Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Backpack Hunting Beeswax on boots

After the great thread “waterproofing boots”, I decided to try pure beeswax.
I treated my full leather Kennetrek boots with it by using a small pot on a single burner and applied it to the boot with a toothbrush. Then used a heat gun set on low to help melt it in. It was very messy getting it from pot to boot.

I recently treated a different pair of boots but tried a different method.

I stood my heat gun on my bench pointing up in the air and set it on low. Then grab the block of beeswax and hold the edge of it for a couple seconds in the hot air. Only takes a couple seconds to just soften the wax enough that I could rub the boot with the block and get a stiff waxy layer rubbed all over the boot with no dripping or mess. Then use the heat gun to help melt it into the boot. I kept repeating the process going back and forth on each boot until the leather seemed to be saturated. There was no mess and the boots didn’t seem to get as hot doing it this way.

Good way to ruin the leather. Ask me how I know.

I guess it depends on the tanning method used, but Sno-Seal was the gold standard for a long time. Haven't seen or used it in years, but I think it was high % beeswax.

Why is beeswax bad? Just want to know when i replace my current boots, which are about played out.

Dutch

Lot of this depends if your footwear has a liner or unlined or uninsulated. I wear tin cloth quite an bit of the year and make my own wax for my canvas. Mostly I've used Hubbard's or obendorfs boot conditioner for my boots in woods and my leather miner boots.

Use SNO-SEAL on all leather field items, tanned or suede.

Boots/slings/holsters...

Butter it up, bag it in a dark plastic bag, and put it on a hot dashboard for a few hours.

Repeat - until it quits takin' it in.

Then wipe off any excess with a paper towel.

You can also follow that up with a little household silicone spray.




GR

How do you know sir?

This

Do you mean because of the beeswax or application method?
I don’t see any issues so far with my Kennetreks, but I haven’t had them in any really wet conditions yet to test how well the beeswax works compared to other treatments.

mod7rem;
Good afternoon to you sir, I hope your part of BC isn't too, too smoky today, that you're cooler than us and that your weekend is going well.

Thanks for sharing that method, I'm going to try it next time I do my boots with a coat of beeswax.

Like a yellow perch filleting video I watched a couple years back, I'm always amazed at how I seem to be capable of doing things the most difficult way humanly possible for decades. Then when presented with a better way, I must confess I'm a little ashamed I didn't think of it myself....

As you might or might not know, I've been running straight beeswax on my boots for years now, maybe 15?

I switched from Sno-Seal and believe the straight beeswax to both provide more water resistance as well as somewhat of a "slipperier" surface on the toes especially which help them last longer. I really noticed that in the steel toed work boots which I lived in back then.

Thanks much for the tip, I'll absolutely give that method a go.

All the best.

Dwayne

I hope you are referring to the heat application and not the beeswax itself. If you are knocking beeswax on leather...you are knocking a thousand years of saddle and harness making tradition and flying in the face of generations of Pacific coast loggers that maintain their cork boots in a hundred inches of rain a year.

Hi Dwayne.
We’ve got nice warm weather here, but unfortunately the smoke is thick and harsh. Don’t have to be outside long before I really start feeling the affects in my sinuses and lungs. I’ve had to switch to my treadmill inside to help get ready for sheep hunting next month, so that kind of sucks.

Yes I know from the other thread that you and others prefer beeswax for your boots so that’s why I’ve been trying it. The new pair I just treated are actually a lightweight synthetic and leather mixed boot with a leather rand around the bottom. I thought if I saturate that leather with the beeswax, maybe it will stand up better to cuts and abrasion like you and others have said. Thanks Dwayne.

Trever

In general, I consider Sno Seal a slight downgrade from nothing. Obenaufs is decent, that's what I use on everything except boots. Beeswax will stiffen leather considerably, but you will not wear out the leather, unless you are walking on obsidian or something, and it stays waterproof for a long time. It also retreats easily. Generally I lose stitching, and that's what kills the boots.

I like your application method OP. I damn near burned the house down on my first attempt. I use a similar method for gloves, but gloves are a lot easier given that you just put your hands in them, heat them a bit and smear. Keep the heat low or use a hair dryer, as too much heat will make it easy to ruin leather.

