Softening Leather

[Jay_Benson]

I have a relatively new leather jacket and it seems to be taking an age to soften up. Is there any oil or lotion I can use to soften it up quicker?

[Grant Johnson]

Mink oil is popular for that. Good on boots too, if you want them to soften. If not, it's bad! Use a wax for waterproofing and an oil for softening and "feeding" dry leather.

[backofbeyond]

I can't say I've ever seen mink oil for sale in the UK, but then I tend to live on the edges of the leather world so I may just not have noticed. What I do use on some of my stuff is Carrs Leather Oil and it's been very good. It brought a couple of pairs of shriveled up and dried out gloves back to everyday life and I slap it on my boots from time to time, especially after they've been rain soaked. Works best (ie soaks in fastest) if you warm it up slightly (25C or thereabouts).

[Jay_Benson]

I have dipped my toe into the world of mink and ordered some mink oil from eBay in the UK. Not as expensive as I imagined it would be £5.23 delivered. No free coat though.

One other oil I have had recommended is neatsfoot oil but this was caveated by someone saying that it may soften it up too much and it may compromise the protection of the leather.

[Jay_Benson]

Originally Posted by Cholo

I believe Mink oil sold in the USA (CVS) is still made, partially from oil extracted from the Mink WHALES, please consider whether you want to have whales killed to soften your jacket.
( im not a tree hugger but I do dive and have a soft spot for sea mammals )

I too am a diver and confirmed before I bought it that it was not from minke whales. It is from mink (no “e”) - the small weasel like creature that is raised for its pelt - better than whales, but it is marginal.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mink_oil

[Jay_Benson]

Well the mink oil arrived the other day and the jacket has had a single treatment - it sucked it in even though the jacket is quite new. It is difficult to tell if it is any softer yet but a couple more treatments will be done plus one on my old leather jeans to feed them.

I have to save some for my wife’s glare to see if it will soften that at all. I suspect that whilst it is good, it isn’t that good.

[7800]

i don't want to know how they get oil from a mink.......