Beeswax for Waterproof Boots | Keep Leather Boots from Cracking

Beeswax for water boots to keep leather boots from cracking is the focus of today's episode as I share with you how I've been keeping my old Irish Setter hunting boots in great condition for almost a decade. Watch as I show you how simple it is to keep leather boots in great condition without cracking using nothing more than some beeswax. Another great benefit to using pure beeswax for boot protection is that it also provides 100% waterproofing for the boots. I've been in some pretty nasty conditions with these boots and they've never left me with wet socks. That's also considering that these boots are almost 10 years old!!! If I can extend the life of my leather boots even by just a little bit, the cost of the beeswax and effort that goes into protecting them is well worth it. Watch as I show you the exact steps I take to make the beeswax melt right into the leather with a little bit of eat and some elbow-grease. You'll also see on today's video how I smooth out the beeswax after I've applied it with nothing more than a little show brush. One thing I've learned after working for years out in the bush, a good set of boots is worth it's weight in gold. A waterproof set of boots is worth even more. Glad you're all here and here we go!
Boots in video: Irish Setter (not sure of model)
Beeswax in video: Sno-Seal

[@jfreeman5544]

Todays video reminds me of a funny story from my past. My brother and I were at our cousins house one winter day and the subject came around to weather proofing boots. My brother always used Mink Oil on his boots, and he told my cousin that he used Mink Grease to water proof his boots. A couple weeks pasted and we were at our cousins house again. My cousin told him that he had used Meat Grease on his boots, like he said, and it seemed to work ok, but wanted to know how do you keep the dogs from licking it all off? LOL Just thought I'd share. Have a great day. Love your videos, very informative.

[@sawingwithsandy]

Hahaha

[@paulcurran5048]

Thanks Sandy, Great masterclass. I grew up polishing my dads leather shoes and my own, so great memories. Nugget polish was one of the staples here in Ireland.

[@garynicholls72]

Hi Sandy great video here is another tip for boots in winter, if you take out the insole of your boots and lay Aluminium cooking foil on the underneath of your insoles then insert them back into your boots then your feet will be warm because there is nothing worse than cold feet in winter

[@sawingwithsandy]

Great tip Gary!

[@ShadowJack4488]

Plastic wrap may work wonders as well

[@andrewbupp6352]

Hi Sandy, Great Videos!!! Here's a little tip that may help to speed up your waterproofing process a bit. They make a small brush (about 1" in diameter) that is used in the application of boot or shoe polish. My dad uses and old tooth brush that he has had with polishing kit for 50+ years. That would likely let you get into all the creases and seams a little bit better than your finger.

[@raleighlee4741]

Spit as yo brush, then take a sock and dry rub if you want dull and if you want it shiny the take warm water and do the circular wax on shining treatment until you get wanted effect. You can add more wax for more shine. U.S. Army trick

[@sawingwithsandy]

Thank you!

[@stevebulach5198]

Thanks for the Tip, I will definitely try that!! One question, did you heat the bees wax up or how do you get it in a paste, I've only ever seen Bees wax in blocks? Cheers from Aus

[@barno7300]

Yes, beeswax is solid even in room temp, and even heated up it's not at all spreadable. I know because I make skin care for myself for some 20 years. This spread in the video is maximum 15-20% beeswax, the rest is some either natural or synthetic oils/fats. The title is therefore is quite misleading.

[@bwillan]

SnoSeal is great stuff when it comes to waterproofing leather goods. I also use that on my leather winter work gloves and mitts. Works quite well.

[@sawingwithsandy]

Good to hear it’s been working well for others. I’ll have to try it on my gloves

[@junglejuice3536]

Thanks for sharing! Very thorough and helpful 👍

[@joew8438]

Fyi, Gore-tex is a multilayer fabric technology, where the outer layer is some kind of breathable shell, often nylon, not waterproof. The mid layer is the Gore-tex, which is a Teflon polyethylene with micro pours, that in theory blocks water droplets but not water vapor. The inner layer is some kind of whicking or mesh fabric that just helps protect the polyethylene plastic and makes the jacket feel more like a garment. So, the problem with this is that the outer layer can absorb moisture, usually will need to be DWR coated to help not get completely soaked. On your boot upper, you probably want to use a silicone spray waterproofer, or just dabbing it with petroleum oil or silicone oil will also probable do the job.

[@coreyhannan4263]

I just got a new pair of Redback work boots. They are only a couple of weeks old, but I think that they may have the potential to be the best boots that I've had so far.

[@DJRyder7]

Great info. I've been using Sno Seal for a couple decades exactly as you showed. Great stuff. Btw, do you have a link to the banjo music you featured?

[@sawingwithsandy]

Good to hear others have had great luck with the beeswax as well. Ill have to do some digging for the song but if my memory serves me right it’s a song from iMovie

[@raleighlee4741]

Mink oil is close to the best but also expensive. Burt's bees wax hand salve is cheaper and lasts longer and can be rebuffed multiple times before re application. Thanks for the reply. Bee's wax also thicker and fills in cracks better. Cold I can deal with but cold and wet is the worst .