Used Sno Seal and heat for years with great success.

I've used wax toilet rings with a heat gun on my work boots and hunting boots for years. No issues whatsoever and works well.

Melt the wax in a coffee can and brush it on with a toothbrush and then give the boot a light blast with the heat gun. It's amazing how much wax leather will absorb.

Ive been using SnoSeal since the early '70s. Works great. No need for anything else.

I heat the boots with a blow dryer, and paint on melted wax.i alternate till the leather won't absorb anymore. I wipe off excess while boots are hot, and once more when they cool.

Reading through this, it occurs to me we haven’t had a good “boot waterproofing” thread here in a long time. Used to be as common as chainsaw threads (and just as contentious.)

I like Obenaufs and Montana pitchblend, have used both with good results.

One caution for those who would use silicone sprays: don’t overdo it in the seam between the sole and the upper or you will soon have problems. Personally, I wouldn’t use silicone on leather at all. It’s not quite the miracle juice for outdoor gear it was considered to be sixty years ago.

Done this before, works well

I imagine you know, hanco?

Toilet ring used to be beeswax, but have been some sort of polyurethane “wax” for years now?

From the Snoseal SDS, it’s only 10%-20% various waxes.

Yes but it seems to work ok, they were free.

Yeah, free for the used ones!

You are being overly kind to Sno-Seal...

I have been using plain beeswax for many decades on all sorts and brands of boots. Lined and unlined, makes zero difference aside from eliminating breathability.

Sno Seal - before and after: Adirondack M7/M9 Leather Shoulder Holster






GR

Sno Seal or wax ring for real moccasins and leather climbing boots using the sun as heat source.

10-12 applications for full waterproofing. Aids in scuffing instead of cutting leather.

Leather-soled moccasins. 18-19 miles in volcanic terrain. ~6 miles per trip. Still look like new for leather on pumice substrate.

Yes, I avoid ALL rocks!

Looks great!

Minimal stitching.

Nicely done.

Always rubbed snow seal on and sat them on the porch in the sun.
Repeat every evening until they quit absorbing it.

We used bear grease too, until we found something better

SnoSeal is great stuff if used where it doesn’t get wet.

Beeswax, one application and tremendous durability...

as a pole and tree climbing lineman for 35 years in northern Minnesota i and many others we cleaned our leather with saddle soap and then treated all our leather gear with Neets foot oil ,including our lineman boots .

Nothing like some butter soft boots for backpacking.

I used some beeswax mix. Go to the Meindl USA website. They talk about using it (their version) as part of their boot care. I'll find out how good it works this winter...

Better padding for your ankle as it rolls! Duh!

Not for moccasins, moron!

Guessing one coat would work for your mall walkers or your favorite: open-toed sandals!

Don't know why you show up here being a fn ignorant couch trekker.

You another couch trekker? You sound like one.

I prefer a recliner. Didja notice the post of mine you quoted wasn't a reply to yours, dumbass?

I quoted it because you're a dumbass.

Thanks for playing, Tiny Dancer.

Now, go polident your cheeks.

Having met, hunted, fished, shot and more with hundreds of folks from the fire I am not very concerned about your appraisal skills. And even less impressed with your footwear selection skills.

But do go on.

Glad I stopped in down here.

Good reminder for while we have 95F weather to get the boots out and treat them now.

I've got a block of beeswax, might melt some and give it a try. Have been using SnoSeal for years, since at least '74 that I can recall. Have a couple of pairs of boots going on 20 years now, that's all they've had on them. Chippewa cap toe, unlined. No longer get worn daily as they did when new and I was working in them. Now used when I need a pair of boots for hiking or hunting instead of sandals or moccasins (or barefooted). Been resoled a time or three, more likely the latter.

Maybe I do a comparison, beeswax on one pair, the commercial stuff on the other. Probably should get the hiking boots out of the truck and do them again this summer too. Ah hell, probably get the Danners and Red Wings out too, although they are rarely worn anymore.

Maybe I get some pics to post. They sit on the trailer fender in the sun and get good and warm. I've used the hairdryer method, but Ma Nature gives us free heat this time of year.

Miss Sitka...hundreds? All in one day, then, otherwise little person, you're a lying mofo!

