I picked up a H. R. PAL #36 fixed blade knife today at a yard sale. The sheath is stiff and I am sure the leather handle on the knife is dry as well. I would like to treat the handle on the knife with something and do something with the sheath to make it softer. Any tips will be appreciated.

I gave $2.00 for the knife and checked it out when I got home. It appears to be a WW 11 knife and has maybe a $70.00 value.

You can use a few things. Leather conditioners like lexol and lanolin. Most machanics hand soaps have lanolin in them and work great. You can also use some extra virgin olive oil.

Its more than likely veg tanned so dampening it with water before you apply will lossen up the fibers to absorb the oils.

Isn't there some kind of leather dressing sold by 3-RIVERS to help soften leather? I just can't think of the name at the moment. BLESSED BE!

Neets foot oil will work. What else will work,I'm not sure. JF

Neets foot oil might work, sorta depends on how bad the leather is. If it is dry rotted it probably cant be restored. Put on a coat of Neets foot and wait a couple of days before applying more as it takes time for the oil to absorb. It'll either come back ok or it wont.

Get yourself some leather conditioning OIL....a few treatments with a day in-between. THEN use any brand of leather dressing you want. But the oil first!

Olive oil works as well as Neetsfoot or the commercial leather balms.>>>>-----> ken

Tandy leather is selling a product by Dr. Jackson called oil for leather that I'm trying on a old knife and sheath. They both had mold and mildew when I bought them at a garage sale. So far it's working good, and also made the sheath pliable. Just another suggestion and I'm not affiliated with Tandy leather. Neats foot oil wasn't keeping the mold from redeveloping.

Dr Jackson oil seems to have neatsfoot oil in it. Am I looking at the wrong stuff?

Another person for olive oil to restore old leather and give it life, especially if dried out. Then I use lexol or snow seal if I want a conditioner or sealant.

BU

Swampwalker, it may very well be, the bottle just says leather oil 100 percent natural. I had neatsfoot oil on it and the mold would return, so far it hasn't with the other stuff. The knife and sheath stays in my camping stuff dark but dry. Never was a problem until the last two monsoon seasons. It specifically states for mild dew and mold.

Mold comes from dampness getting into dry leather. You have to kill all the mold before treating it with conditioner or it can come back.

I bought an older rifle with a leather sling that grew mold no matter how I cleaned it. I found a solution that said heat leather items in an oven to 350 degrees. By the time it hits that temp it's enough heat to penetrate and kill the inner source of the mold. I was skeptical but no more mold!

If ya gotta do all that just replace it. I bought an old original Billy Cook saddle years ago cheap, had some mold going on but nothing deep, cleaned it up and quadrupled what I paid for it some years later. But sometimes it's just not worth the trouble.

ottertails, in my case it was a sling and fittings from the same period as the rifle, not something you could just order up from Midway. Probably the same idea with some of these old knives.

I get that Krag, and I would always try my best to salvage the leather when it comes to vintage stuff. In some cases it's best to just leave the leather as is for antique value,,,just have another made, replicate it and use that if you're going to use the tool anyway.

I would suggest one thing differently....all of the post so far advocate that you put some kind of oil on it. Yeah, but don't you want to clean it first??? I would give it a good scrub down with some kind of pretty powerful detergent, like purple power, 409 or Greased Lightning. Don't be afraid to let it dry and hit it again if you got a lot of gunk out. Leather can look completely different and way better when it is really clean. Let it dry good and then warm it up good with either a hair dryer or a heat gun and then hit it with an oil product. Neet's Foot oil will soak in probably the best, but it will also make it dark. Any oil will darken it some, but Neet's foot oil tends to make it darker than many others. It's better, just darker. Keep heating and applying until it wont absorb anymore. Personally, I like the boot "water proofer" type products...mink oil, etc.

For the handle on the knife put some Olive Oil, take the knife and put it in a jar or deep glass, one that will hold the entire handle. Fill the container up with Olive Oil until it covers the handle and leave it a day or 2.

Take it out and let it dry. If the leather is still dried out do it again.

Or at, Thanks for the tip.

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