Cleaning a Bull Whip

It is hard to know what to use when it comes to using the cleaning a bull whip and often it is considered to be enough to use moisturiser. While this may work in principle there is not a lot of evidence to show that it is one of the better products to use. It is true that leather will be protected by a softener but it is more usual to use something like saddle soap. Along with products that contain beeswax it will be best to use saddle soap as a way to keep it clean and supple.
It is a simple process to apply it and as long as there is a gently rubbing process the leather will be prevented from drying out. Once it is covered in a layer of oil or wax the moisture should be kept inside and the fibres will not be able to split or unbind.
To get the best results the saddle soap should be lathered up and make sure that all of the areas are covered. If you don’t want to end up with very sticky fingers then a toothbrush can be used and in reality this is more than likely going to be the best way to get soap into all of the internal areas. Once this is done there are a number of things to remember but the most important one is to dry it. Other important ones include:-
1.    Don’t use Neat’s-foot as this is not effective.
2.    Vaseline has been used by some, but while this may have a good impact on keeping the leather supple it is not considered as good when it comes to cleaning the whip.
3.    Fingers are always best, but there will not be any damage if you can’t bear the idea and end up using a cloth.
4.    Natural oils and fats tend to be the most effective but if they are not available for some reason then use an ordinary moisturising cream. Some makers actually believe that beef dripping is going to work better than anything but that might be a step too far for some users.
5.    Shoe polish is another unusual product that has been used although there will be very few who want to rub that in with their hands. To a degree it is able to stop the whip being affected by water but there is nothing that will stop leather taking in any water at all.
6.    Don’t waste a great deal of time on the handle as this is not going to suffer a lot of damage, but the lower down the whip you go the more protection is needed as the more damage is going to be suffered.