I cut some saplings, dried wood, and vines with my DF. Put in a kydex sheath for a week or more. No rust.

Hey Jeff, this raises a good question about care of gear; what do you use for maintaining your leather?

Myself, I've got this old bottle of "God only knows what"(No label on the bottle) that my Grandfather used to clean, preserve & protect his leather; everything from belts, razor strops, baseball gloves, and so on.

When he passed away, I got it, and have been using it ever since on my leather gear, including my sheaths. It's just about gone now, and am curious what I can use to do the same job for my sheaths?? <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

To soften dry stiff leather Mink Oil or Neetsfoot Oil work great. Saddle Soap is another one for overall conditioning. There are others, but I've never had a need to try any more.

If I had to guess I'd say the stuff you've got is something like Mink Oil. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />



Oh, and Atom Wax or I think it's Weather Seal (It's kind of a Wax treatment too if I remember right) can be used as a sealer.

Well, it's definitely an oil, murky brown in colour, and typically I soak a little into a rag and rub it gently into the leather. Great stuff, it doesn't discolour any of the leather, and waterproofs it as well; water just beads on it. Does this sound like mink oil?

Neetsfoot oil..? Never heard of it; remember hearing about Saddlesoap from my cousins on the farm (Naturally, they use it on their leather straps and saddles! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />)

obviously, if the provider of the goods knows there's a difference between what the consumer wants and the best possible product, the provider will come to the market with what the consumer wants.

consider the choice between marketing to collectors and practical users. who do you think spends more money more frequently? who's going to buy a single mora and machete then quit, and who's going to buy an entire line of stainless taiwanese bowies for $120 each? i admit i want the SOG tech bowie too. that 'born fram war' story probably won't help sell to the practical minded who are sure as hell there weren't any aus8 taiwanese kraton handled bowies in Vietnam.