence, and Heiser, too, used neatsfoot oil for colour (and weather protection); ditto on the eBay. Tanners (I'm thinking specifically of Fred Hermann in his day) tell me that the oil strengthens the interlocking fibres, too.
I had a local leather supply here, tell me that in Oz no one EVER uses neatsfoot oil on their saddlery nor will they restitch anything that has been oiled; then stopped in at one of their local customers (a local saddlery) and watched them pouring neatsfoot oil over their saddles. These tales have a habit of having a life of their own but have to be scrutinised often.
That beautiful Bianchi X15 on the recent thread (titled Bianchi X15) was coloured with neatsfoot oil; maybe even by me. And it's 40 years old. I have Heiser's that are a hundred y/o.