In case you don't understand...you're a lyin' mofo, missy.


You never post original material other than your Main Character Syndrome nonsense. Ask your grandkids for help. You could take lessons on internet comments, but you'd be better learning to function in the outdoors instead of being a leech. Steel wool, re tart!

Am at top of Ross Lake, WA (US Demarcation) for a month, starting 23rd. American Border Peak for two weeks and then Ross Lake again for a month. You can bring all of your 5'2" and both your limp wrists up there and ask around...you'll find me.

I'll be here...little missy. Can't wait!

Once SnoSeal has contaminated the leather the beeswax does not work nearly as well. It has trouble penetrating through all the solvent pockets. The wax and SnoSeal are far more viscous than water or slovents.

Thanks for the extra inch, at 5'1" every inch counts!

Just a hint for you... comprehension, reading, aural, or other, is a gift. Sadly you appear to have missed your package when it arrived. Read it again and see if you can figure out where you made so many mistakes.

After five years at CWU I do have a fair grasp of WA. I assume you are staying at the resort. Would be tough if you broke a toenail and they did not have a pedicure specialist on hand for your trauma management!

There have been lists generated a bunch of times here. I said over 200 and stand by that number easily. More than a few commented on what an idiot you are today. But do carry on.

Miss shi tka qweer,

Nice try. No, only pontificating Main Character Syndrome elitists (an fn LIB teacher! I knew it) I knew it. I knew it! go to resorts. You use so many words to say nothing, your non-ness.

Yeah, get lessons in internet commenting as only a woke limpwrist as yourself would actually try to defend themselves online!

Wow! Your gay teacher barrel buddies will protect you. It's a teacher "class" thing.

You and that other little smokespoles are done with the Wilderness, huh...age, flab and ignorance has confirmed your couch trekker elitist status.

Your college inspired gender re-assignment surgery healing? You do provide a feminine view, shi tka qweer.

Sh it ka Qweer,

I KNEW you were a little bitty teacher he/she/they/it. YOUR LIB elitist attitude. Not my fault that your hippie Mommy had a failed abortion and you're still Lib angry about it.

Do people start yawning after your the second pontification sentence? Try using one of the grand kid's laptops...they have newer stuff on 'em these days.

Grow the beard, missy...it is the one thing that reminds you of your former maleness during your San Francisco sojourn.

C'mon out...leave your guides back in sissyland, but don't be surprised if everyone here doesn't notice a little bitty couch trekker.

I KNEW you were a little saw-ed off elf. Betting the children's sizes saves you $$ at Main Character Syndrome - Clothing for Non-Binaries!

Yeah, you really got me...

I swear to gawd this place is like the movie Ground Hog Day whenever the topic of boot conditioning comes up. And with the same lead actor.

In large part because people exactly like you say really stupid stuff based on zero experience, knowledge, or facts. Like one of the last threads were you asserted that beeswax was beeswax, no matter what else was in it.

Added nothing, and like this post of yours, is only to take a potshot at me. Now, tell me one thing, anything, that I have wavered on. One thing that was not tested and tested hard personally. And you just want to make noise.

So there are hundreds of members here who don't mind hanging out and hunting with a known thief. I'm shocked I tell ya, just shocked ! I won't hang around with thieves myself. Nor do the words of a thief carry any weight with me as it's been my experience that they're liars as well.

Just keep preaching what you know nothing about.

Thief, huh...?

Rare for someone to throw out that accusation without corroborating evidence.

Both of you...I want to hear the details before I leave down range.

I suggest you cantact forum member "splattermatic". He knows all the details as it was his stock that was stolen. All of us who were here at the time saw Splatt's side of the story spewed out on these pages, along with his practically begging Art to just please send his stock back while all Art ever did was refuse to give any explanation as to what happened to Splatts stock and/or why he steadfastly refused to return it to it's rightful owner.

Oooohhhh...report generated? Location name and we can access it.

I have been using Sno-Seal for five decades.
It works for me.
I have hiked countless miles in slushy snow, dew soaked meadows and through shallow creeks, all day long with dry feet.

Epishemore, I am with you. Been using Huberds for quite a while and it works!

Old guy fight old guy fight!!!!

Leave Blackshart alone, he is miserable enough.

