Someone pointed out to me that non-petroleum mineral oil is like dehydrated water. I looked up mineral oil to find that it IS petroleum based. Duh! So I looked up neatsfoot oil. Turns out that the stuff is rendered from steer shins and has some special qualities that make it a uniquely good oil for leather. Other rendered animal oils are used for cutting oils and certain types of bearing grease because of their affinity for metal. Apparently, whale oil had previously been a high quality oil used for the manufacture of such products but has now been replaced by these cow products. Just though I'd try to redeem myself a little here...
