[Archive]

Posted By: Frank Wakefield

Well I used to use neatsfoot oil always. But not any more.


Neatsfoot oil comes from the leg bones of cattle; the foot and shin. Not the hoof. In pure form, I think it may be suitable for ball gloves. The problems with it are that mineral oils are added, these hasten the breakdown of stitching, lacing, and the leather itself. Neatsfoot oil will darken the leather. The glove will become heavier. And it will attract and retain dirt and dust more than a normal glove.

I quit using neatsfoot oil after reading a book about baseball gloves (which I can't find at the moment). I recall in there that glove guru's thought neatsfoot oil was bad stuff.

I can't recall what was recommended, but I'll keep an eye out for that book. I think mink oil is ok, lanolin is ok, I last used Glovoleum, or something similarly named, by Rawlings I think. Oddly, I think petroleum jelly is ok.

Part of the goal here is preservation of the glove, not just loosening it up for one season. That's a reason to leave neatsfoot oil alone.

Storage of a glove is a significant factor in preserving the glove. Dark and cool is good. A car trunk or back seat with sun, heat and humidity variation is bad. ALWAYS clean dirt off of a glove when you're done; if the glove got wet then it MUST be dried off well, if you want the glove to remain functional. A really large ziplock bag would do well for glove storage, zip that bad boy up and put him in the bottom of your closet.

My recollection of the glove book was that it was almost square, hardbound, maybe about 140 pages long. It had lots of little stories, tales, and segments about ball gloves and players. I think it was published about 15 years ago, or so.