Finish on chrome tan?

[BillinOregon]

Guys, I just finished a little shooting bag I started more than a year ago. I just realized I have alsways used vegetable tan leather on prior projects. Whats a good finish to keep this thing supple and reasonably waterproof? Don't have any of the classic stuff like Bagkote. Do have neatsfoot oil (not compound), beeswax, mineral oil, tallow, bear grease/deer tallow (Thanks Makeumsmoke!) etc. The more 19th-century the better.
La Bonte, mon ami, are you out there?

 

[LaBonte]

I'm here - a traditional conditioner/finish is dubbin - a basic mix of: Tallow, Beeswax, and oil or grease - you can start out at 1/3 each with oil for a softer grease type mix. For a stiffer mix try 30 parts tallow, 15 parts bees wax, and 5 parts oil.

For those who don't have access to tallow I have used a mix of 30 parts pure hog lard, 20 parts beeswax, and 5 parts Extra Virgin Olive oil or bear oil.
For a shinier finish add some more beeswax and cut the tallow/or lard a bit - be careful not to make it too stiff, but if so add more oil and lard/tallow.
In fact you can tweak the mix in various ways for various purposes and uses, but the recipes I noted above are a good place to start.

I heat and mix the whole thing in an old crock pot set just high enough to melt the beeswax - around 150-160° F is a good heat - you can go a little higher but don't burn it.

If you've got pine resin/rosin (fiddle rosin, etc or natural pine/spruce/hemlock/cedar sap or rosin) throw in a small chuck or two for a nice odor plus added anti-bacterial/anti-fungal properties.

 

[BillinOregon]

LaBonte, I salute you. Made up a batch of four parts Dixie Old Zip sheep tallow, 2 parts beeswax and 1 part olive oil. Added some cleaned ponderosa pine pitch, but it didn't want to blend a whole lot. Still, I think the end product smells a little sweeter than without it. Bag is setting near the stove absorbing the first coat. Dogs are very interested.
:hatsoff:

 

[LaBonte]

Bill - try melting the pitch first since it takes a higher heat - once melted turn the heat down and add the rest of the ingredients or melt them in tw0 separate containers and then add the melted pitch to the rest melted in a separate pot.

You could try re-melting you're original mix as well at a bit higher heat (around 190° F)
so that the pitch mixes in better.

Glad to be of help....

 

[LaBonte]

double tap....