Oiling
Encyclopedia
Oiling is a process whereby leather
Leather
Leather is a durable and flexible material created via the tanning of putrescible animal rawhide and skin, primarily cattlehide. It can be produced through different manufacturing processes, ranging from cottage industry to heavy industry.-Forms:...

 is hand coated (usually by brush or tampon) with either a raw (un-emulsified) oil or a combination of raw oil, blended with emulsified oils and a penetrating aid. Hand oils can include fragrant oils that help with the smell associated with the leather, e.g., Pine Oil
Pine oil
Pine oil is an essential oil obtained by the steam distillation of needles, twigs and cones from a variety of species of pine, particularly Pinus sylvestris....

. Hand oils commonly consist of sulfated vegetable oils, e.g. sulfated castor oil
Castor oil
Castor oil is a vegetable oil obtained from the castor bean . Castor oil is a colorless to very pale yellow liquid with mild or no odor or taste. Its boiling point is and its density is 961 kg/m3...

.

Oiling provides the leather with lubrication and allows it to flex repeatedly without cracking. Leather fibres that are dry and un-lubricated break very easily. Oiling does impart colour and an element of water resistance. Oiling would normally be performed on full grain aniline
Aniline
Aniline, phenylamine or aminobenzene is an organic compound with the formula C6H5NH2. Consisting of a phenyl group attached to an amino group, aniline is the prototypical aromatic amine. Being a precursor to many industrial chemicals, its main use is in the manufacture of precursors to polyurethane...

leathers. The most common type of leather oiled is vegetable tanned leather.
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