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john wood

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Afternoon to ya all,
After sowing my possibles bag I had to get it wet to turn it right side out. It is now as stiff as the proverbial board! What can be done to soften it up a wee bit ??
Also how to you get it to take stain evenly. Never have had much luck with this.

Thanks!!
..................capgun
 
cap gun said:
Afternoon to ya all,
After sowing my possibles bag I had to get it wet to turn it right side out. It is now as stiff as the proverbial board! What can be done to soften it up a wee bit ??
Also how to you get it to take stain evenly. Never have had much luck with this.

Thanks!!
..................capgun

An even stain partly depends on what you wish to stain it with. I need more information to help with that..

Lexol or 100% Neetsfoot Oil does a nice job of softening leather.
 
I didn't think of that, Beaverman. I tried that once at the house a long time ago and wound up in the dog house for a three days. The least little thing sets them off! What the hell do you have in my dryer?!?! :idunno: :surrender:
 
Gotta second the Neetsfoot oil post, works great. Made a couple of bags this winter one I used a leather dye one the other I used a vinegar rusty nail treatment. To get even coverage I would say use several light coats and dry thouroghly between. With the vinegar treatment there are no issues, it works all the way through the leather just be sure to dye before the Neetsfoot. Just my 2c

HOG
 
Logic tells me to stain the leather first ,stiff or not Once totally stained and dry I would use a product called Glove softener but not before staining. If you were to use any sort of oil to soften the leather prior to staining the stain will not be absorbed in to the pores nor will the stain take for a job well done.IMO.

Twice.
 
flintlock62 said:
I didn't think of that, Beaverman. I tried that once at the house a long time ago and wound up in the dog house for a three days. The least little thing sets them off! What the hell do you have in my dryer?!?! :idunno: :surrender:

That's why I wait till SWMBO is at work to do my dastardly deeds! :rotf: :rotf: :rotf:
 
Flintlock 62,
I am using Feibings English Tan on 5 oz. shoulder leather I got from Tandy Leather. I'm also using the the little cotton dauber that comes with the dye and I'm thinking maybe that's my problem. It covers such a small area at time.
...............capgun
 
Rubber gloves, warm damp cloth dipped in the dye and rub it in over and over and over until it is soaked in and evenly color.
 
Micanopy said:
Rubber gloves, warm damp cloth dipped in the dye and rub it in over and over and over until it is soaked in and evenly color.

Warm, damp lint free cloth, and of course, rubber gloves. Cotton pads like the ladies use to remove make up are good too.
 
Micanopy said:
yes yes! By all means, lint free! :thumbsup:

I use auto glass detail cloths. They are lint free, and strong and can be machine washed, (if the wife's not home).

I do prefer natural stains over man-made chemical stains. iron oxide, (rusty nails soaked in vinagar) makes a great looking stain, and is PC! :v
 
for an more even stain on leather use a water stain, an oil stain will be somewhat mottled, which is desired with natural leather sometimes. oil will soften the leather up too, but just oil the top side not the underside, and perhaps the dryer without heat and 3 or 4 shoes might do it if you can keep the dryer running. good luck, ray
 
imray said:
for an more even stain on leather use a water stain, an oil stain will be somewhat mottled, which is desired with natural leather sometimes. oil will soften the leather up too, but just oil the top side not the underside, and perhaps the dryer without heat and 3 or 4 shoes might do it if you can keep the dryer running. good luck, ray

DUCT TAPE THE DOOR SHUT!
 
I used to work at a factory that made leather gloves. We had a HUGE wooden drum, about 8 feet tall. , that had wooden posts , about 3" in diameter, metal banded, that stuck out 12" or so, We could put 50 hides in there and soften them up, in about 2 hours. The friction of the hides rubbing each other would create alot of heat. The dryer trick, NO HEAT , will work real well.
 
To dye using commercial spirit dyes such as Fiebings:
1) Eliminate the daubers - they are fine for edges and touch ups but that's it as you have found out.
2) Re-dampent the leather with warm water - not sopping wet just damp. The dampness helps open the pores to the dye and evens it out as well.
3) Apply the dye heavily - a cloth works good as noted (although I've never worried too much about lint free and have been doing leather work as a pro for 40+ years), a sponge, or use those cheap foam paint brushes.
On the other hand I generally just dip the whole item in the dye bath - I use those cheap plastic storage boxes from Wally World. It takes at least a quart of dye to do this, but not so much to completely submerse the piece - just enough so you can swish it around and get all parts covered. Then hang it over the open container and let it drip off the extra, Before it's completely dry, wipe it off with a clean dry rag.
3) Once it's completely dry take another clean cloth and buff the whole thing real well to remove the dye residue left on the surface.
4) To soften use any good leather conditioner such as Lexol, Neatsfoot oil, or Extra Virgin Olive oil. My favorite commercial conditioner is Montana Pitchblend which smells great. I mostly use my own home made dubbin - a period mix of tallow, beeswax, and oil. And with all due respect to the comment above one should apply the oil LIGHTLY to both the inside and outside. Let the oil dry thoroughly and then apply a second or third coat ONLY if need be. Over oiling leather weakens and eventually damages it beyond repair but breaking down the cell walls.
Once you've got a coat or two of conditioner on and dried, just work it back and forth with your hands or over your knee. Should take just a few minutes to get it right.

I do prefer natural stains over man-made chemical stains. iron oxide, (rusty nails soaked in vinagar) makes a great looking stain, and is PC!
While I too prefer period dyes whenever possible, vinegar black is in fact a type of chemical stain - it's chemcical name is ferric acetate and works via a chemical reaction between the residual tannins in the veg/bark tan leather and the iron in solution. In fact if one wants the best dark black wet the piece down first with a good strong infusion of black tea or oak bark or walnut dye - these all add extra tannins to the leather - and then apply the vinegar black.
Another good period dye is log wood, which can be purchased from several sources.
Commercial dyes on the other hand are powdered pigments in a spirit solution.

for an more even stain on leather use a water stain, an oil stain will be somewhat mottled
A bit confused here - this sounds like your talking about wood stains maybe. While there are the water based leather dyes available (so-called Eco dyes and the low VOC institutional dyes used in schools where fumes of the regular spirit dyes would not be good), most commercial dyes such as Fiebings are spirit (alcohol, toluene, etc) based and not water or oil based.
In fact the so-called oil dyes as made by Fiebings are the top of the line leather dyes - I say so-called because there is in fact no oil in the product.
Old timers such as myself have and still do make "oil" leather dyes at times, but it's just a matter of adding a bit of light saddle oil or EVOO to the spirit dyes.

BTW - for some very good info on Period" leather and leather care see here fro several articles: http://www.jarnaginco.com/Leather & equipment articles.htm
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Yes, the vinagar black is a chemical type stain, but does not have toluene, which I am personally allergic to, along with certain other man-made chemicals. Walnut hull is one of my favorites as well as the rust stain. I have also used poke berries and tried red wine once, cooked down to remove the alcohol.
 
I bow to your experience, I have messed with leather since 1977 or so, took some college classes and worked with the products from the Tandy outfit, and just passed on what the so called people that supposed to know tell me about their products. I do a little tooling, dyeing, and a bit of eclectic leather work, but always appreciate helpful advice from a PRO. Just trying to help a bit, so by all means Do what the pro tells you or learn from experience. Both are excellent teachers, the Pros way should be much easier and cheaper. best wishes, ray
 
I thank you all for your comments and tips. I have ALOT to learn but this site always comes through!!

.......capgun
 
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