Not much I hate worse than a thievin scumbag.

Well…..how bout it guru??

Obenauf’s Heavy Duty LP here

Montana pitch blend has worked for me for many years https://www.montanapitchblend.com/

Yep, and while I'm not going to go back through the entire thread, believe this already came up here. Have been using it for probably at least 15 years.

I didn’t title the thread very well I think. The reason I started the thread was to describe the method I used for applying the Bees wax to a second pair of boots.

The first method I used was very messy and seemed to transfer a lot more heat into the boot (melted in pot, applied liquid with toothbrush, finish with heat gun).

My second attempt worked out a lot better.

to have Leather Boots to last many years > NEETS FOOT OIL and applied with a small paint brush . i work outside all my life tried other oils when young then when i became a pole climber /Lineman for 35 years that worked in all kinds of weather in Northern Minnesota my leather boots lasted at least 2 years before i had to have the boots resoled but the leather never wore out once treated with Neets Foot oil.

Exactly my experience also. The standard breathable, waterproof membrane in the guts of boots today is GoreTex or a GoreTex clone. If you use beeswax on the outside of the boot (and I did for my AK and wet climate, cold weather boots) the boots no longer breathe. However, they are waterproof as long as the membrane is intact. My new boots required almost 1/4 pound of beeswax, and I used a heat gun carefully.

If you think beeswax or Snoseal will waterproof a full leather boot, you are in for a damp awakening. Best you'll get is a degree of water resistance. In cold weather this is a non-starter for me. In AZ I don't use waterproof boots 95% of the time. AK gets the beeswax/Goretex leather boot. Fortunately Thinsulate is minimally impacted by dampness. I think for full-winter hunting Micky-type boots would be better, or snow machine boots, because my existing beeswax leather ones wouldn't be warm enough for high mileage snow machine or ATV work in temps well below zero.

After 5 decades of hunting, crocs with good socks and woodstove proximity have been the best hunting footwear

I love neatsfoot oil….for softening old, dried, neglected, leather that I need softened.

Never for waterproofing boots.

I appreciate that we are back to exchanging polite views on boot care. I like to mix a little pine tar into commercial mink oil and beeswax preparations. Good for the leather and gives a bit of water resistance.
I should just by a tub from the same folks Mule Deer does but you know; a tinkerer tinkers…

On boots I like to keep I follow the manufacturer’s directions on boot care.

Just take them out of the box, then wear them. Oil makes leather soft and attracts dirt. In my experience Oil or wax or whatever just makes them break down faster and weakens them. I don't see how people can get boots to last so long. If I get 2 years, I'm happy. But I Quail hunt and call coyotes 90 percent and big game 10 percent. Schnees beartooths last good as do danner rainforest. But in my case, grass and dead weeds are super abrasive.

Hubards boot grease here. Treating the boots as needed. I'm not sure, but I think Montana pitch blend, is real similar to Hubards. Hubards is all I have used on my smokejumpers. Of the three pair I have, one pair was purchased in 1990. Rebuilt once and resoled three times. I'll stick to Hubards. We all have our favorite products.

Grass and dead weeds are abrasive on leather? Try crossing shale scree. I have literally worn through leather boots in a single hunt.

Wax keeps the water out and reduces wear like nothing else.

Funny.. you obviously learnt a few things... like the FACT you are an idiot POS. Like the fact I an in the 99.9% for height. Yet you had me pegged at short.

You pegged me at "short" because it means a lot to you. I am in the 99.9% metric.

That proves several things...

Sheriff Joe is a retard and you're seven feet tall?

A whannnbulance has been dispatched to your location. Until it arrives, continue screaming at the sky.

Obvious, it doesn't take much to trigger you, little guy. Neighbors put red flags on your trailer, yet?

Have you tried intermittent fasting?

smokepole;
Good afternoon, almost getting to be evening I suppose and regardless I hope that today treated you acceptably thus far and that you're healthy.

Regarding intermittent fasting, I've got a couple family members who've found that to be helpful as it reduces their evening impulse eating. Unless I'm misunderstanding what intermittent fasting is and then that'd render the statement moot.....

