Taking care of leather is considered a difficult task as it usually gets dry and dirty and easily crack which does not look good at all. There are lots of lubricants and oils used for leather but deciding which one is better for your leather is a serious question.
Usually Neatsfoot oil or the mink oil is used for lubricating weather and to prevent it from getting dry or rotting. But which one of these oils should be chosen for your leather products? Well, it is an important question and I am going to compare both of these oils for its effectiveness for leather.
NeatsFoot Oil or Mink Oil?
Neatsfoot oil is manufactured from the cattle shin and foot bones. As leather needs conditioning and preservation, this oil is the perfect ingredient for doing that. It lubricates the leather, gives it the shine it needs, softens the fiber and conditions it. However, this oil is acidic to thread stitching and can severely damage the material if it is stitched with thread. Neatsfoot oil also tends to darken the color of the leather so do not use it if you want to keep the natural color of your leather products intact.
Mink oil, on the other hand, is manufactured from the mink pelts and are highly beneficial for leather lubrication. It has the waterproofing ability and known to preserve the leather for longer periods of time. However, mink oil make the natural shine of the leather dull so if you do not want to see your leather shine getting fade, refrain using mink oil on leather products. Moreover, you also have to reapply mink oil often to keep the leather lubricated and soft and to make it waterproof for longer periods of time.
Price & Usage Comparison:
Neatsfoot oil is excellent for use on leather hiking boots and other leather products that do not need much softening and water proofing. If you use mink oil on hiking boots, it do soften the leather which is fine for a certain limit but if you overdo that, the hiking boots couldn?t provide you the ankle support you need. You can get neatsfoot oil ranging from $7 to round about $50.
Mink oil on the other hand is good for leather sofas and chairs which often needs lubrication and fiber softening. The price of mink is comparatively lower. You can check Neatsfoot Oil vs Mink Oil for detailed comparison.
