# Bible leather Question



## Jesus is my friend (Jan 19, 2009)

Hi

I did not know where to post this question so here goes:

Does anyone have any recommendations suggestions for what to apply if anything to Bible leather,I have a variety of leather Bibles some are softer than others(i.e Calfskin Cambridge KJV's) These for me are perfect just the way they are soft and supple with that great Cambridge leather smell The Bible in question is a Genuine Leather ESV Study Bible (Love it!).But the leather is tough with no leather whiff to it,I would like to know if anyone has any recommendations for conditioning/softening this fine leather Bible.I have tried Bag Balm/Lanolin and I'm wondering if the Petroleam byproducts in this will break down or even ruin my Bible cover

You can tell me if i'm weird but does any one else love the smell of good Bible leather?,of just books in general,I believe there may be more than one of my kind here the the PB(This is me)

God be with you


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## Grymir (Jan 19, 2009)

Oh yes, I love the smell too! I use mink oil. The same stuff I use on my leather boots. Works great, but I'm no expert either. 

If it's good enough for my KJV, it's good enough for my boots!


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## toddpedlar (Jan 19, 2009)

but I think the question is for a relatively inexpensive genuine leather cover like that on the ESV Study Bible, will leather oils (I've got boot oil & baseball glove oils too, but never thought to use them) have an adverse effect? I suspect on higher quality leather covers, it'd be fine... but I'd love it if my ESV study Bible could be conditioned a little too in order to get that good leather feel.


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## Grymir (Jan 19, 2009)

I've used it on my Thompson for about 8 yrs now and it's doing fine. 

I was looking at my mink oil and it said, "Good for all leather". So I took it and used it. I was young and dumb back then, so it made sense to me. It's worked on my cheaper leather covers too. And my prized Zondervan KJV and Geneva. It felt good when I went from bonded leather to genuine leather, and my bibles quit falling apart after a couple of years. 

I got a reformation special ESV from Ligonier, and it didn't smell either. hmmm.


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## Jesus is my friend (Jan 19, 2009)

Grymir said:


> Oh yes, I love the smell too! I use mink oil. The same stuff I use on my leather boots. Works great, but I'm no expert either.
> 
> If it's good enough for my KJV, it's good enough for my boots!



Thanks much!,I will give it a try,

-----Added 1/19/2009 at 10:07:21 EST-----



toddpedlar said:


> but I think the question is for a relatively inexpensive genuine leather cover like that on the ESV Study Bible, will leather oils (I've got boot oil & baseball glove oils too, but never thought to use them) have an adverse effect? I suspect on higher quality leather covers, it'd be fine... but I'd love it if my ESV study Bible could be conditioned a little too in order to get that good leather feel.



Don't you just love this ESV Study Bible?,I'm totally with you it was a nice price for a decent piece of leather,yet I wonder if I will damage it with the use of oils/lanolin etc?.I was thinking the lanolin would make the most sense being all natural (from sheep)


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## Zeno333 (Jan 19, 2009)

Grymir said:


> Oh yes, I love the smell too! I use mink oil. The same stuff I use on my leather boots. Works great, but I'm no expert either.
> 
> If it's good enough for my KJV, it's good enough for my boots!



So we have a resident cowboy in the PB I see


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## Grace Alone (Jan 19, 2009)

There is a fabulous Bible blog and the guy there is extremely knowledgeable and a leather Bible connoisseur. Warning: the blog can tempt one to buy expensive Bibles!

But I would absolutely recommend that you ask this question there before putting anything on your leather. My guess is that the quality of leather varies a lot and some are just going to be more flexible than others.

Bible Design and Binding


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## nicnap (Jan 19, 2009)

They would tell you to just let it soften with your natural hand oils...


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## Grymir (Jan 19, 2009)

Zeno333 said:


> Grymir said:
> 
> 
> > Oh yes, I love the smell too! I use mink oil. The same stuff I use on my leather boots. Works great, but I'm no expert either.
> ...



Oh, I'd love to play up the image, but mine have steel toes in them. I'm probably the only person who wear's steel toes to Church. 

I also have my 10 gazzilion grams of thinsalate hunting boots that I wear to play in the snow.

And I have the best smelling bibles!! Yee Haw!!

-----Added 1/19/2009 at 11:00:54 EST-----

Oh yeah, I'm just a weird with my steel toes as most are with cowboy boots! My wife bought me a pair of Wolverines last year. Oh how she loves me!!


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## Jesus is my friend (Jan 19, 2009)

Grace Alone said:


> There is a fabulous Bible blog and the guy there is extremely knowledgeable and a leather Bible connoisseur. Warning: the blog can tempt one to buy expensive Bibles!
> 
> But I would absolutely recommend that you ask this question there before putting anything on your leather. My guess is that the quality of leather varies a lot and some are just going to be more flexible than others.
> 
> Bible Design and Binding



Wow,That's a neat blog,Thanks for the warning you are totally right,I just want to click on the Cambridge Bible site,just click on,NO dont,(These are the things that go through my mind)

I did email the gentleman,for advice and will post that if it comes through


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## Zeno333 (Jan 19, 2009)

Grymir said:


> Zeno333 said:
> 
> 
> > Grymir said:
> ...



My dad had very heavy work boots with steel safety toes in them...he was a head Cost Accounting executive who wore Brook's Brother's suites to work, but sometimes he had to take tours of the various US Steel steel mills, and when he did that he had to wear the steel toed boots....I remember as a small kid, putting them on and walking around in them...they were huge, compared to my feet at the time.


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## Jesus is my friend (Jan 20, 2009)

Grace Alone said:


> There is a fabulous Bible blog and the guy there is extremely knowledgeable and a leather Bible connoisseur. Warning: the blog can tempt one to buy expensive Bibles!
> 
> But I would absolutely recommend that you ask this question there before putting anything on your leather. My guess is that the quality of leather varies a lot and some are just going to be more flexible than others.
> 
> Bible Design and Binding



I did get an email from this gentleman and here it is:

There has been some discussion of leather conditioners on the site -- if you use the search feature, you should be able to find it. I don't use any of them myself, so I can't speak from personal experience. The genuine leather cover is presumably a low-grade pigskin with a faux grain stamped (the stamping process uses heat which promotes stiffness). They can be improved somewhat with use, so I would try that before applying oil -- though if you're neat and careful with it, I don't imagine it would do any harm.

Thanks so much for the tips,I am look forward to purchasing some mink oil and applying it to my ESV Study Bible

Grace to you and your families


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## VictorBravo (Jan 21, 2009)

Grymir said:


> I'm probably the only person who wear's steel toes to Church.



Au contraire, mon frère.  

Red Wings from the 80s alternate with Tony Lamas and Justins on my favored feet. That mink oil does keep them up.


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## Grymir (Jan 21, 2009)

Cool!


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## Igor (Jan 21, 2009)

Grace Alone said:


> Warning: the blog can tempt one to buy expensive Bibles!


You're right, but it's too late . I have discovered this blog some time ago and have already ordered (and received) the NIV Pitt Minion Reference (French Morocco). If somebody has the same wekness for the Bibles as I do and is tempted to get the Pitt Minion, just want to warn you that the French Morocco leather is a bit stiff, the typeface is rather small and the paper is soooo thin. But overall, the quality is satisfactory.


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## Glenn Ferrell (Jan 21, 2009)

The leather in one corner of an otherwise perfect condition Cambridge Bible has slightly pulled loose. I’d like to re-glue it before it gets worse. Any suggestions as to the type of glue to use on this? Probably should be something which retains a degree of flexibility after drying.


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