Brittle Belt Blanks Need Advice

[George B]

Howdy All,

long story short.

Bought a bunch of belt blanks from Weaver leather about a year ago.

Made a couple and found out they were not what I wanted, put them in a box and on the shelf.

Attending a local gun show in September so I figured I'd make some cheap belts to sell and get my money out of them.

Dip dyed them brown and black ( I have 13 blanks )

Let them dry and boy oh boy were they stiff.

Oiled with neatsfoot twice, still stiff.

Tried flexing one to loosen it and it almost snapped into two pieces.

It even sounded like wood breaking.

I can't even give these things away the way they are.

Any suggestions?

Just throw them away and eat the cost?

Any and all help will be appreciated.

Thanks, George

[Tree Reaper]

George;

I wouldn't toss them just yet.

Cut a small piece and try soaking it in neatsfoot.

If you see improvement then you can try different oil and wax treatments to rehydrate the leather.

Kevin.

[George B]

George;

I wouldn't toss them just yet.

Cut a small piece and try soaking it in neatsfoot.

If you see improvement then you can try different oil and wax treatments to rehydrate the leather.

Kevin.

hey Reaper, tried that and the belt that I did is still to this day an oily mess. I did a short soak of the belts and then applied neatsfoot. Black are okay but the browns are still brittle. I'll repeat the processes again today.

Lesson learned...no more blanks! I now ALWAYS cut my own.

George

[Tree Reaper]

I always neatsfoot and then dye, not sure if it makes a difference.