[@donw.2715]

Sandy, I enjoy your vids. Question for you as I am very curious; perhaps it may be the Ontario Wood Stove Code, but I am wondering why you have insulated pre-fab stove pipe all the way down to your stove surface? Aside from code and/or concerns of overheating the area where the stove is located...you are missing out on a large portion of the appliance's heating potential. By using regular (or double walled for extra safety) black stove pipe up to your roof protrusion module, you will easily double the heating surface area thus the heat-transfer from the hot gases from within the pipe, into radiant heat to the room's air space. I know you have an abundance of fuel (wood) on your woodland property, but you could reduce your burn rate by approx 50%. Just curious...as there must be a reason. Cheers sir!

[@sawingwithsandy]

Hi Don thanks for watching. The insulated pipe was what I had on hand and I was trying to keep cost down on this project when I built it. Thanks again for tuning in, all the best

[@richragan4810]

Thanks for sharing Sandy I always enjoy your tips and tricks. Is that your own cabin or your home you filmed in? I like your style.

[@sawingwithsandy]

Glad you tuned in Rich. That’s my tiny house I built a little while back. I’ve got a playlist of the build if you’d like to see how it came to be.

[@richragan4810]

@@sawingwithsandy Thanks Sandy I'll do that. Man I am envious of your lifestyle. I guess maybe that's why I enjoy your channel so much. Is the priperty where your sawmill is your familiy's? Anyways thank you!

[@mthangar]

Watching you reminds me to seal my Irish Setters as well.

[@sawingwithsandy]

I’m likely due to seal some of my other boots myself

[@HicksWithTricks]

This guys a legend!

[@sawingwithsandy]

Haha good to hear from ya Mike. Hope you’re keeping well !

[@fiendeng]

Sandy the Sawyer ! Do you always run a new blade dry ? Per woodland mills instructions , or do you run longer or shorter etc ? Thanks 😁✌️

[@sawingwithsandy]

Hi Johnson. I haven’t had a new blade in quite some time as I Resharpen my blades. I probably will be going with the manual when I do end up getting new blades however

[@DavidRobinson-mx6cl]

Awesome tip mate ! Less wet feet and boots will last twice as long ! Thanks 👍

[@sawingwithsandy]

Thanks for watching David

[@jackyoung42]

snow seal is the best for water proofing boots

[@sawingwithsandy]

I’m with ya on that one !

[@geico1975]

So, would beeswax waterproof a work boot that's 70% leather and 30% nylon?

[@sawingwithsandy]

I don’t see why not

[@saintaugustine1715]

when i grew up in Quebec we did not have bees wax we did have sometime mink oil but that was kept for Sunday shoes the thing we had plenty of is bear grease it that work pretty good to now a days it is more difficult to get bear grease specially in Florida where i live now

[@sawingwithsandy]

I’ve tried mink oil but haven’t heard of bear oil. I learn something new everyday

[@tonytango6676]

Alligator grease? Chuckle

[@dhache1195]

In Québec we had, and still have, neatsfoot oil/grease (huile/graisse de pied de boeuf) cheap and quite good for all type of working goods made in/with leather. ;-)

[@SheepyHollowCanada]

My dad used to dissolve paraffin wax into Naptha gas until the gas couldn't hold any more wax... then soaked his military work boots in it and put the boots outside until dry.

[@sawingwithsandy]

Sounds like a good strategy

[@king3213]

How is you beeswax just sitting in a liquid state? Mine solidifies so quickly even after boiling hot

[@sawingwithsandy]

Not too sure but this stuff sure works good

[@MiLittleCorner]

I just looked this up. Sno Seal is made "with" beeswax which to me means there is an additive(s).

[@LilDirt12]

Very cool. Thanks

[@sawingwithsandy]

Thanks for coming along for this video

[@howtodave1725]

Oils or wax the most important thing is to treat them often.

[@RodneyCarpenter]

Trick I learned in boot camp...set the wax on fire to make it liquid. Then rub it into the boot. Your mileage may vary.

[@melon7592]

That can't be pure beeswax, pure beeswax is more stiff and you gotta warm it up for it to become melted, that stuff you got is probably mixed with some oil

[@martysonn]

So I can just use wax from my bees?

[@sawingwithsandy]

I'm not too sure about what the wax from bees is like but I'd imagine it's the same stuff if the consistency is the same

[@martysonn]

@@sawingwithsandy Cause you said in the video that stuff you used is pretty much bees wax

[@wolfc8755]

@@martysonn It's far too soft to be pure beeswax, it's got to be cut with a LOT of something else

[@marilynperks6111]

Your product is definitely not just beeswax, which is solid . It has to be a blend with other oils/grease.

[@sawingwithsandy]

Could be

[@HeritageCast]

Id imagine this is what youd use on the trial or just generally back in the day. No one can convince me these commercial products with all the random synthetic compounds are ok for leather. If its not ok for humans it cant be good for animal leather...

[@dudley5658]

Be sure to use wax and not honey. Bears will track you down otherwise.

[@XxVanTaxX]

It's so dark. And why the fish eye.. You can't see anything going on.