Does anyone have a source for Neatsfoot Oil ?
Thanks Brian.
Thanks Brian.
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Neatsfoot Oil
- Thread starter Black Powder Guy
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There is pure neatsfoot oil, and there is neatsfoot compound. Pure neatsfoot oil is rendered from the feet of cows. The compound is a combination of this and other materials. I think mineral oil is one of the components. I don't know what else goes into the compound.
The two different products are clearly labeled:
I don't know what you need it for, and it's none of my business, but I use it for leather treatment and prefer the pure stuff.
Maybe 20-25 years ago, I started reading that neatsfoot oil should not be put on leather, and was supposed to be used as a hoof treatment for horses. This is simply not true. Leatherworkers in general have lots of other favorite treatments for leather, and some work very well, but neatsfoot oil has always been used for this purpose.
I worked around horses for a number of years when I was younger, and my wife and I finally got a place and horses of our own in 1989. We kept them on our property and rode them several times a week for thirty years. We finally sold the last of them a little over a year ago. We are getting older, and it was becoming too much to handle. Neither one of us bounces when we fall anymore, either. Anyway, we always applied a hoof dressing that would toughen the horses' feet, not make them soft. When I read that about using neatsfoot oil as a hoof dressing, I asked no less than six farriers that I knew. None of them had ever heard of it, and obviously, none of them used it. One of them, in an effort to be polite, suggested that neatsfoot, used sparingly, might be of some value as a hoof dressing in an extremely dry climate, but he reiterated that he had never heard of it.
I'm sure neatsfoot oil has several uses. Leather treatment is one of them. Hoof treatment is not. I suppose it could be used as a patch lubricant for shooting, but I've never tried it.
Tandy Leather Company sells neatsfoot oil in little bottles, but the cost will scare you. @painter kindly provided a link to Tractor Supply. However, I think your best bet may be to go to a tack supplier. Check out State Line Tack or Dover Saddlery. I have dealt with both, and they are reliable merchants. There are also some others, if you shop around.
Good luck to you!
Notchy Bob
The two different products are clearly labeled:
I don't know what you need it for, and it's none of my business, but I use it for leather treatment and prefer the pure stuff.
Maybe 20-25 years ago, I started reading that neatsfoot oil should not be put on leather, and was supposed to be used as a hoof treatment for horses. This is simply not true. Leatherworkers in general have lots of other favorite treatments for leather, and some work very well, but neatsfoot oil has always been used for this purpose.
I worked around horses for a number of years when I was younger, and my wife and I finally got a place and horses of our own in 1989. We kept them on our property and rode them several times a week for thirty years. We finally sold the last of them a little over a year ago. We are getting older, and it was becoming too much to handle. Neither one of us bounces when we fall anymore, either. Anyway, we always applied a hoof dressing that would toughen the horses' feet, not make them soft. When I read that about using neatsfoot oil as a hoof dressing, I asked no less than six farriers that I knew. None of them had ever heard of it, and obviously, none of them used it. One of them, in an effort to be polite, suggested that neatsfoot, used sparingly, might be of some value as a hoof dressing in an extremely dry climate, but he reiterated that he had never heard of it.
I'm sure neatsfoot oil has several uses. Leather treatment is one of them. Hoof treatment is not. I suppose it could be used as a patch lubricant for shooting, but I've never tried it.
Tandy Leather Company sells neatsfoot oil in little bottles, but the cost will scare you. @painter kindly provided a link to Tractor Supply. However, I think your best bet may be to go to a tack supplier. Check out State Line Tack or Dover Saddlery. I have dealt with both, and they are reliable merchants. There are also some others, if you shop around.
Good luck to you!
Notchy Bob
It can rot stitching if you use too much of it. I use it on my saddle, just careful to wipe off the excess.
troy2000
45 Cal.
I was lucky enough to tote an unopened gallon of pure neatsfoot oil home from work a few months ago. It wasn't on any list of approved substances for our natural gas compressor station, and trying to ship it out or legally dispose of it would've been a paperwork nightmare because we have a whole list of state and federal agencies hanging over our shoulders like vultures. So I solved the problem by disappearing it before it came to official notice, when we found it stashed in a back corner of the machine shop...
Apparently it was used on leather washers in our original mainline valves, and I've read that it's also used as a cutting oil when machining aluminum. I soaked the living heck out of the leather pouch on my trebuchet with some of it, and stuck the rest in my flammables cabinet. Made the leather soft and flexible...
Apparently it was used on leather washers in our original mainline valves, and I've read that it's also used as a cutting oil when machining aluminum. I soaked the living heck out of the leather pouch on my trebuchet with some of it, and stuck the rest in my flammables cabinet. Made the leather soft and flexible...
I've used it on a pair of Red Wing Irish Setter boots at least twice a year for at least 20 yrs no rot yet. Never Benin on a rifle though.
Dave
Dave
troy2000
45 Cal.
You must walk softly, if you're talking about the same pair of boots over that twenty years. Of course, maybe you don't wear them to work.
