In Praise of Mink Oil

I’ve spent hours this winter shoveling snow, making snowballs, packing snowmen, and pulling a sled. My hands have stayed dry thanks to Fiebing’s Golden Mink Oil.

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I bought these buckskin gloves a few years ago, but when they are brand new they aren’t waterproof. I needed a solution.

After just one coat of Fiebing’s Golden Mink Oil, these gloves became waterproof, and have held up very well so far this winter. My hands have stayed dry and warm.

The worst they’ve gotten so far this winter was a little damp on the surface after three hours of making a snowman and sledding in wet snow. The inside stayed dry.

I expect these to last a decade with a yearly coat of mink oil. I typically use Sno Seal on my boots, but I’m going to try switching to mink oil for my boots and see how that works for the rest of the season.

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3 responses to “In Praise of Mink Oil”

  • Chuck Grimmett
  1. Andrea Grassi
    Andrea Grassi

    Fascinating! I’m curious, what made you switch from Sno Seal to mink oil?

    1. Sno Seal is great for boots, but it is cumbersome to apply because it needs to be heated up in order to soak in (the high beeswax content). I was testing out other options to restore a leather bag my wife has–Golden Mink Oil and Leather Honey, neither require heating. The Leather Honey ended up being a better fit for the bag, so I tried the Mink Oil on my leather gloves and loved it. It was slightly tacky for the first couple days until it completely dried, but that was nice for being able to grip the snow shovel.

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