[bromidewind]

I have some leather gloves that were passed down to me by my grandfather who was a rather heavy smoker. As such, they have the lovely smell of stale smoke. I'm looking for a method of adsorbing this smell rather than just covering it up. I know that cigarette smoke has dozens of different chemicals in it, but there has to be one or two that are chiefly responsible for the smell.

It'd be nice if someone could point me in the way of a novel chemical method of eliminating the smell of cigarettes. I know that there's some commercial products out there, but I'd prefer not to spend money on something I don't know the chemical composition of (just one of my many OCD complexes when it comes to chemistry). I've heard that placing them near vinegar helps, but I don't want any residual water to get on the gloves and shrink them. I've also heard that baking soda works well, but I'm unsure of this as it doesn't even really adsorb the odors in my fridge that well.

Any suggestions that you have are welcomed.

[billnotgatez]

activated charcoal powder?
maybe

could leave sooty result

[bromidewind]

activated charcoal powder?
maybe

could leave sooty result

I guess I can try that. I think I might also try the baking soda approach in a sealed container.

I have to take a wool overcoat to the drycleaner later this week; I'll ask them if they know of any way to remove the smoke smell from leather.

[bromidewind]

The baking soda approach has actually worked quite well. I put some baking soda in an aluminum foil container and placed it in the center of a glass jar with some cotton balls around it (I thought they might help in displacing some of the odor). I then placed the gloves around it with the palms facing inwards. It's a similar setup to a dessicator.

Anyways, they've been in there for a little over a day and are already starting to smell better. Perhaps after a few more days the smell will be completely out.