Thread: Neatsfoot oil ... Where does it come from?

Hi,

I heard the oil recommend here and there but did not know what it was or where it is derived from. So I the checked the great Wiki:

Neatsfoot oil is a yellow oil rendered and purified from the shin bones and feet (but not the hooves) of cattle. "Neat" in the oil's name comes from an old name for cattle. Today, many[who?] consider the best quality neatsfoot oil to be that which comes from the legs of calves, with no other oils added. Neatsfoot oil is used as a conditioning, softening and preservative agent for leather. In the 18th century, it was also used medicinally as a topical application for dry scaly skin conditions.

Neatsfoot_oil

Just in case others are wondering what it is.

- Mike

The only answer is:

Neat!

Glad you found the WiKi.

Hi,

I thought so too.

Mike

That's pretty neat!

You know when they threaten to send the naughty horse to the glue factory? Well with cows it's the neatsfoot oil factory.

And all this time I thought it came from neat feet... Thanks

It really did come from neats feet.

How many feet is there to a neat?

Originally Posted by Kees

How many feet is there to a neat?

Hi,

Here our cattle only have 4 feet and a few toes.

Not withstanding genetic mutations, I suppose some maybe born with an extra.

- Mike

As a kid we used it on our baseball gloves to soften them up. Same for preserving a leather football from the elements. My father used it on all sorts of leather items.