Old boots revival

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rsvpiper
Posts: 164
Joined: Sun Aug 26, 2012 8:59 am
Location: Notts, UK

Old boots revival

Post by rsvpiper »

Ive picked up these old knobelbecher

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I've put a layer of Urad and regular boot polish on them, the ankle area seems to soften up but the foot of the boots are very dry and hard there is some cracking too. Anyone have any other advice on bringing these back to life?
Last edited by rsvpiper on Mon Nov 25, 2013 7:22 am, edited 1 time in total.
Halle
Posts: 1025
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Location: Sud west

Re: Old boots revival

Post by Halle »

Lederbalsam softens up leather a treat in my experience .
Jäger Stefan Halle 3./I./Geb.Jag.Reg.100
saddler
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Re: Old boots revival

Post by saddler »

Ko-Cho-Line

Mink Oil Leather Paste

To get the shape back, stuff the toe/foot area with lots of old DRY newspaper.

You could use the full treatment of saddle soap first, then a leather dressing (as above).
Then just re-apply the dressing every couple of days as your schedule allows.
Keep the boots dry but WELL AWAY from direct heat: open fires, AGA's, storage heaters, etc. or the leather WILL dry out and become very hard...cooked, in fact.

Happy to help with ideas if you get stuck.
Irland-redaktion
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Location: DERRY

Re: Old boots revival

Post by Irland-redaktion »

Apply copious amounts of Neatsfoot oil each day to the inside & outside (avoiding the inner & outer soles) and the boots will begin to loosen up and become comfortable to wear again, it worked for my originals.

Neatsfoot oil is used as a conditioning, softening and preservative agent for leather and isn't that expensive I even used it on every item of equipment I had such as bets, y-straps etc
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Konzert-Meister

Re: Old boots revival

Post by Konzert-Meister »

Oh boy. :lol:
Irland-redaktion
Posts: 401
Joined: Fri Sep 05, 2008 8:44 am
Location: DERRY

Re: Old boots revival

Post by Irland-redaktion »

Hilarious wasn't it....

Is that your contribution for his request for help? :roll:

I suppose you're one of those people who has read somewhere that Neatsfoot oil is bad but you've never used it yourself and have no experience in using it.

I can tell you from experience that it works well reviving dried & brittle leather without deteriorating the leather over time.
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Konzert-Meister

Re: Old boots revival

Post by Konzert-Meister »

Evening,

It appears from research that neatsfoot oil is bad for leather over a long period of application, we're talking decades.

This doesn't matter to the majority of us as the items aren't going to survive or be used that long. Not many people re-enact for over 30 years straight, with the exact same gear.

Don't just read ww2 re-enactor forums looking up neatsfoot oil. Look through all pages Google spits out, from equestrian folk, bikers and re-enactors, from stone age through to ww2. Neatsfoot oil is consistently said to be bad over a long period. As Saddler suggested, using it once or twice on a new items isn't bad and in fact good for it.

I don't mind using neatsfoot oil myself, it softens up leather and with it being oil it repels water. I've used a whole 500ml bottle this year. However, there are better products that have no ill side effects no matter how much or how long you use it for.

I use a number of products, neatsfoot oil, various dubbin brands, polishes, lederfett and now ko cho line.

In this case a couple of neatsfoot applications might do some good but I'd try out ko cho line on them. Which is suggested to be applied, then left over a number of hours to soak in. Neatsfoot oil will absorb into the leather straight away, the boots could probably consume a litre of it and still want more.
Irland-redaktion
Posts: 401
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Location: DERRY

Re: Old boots revival

Post by Irland-redaktion »

It may well be true what you're saying in that consistent applications of Neatsfoot oil over a long period of time will eventually damage the leather but in my experience I used it only once over 6 years ago on almost everything that i had and it did what it said on the tin and it brought my original Jackboots which were very stiff and even impossible to put on back to life, one thing which i kept in mind when using it was to avoid using it where it will come into contact with human skin, i also avoided using it on the soles of the boots because too much of it and the leather will become too soft and fall apart.
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berlin1945
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Joined: Mon Mar 01, 2010 6:44 pm

Re: Old boots revival

Post by berlin1945 »

Irland-redaktion wrote:It may well be true what you're saying in that consistent applications of Neatsfoot oil over a long period of time will eventually damage the leather but in my experience I used it only once over 6 years ago on almost everything that i had and it did what it said on the tin and it brought my original Jackboots which were very stiff and even impossible to put on back to life, one thing which i kept in mind when using it was to avoid using it where it will come into contact with human skin, i also avoided using it on the soles of the boots because too much of it and the leather will become too soft and fall apart.
sean what you say about neatsfoot oil is 100 percent correct , used the way you are directing and it will do the job. excellent advice and you just reminded me to go and buy some tomorrow , ps were is best place to get it can I ask as I last got mine in the cobblers in central Belfast in queen street .
An Duine nach bhfuil sé Laidír caith sé a bheidh Glíc




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Na Fianna Éireann Fíor inár gCroíthe, Neart inár Láimhe, Comhsheasmhacht inár dTeanga Sealadach
saddler
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Re: Old boots revival

Post by saddler »

berlin1945 wrote:
Irland-redaktion wrote:It may well be true what you're saying in that consistent applications of Neatsfoot oil over a long period of time will eventually damage the leather but in my experience I used it only once over 6 years ago on almost everything that i had and it did what it said on the tin and it brought my original Jackboots which were very stiff and even impossible to put on back to life, one thing which i kept in mind when using it was to avoid using it where it will come into contact with human skin, i also avoided using it on the soles of the boots because too much of it and the leather will become too soft and fall apart.
sean what you say about neatsfoot oil is 100 percent correct , used the way you are directing and it will do the job. excellent advice and you just reminded me to go and buy some tomorrow , ps were is best place to get it can I ask as I last got mine in the cobblers in central Belfast in queen street .
Try Ko~Cho~Line instead for a change.
Has all the positive properties you need, with non of the negatives.
It's also safe to use near rubber
(HINT. Most glues used for leather are rubber based )
Irland-redaktion
Posts: 401
Joined: Fri Sep 05, 2008 8:44 am
Location: DERRY

Re: Old boots revival

Post by Irland-redaktion »

I'm not advocating which is best over the other but I believe you can purchase various types of leather softener in most garden/countryside supply centers or hardware stores and obviously any equestrian store.

This is the stuff which i applied to my equipment. A tin of this size did my Jackboots which were dried out to such an extent that they would've snapped in half if i'd tried, it also did all my various pieces of equipment leather and there was still plenty left over which i gave away to a fellow re-enactor.

Just for the record do those Y-straps that i sold you look as though they're about to fall apart anytime soon?

Ps: The tin i bought was 500ml

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berlin1945
Posts: 1313
Joined: Mon Mar 01, 2010 6:44 pm

Re: Old boots revival

Post by berlin1945 »

no they are perfect
An Duine nach bhfuil sé Laidír caith sé a bheidh Glíc




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Na Fianna Éireann Fíor inár gCroíthe, Neart inár Láimhe, Comhsheasmhacht inár dTeanga Sealadach
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