Thank you. When ppl apply drying oils like linseed oil to leather to make it more flexible, that flexibility will only last so long no. As linseed oil dries through oxidation, it hardens, and those fibers will harden and become more and more brittle I assume. If you paint on fabric like cotton or linen with linseed oil, the canvas needs to be first protected by rabbit skin glue or gesso, otherwise those fibers will over time get destroyed because of the linseed oil. Applying linseed oil directly to fabric is considered a big no-no in the world of art preservation, there's a whole industry of sealants to make sure linseed or safflower oil never directly comes into contact with the fabric, because they're drying oils, they dry through oxidation. So I wonder if it does not damage leather in the long run too.
@@payattention31 Castor oil is pretty viscous, I kind of doubt it would penetrate well into a leather book cover, the leather on book covers is relatively thin. Mink oil or neatsfoot oil is sometimes used, they will not harden through oxidation over time like linseed, and they're also less viscous than castor oil so can penetrate thin leather of book covers well. There's specialised oils for leather preservation too. I looked over some studies on ScienceDirect, the best preserved leather books covers were those not treated with anything lol, although they didn't have all these chemical processes to purify oil we do now.
Interesting! Never head about that for fabrics and such. I've heard from many an antique book person that linseed oil is the best thing out there for leather book covers. Personally I like mink oil and lanolin more if I had to choose just one, but I find the blends I use are pretty nice. Thanks for the very informative and jnterestung comment though, I didn't know all of that before. :)
That's very interesting that untreated leather books did the best in that study! I wouldn't have suspected. I'm curious if you have to oil books from now until eternity once they are oiled then. I know that I will keep oiling the leather books that I get that need it, I'm talking the ones that are brittle, but your info is super neat all the same. I'll definitely rethink oiling any books that aren't in dire need now, so thanks for saving those books! :)
Usually it's some sort of sander. Printers of the books actually sand the text block edges smooth in most books we see today, so it's not unheard of to try. :)
Great advice for cleaning up books Caleb! Thanks for sharing.
Thanks! Hope the info was useful. :)
Helpful thank you! (Everyone watching 2x speed… you’re welcome) ❤
Glad you found it helpful. :)
I watch everything on 2X. More with some folks. Can't do it any slower!
Thank you. When ppl apply drying oils like linseed oil to leather to make it more flexible, that flexibility will only last so long no. As linseed oil dries through oxidation, it hardens, and those fibers will harden and become more and more brittle I assume. If you paint on fabric like cotton or linen with linseed oil, the canvas needs to be first protected by rabbit skin glue or gesso, otherwise those fibers will over time get destroyed because of the linseed oil. Applying linseed oil directly to fabric is considered a big no-no in the world of art preservation, there's a whole industry of sealants to make sure linseed or safflower oil never directly comes into contact with the fabric, because they're drying oils, they dry through oxidation. So I wonder if it does not damage leather in the long run too.
How about castor oil? I heard it penetrates skin well I don’t know about leather.
@@payattention31 Castor oil is pretty viscous, I kind of doubt it would penetrate well into a leather book cover, the leather on book covers is relatively thin. Mink oil or neatsfoot oil is sometimes used, they will not harden through oxidation over time like linseed, and they're also less viscous than castor oil so can penetrate thin leather of book covers well. There's specialised oils for leather preservation too. I looked over some studies on ScienceDirect, the best preserved leather books covers were those not treated with anything lol, although they didn't have all these chemical processes to purify oil we do now.
Interesting! Never head about that for fabrics and such.
I've heard from many an antique book person that linseed oil is the best thing out there for leather book covers. Personally I like mink oil and lanolin more if I had to choose just one, but I find the blends I use are pretty nice.
Thanks for the very informative and jnterestung comment though, I didn't know all of that before. :)
That's very interesting that untreated leather books did the best in that study! I wouldn't have suspected. I'm curious if you have to oil books from now until eternity once they are oiled then.
I know that I will keep oiling the leather books that I get that need it, I'm talking the ones that are brittle, but your info is super neat all the same. I'll definitely rethink oiling any books that aren't in dire need now, so thanks for saving those books! :)
4:13 has anyone tried using a hand plane to shave these pages flush?
Usually it's some sort of sander. Printers of the books actually sand the text block edges smooth in most books we see today, so it's not unheard of to try. :)