However, when I met the new neighbors across the gully the other morning - a couple other neighbors had hazed a pair of recalcitrant 3 year old black bears up a tree in the new folks' place, I was wearing Zamberlan's that I'd waxed.

Oh and the new neighbors have bees, so promised me some beeswax this fall when they harvest the honey.

But I don't believe that the bees, the new neighbors or either of the bears practiced intermittent fasting.

Pro tip of the day is DO NOT stand underneath black bears who are stressed out smokepole, most especially if they've been raiding the neighborhood vineyards all night. The velocity and volume of the grape excrement was impressive.

Anyways sir, I've now lost all semblance of staying remotely on topic and will end with a sincere wish for a good season for you in all your hunts.

The eldest daughter and I were out once together so far but only saw a trio of Nuttall's Cottontails which are fairly rare here and a small adult bobcat which aren't rare exactly but it's been years since we've seen one.

Again good hunting, regardless of your boot dressing..

Dwayne

LOL, thanks for the laugh Dwayne. I just got back from a muzzleloader hunt, no elk this year with the smokepole. One morning I was back in camp and had a fair sized black bear come straight in from downwind. No flying grape excrement, but he was disappointed to find a human there and was in no hurry to leave.


Of course, I had neglected to get a bear tag.

smokepole;
Thanks for the reply and hunt report therein.

Too bad about not packing a bear tag for sure.

When we first moved to BC, I wanted to shoot a bear or three and did just that and subsequently quick packing a bear tag.

All the bears I ran into after that ran away like good bears and the sun was sunny and the skies were not cloudy all day, until one morning this little idiot 4 or 5 year old didn't run away like a good bear.

Somehow it thought it could take the little fellow in the cowboy hat smokepole, despite me casting aspersions upon it's parenthood, lack of personal hygiene, overall appearance, etc. I'm told I'm loud for my size and had the volume at 11 as one might imagine, all the while pointing a .308 Norma at the thing, explaining that there were only 3 in it so the next sound it'd hear was going to be loud and terminal.

Anyways smokepole, after that little episode on the mountain I ponied up $15 for a BC resident bear tag, the theory being it's easier to notch a tag rather than have to call the CO over some fruitcake bear.

So a bear tag is the first tag I buy each spring when I renew my hunting license and even when cutting firewood in spring, there's a noisemaker or two in the pickup.

I want to say this year in the yard and immediate neighborhood we've had at least 3 single bears, the two that were treed the other day one of which might have been one of the three previous, then a honey sow with a cinnamon cub and this past Monday chocolate with cinnamon tips sow with 3 black cubs.

I do believe I'm close to suffering from some sort of bruin fatigue from them all.

All the best once more and again good hunting.

Dwayne

LOL, if only I'd cast aspersions, he might have run off sooner Better to have bear problems and bear fatigue than to live someplace where there aren't any.

Cheers Dwayne.

Yes and no. Joe is a short retard with serious insecurities about his height. I am not 7' tall, but I am in the 99.9th percentile.

Attacking anyone on the internet over physical measures you do not know is ridiculous. It also means you believe it to be an insult. Only retards with a little man complex would insult someone over their height.

Then the moron went off on me for never doing anything. Linking a few prior threads should have settled that for him...

Whatever you say Runt.

(({whanh whanh}))

Somebody please check on the crying baby. IT will be easy to identify... maybe 36" long with a full beard and a fuller diaper...

I used a mink oil /beeswax mix on my last pair of boots (Scarpas). After ten years the leather was starting to crack a bit on one boot but they have remained fairly waterproof. The Vibram soles are worn nearly smooth.
My new Asolos are being treated the same way, and if I get ten years out of them, I'll probably be good. They have a gortex liner, so they are a bit different as far as waterproofing goes. GD

always even if the boots are gortex. It keeps the leather from getting wet and cold

I would suggest the wifeys hair dryer instead of a heat gun they don't need to be 350 degrees just warm them up, I used a standard applicator brush (new) that you use for putting kiwi on.

Didn't read the whole thread, but a Kenetrek retailer recently told me that any warranty was void unless their products were used to treat the boots.

This made me wonder a few things like-how do they test it and are their leather products just rebranded obenaufs and nikwax ?

I believe it's rebranded this:

Apply bi-weekly.

LOL