How to wax and water-proof vegetable tanned leather. 

You're welcome!

Hi Rand! Thanks for the tip, take care!

You're just on point! Unfinished veg tanned leather is the best👌

@beranleather it's like pine, no doubt I will get abused for this but I like pine to age with no finish, obviously for indoor use. I cladded the walls halfway up with cheap thin pine, which we call channel lining over here, it had taken a couple of years and the wood had started to turn that rich kind of pink-golden colour, I had every intention of applying a mat varnish to it when it achieved the colour I liked and the colour was nearly at this point. I came home from work to the smell of paint and found my girlfriend extremely proud of herself standing at the bathroom door with a paintbrush in her hand. She painted it light blue a nice colour and she had done a fantastic job so I didn't have the heart to complain as she was so happy with her day's work.

Great idea! I'll try mixing lanolin next time

I use shoe polish for many things but it wont condition the leather and keep it from cracking and drying out. different tools for different jobs.

@@elund408 I also have a Leather Conditioner that I also use. For that same reason.

You're welcome. I wish I'd recorded it but unfortunately I haven't. I'll try to post a full production video of a similar pouch.

Of course, you can apply oil, in fact you must to ensure the longevity of the item. O don't suggest heavy beeswax coating if you are not looking for a rugged and solid style.

Hi! As opposed to the conditioning oils, beeswax doesn't go off easily. As it fills in the fibers of the hide it pretty much stays there forever. The darkening effect occurs due to the change of the reflection on the surface of the hide and vegetable tanned leather hides tend to gain an even darker patina over time

'oiled' leather, in your case, is a totaly different kind of leather, made using different tanning techniques. Birkenstock leather straps are made of oil tanned leather and they don't need to be waxed to gain water repellency.

@@beranleather ok but yearly how would you condition the birkenstocks?

@@arncj18 You can use some kind of nourishing balm. Fiebings should do the trick.

Hello. If the leather you have is oil/chrome tanned or already waxed veg-tanned leather such as horween dublin series you don't need to beeswax them

Interesting, I shall try it someday.

Just plain silicone Spray?

Surely it works but only for small projects. i believe this is a better version, it is hassle free, saves time and materials.

Yes it would work. While you're at it throw your socks and underwear in there so those can get waterproofing also.

Hi Jeff! Yes, it works on veg-tanned leather hides dyed with anilin.

@@beranleather Thanks.

@@jeffpileri8731 You're welcome.

Whay do you mean by "lock in"? Does your item bleeds dye outside? Like staining your clothes?

@beranleather well I dye a lot so I use resolene to prevent t it from rubbing off or leaking into clothes etc. It does the job but I recently started exploring using wax because I find the result to be more appealing, however, I don't know if it will lock in the dye like resolene. I've used resolene for years so it will take some time before I can test out the wax thoroughly and in various conditions but seeing your video I wondered if you have experience with it using dye

@RidiiumClassic I see. I haven't tried it on freshly dyed leather. But technically, wax should seal the porous epidemic surface of the leather, thus creating a barrier between the dye and the objects that in contact with the leather. Curious...

Hello! No, bark tanned (veg-tanned) leather is not water resistant by nature. I also doubt that brain tanned is too...

@@beranleather thx for your answer, but would you think you could use the beaswax with braintanned hides instead of smoking them ?

Well, I am not an expert on the tanning process of leather hides, but my instinct says that the smoking phase seems like part of the 'tanning' process rather than proofing. I wouldn't recommend skipping any steps while tanning hide for it will dramatically effect the quality of the final product.@@Albasapiens_Flinthandwerk

@@beranleather me neither, but i will give it a dry, got some brain tanned around and cant smoke it, my neighbor is a jerk. I'll let you know.

Hi Earl. This is just a small fragment of the whole process to point on a specific topic. But I believe I should do a video to show how to build a similar pouch from scratch.

Hi! The conditioner surely feeds the leather and prevents it from cracking when used proportionately. On the other hand, Beeswax coating makes it water repellent and more durable for hard use. This process is only necessary if you're using your veg-tanned tool boxes, cases, pouches, sheaths in hostile weather conditions.

Ok, thanks!

@@sinjinadams2862 You're welcome 😊

Difficult?! are we watching the same process?

Great! I have never used it but as long as it feeds and waxes I see no problem😁

Hello Thomas! This procedure is usually applied to the leather pieces that face heavy wear and tear hostile weather conditions in daily use. The answer to your question is yes, it might shine your jeans a little bit but to be honest, that never is a problerm for me. On the other hand, I have never seen a person waxing fine leather belts / brief cases for suits. Have a great day:)

@@beranleather I will be using it in Cuba fishing in the salt water and hot sun not too worried about it. But I appreciate the feedback and will use on a plier sheath…..also love the look. Thanks Tom

Yes, indeed it does that.

It evens out over a day or two man. Either way it's quite expensive to melt wax into leather, and don't try anything but beeswax, paraffin is too soft and terrible. If the video poster reads this I recommend a heat gun on low, it's 10x faster than a hair-dryer.