Red Wing or Wolverine boots normally last me for two or three years. Of course the soles wear down first, but eventually the inner linings rub through at the heel, the foot beds turn into rag. Eventually the lining in the toes starts wearing through, folding up and digging into the top of my toes. Never had the leather or stitching fail on either brand, though.
I'm in the middle of retiring, so the pair I have now might last longer.
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I have several pair of boots. I wear out a pair of Thorogood low tops about every three yrs. A couple of pairs of sneakers a yr. also. I have had a pair of Cabelas insulated boots for more than thirty yrs. Don't get much use in Alabama winters. Neasfoot oil every couple of yrs.
Dave
Dave
I guess or depends on what it's going to be used for there is a brand of it made by Kiwi that states it contains petroleum hydrocarbons.
I've used pure neatsfoot oil on new baseball gloves to soften them. I've used saddle soap to clean them when they got dirty. I've heard people using neatsfoot oil as a patch lube also. I've never heard of it use for machining aluminum -- kerosene is recommended or a mix of kerosene and lard oil (whatever that is - maybe it's neatsfoot oil?). A lot of home machine shops use WD-40 for milling/turning aluminum - does not smell as bad as kerosene
Don Steele
45 Cal.
I'll just leave this here:
I enjoy experimenting with load combinations in my muzzleloading rifles. Over the years I've tested a lot of different combinations of patch materials, lubes, ball sizes, etc. One of the things I've tried was pure Neatsfoot Oil as a patch lube. Over the course of 20-30 rounds fired in a range session, it shot well and loaded easy. On the downside however I found it to be the only patch lube I ever used that formed a "crud ring" in my barrel.
Your experience may differ. That is mine.
I enjoy experimenting with load combinations in my muzzleloading rifles. Over the years I've tested a lot of different combinations of patch materials, lubes, ball sizes, etc. One of the things I've tried was pure Neatsfoot Oil as a patch lube. Over the course of 20-30 rounds fired in a range session, it shot well and loaded easy. On the downside however I found it to be the only patch lube I ever used that formed a "crud ring" in my barrel.
Your experience may differ. That is mine.
Thanks for bringing that up! I have heard that, also, but a professional leather worker, who specialized in colonial Spanish articles, told me it is the neatsfoot oil compound that deteriorates linen thread. He said the pure neatsfoot oil does not cause this problem. I have used both on my brogans but prefer the pure, 100% neatsfoot oil. My experience has been exactly the same as reported by @troy2000 above... I tend to wear out my work boots from the inside out. I haven't had any problem with the stitching yet.
I think @RanchRoper made a good point, though. It's just good practice to wipe off the excess.
Best regards,
Notchy Bob
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"Does anyone have a source for Neatsfoot Oil ?"
Walmart, Ace Hardware, lots of online stores.
Walmart, Ace Hardware, lots of online stores.
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Any farm supply store should carry it as well
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Any feed and tack store will have both pure and compound… don’t use the compound on leather.
Neatsfoot oil( The pure stuff) like Notchy Bob is referring to, has been my goto leather treatment for 50+ years. I'm no leather guru, but it works for me. Tractor parts is a good supplier, if you have one in your area. I looked up the Neatsfoot Oil from painters link, and I can tell you that $20.00 a gallon is a STEAL!! I've paid close to that for a quart!!
I CAN also tell you... the stuff stinks when you get all over your hands! and like with any oil, it doesn't wash off that easily, BUT man it works, just make sure you wipe off the excess!
For what it's worth, here. Neatsfoot oil - Wikipedia
God bless:
Two Feathers
Thanks for that link, @Two Feathers ! I read through the article, and noted this: "If mineral oil or other petroleum-based material is added [to neatsfoot oil], the product may be called "neatsfoot oil compound". Some brands have also been shown to be adulterated with rapeseed oil, soya oil, and other oils. The addition of mineral oils may lead to more rapid decay of non-synthetic stitching or speed breakdown of the leather itself."
So, it is the mineral oil added to make "neatsfoot oil compound" that damages both the leather and natural fiber threads. The pure, unadulterated 100% neatsfoot oil is safe, as well as traditional. Like Two Feathers, I have used it on leather for well over half a century, and I have no complaints.
Best regards,
Notchy Bob
So, it is the mineral oil added to make "neatsfoot oil compound" that damages both the leather and natural fiber threads. The pure, unadulterated 100% neatsfoot oil is safe, as well as traditional. Like Two Feathers, I have used it on leather for well over half a century, and I have no complaints.
Best regards,
Notchy Bob
Notchy Bod:
Thank you. I'm glad it was worth your time to read.
All the best. How's the book coming?
God bless:
Two Feathers
Pukka Sahib
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Every nostrum seems to have its’ loyal adherents as well as detractors. When I bought my first baseball glove in circa 1964 ( a Ted Williams no less), the elderly owner of the sporting goods store steered me away from neatsfoot oil and suggested “Snow-proof”, which is more of a grease than an oil. It has served me well ever since, and is arguably more difficult to obtain. Doesn’t seem to harm the stitching nor darken the leather as much.
