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Tracym

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  1. I gave up - Bambi won. Cannot die that hide. Rit with vinegar was my first attempt. Fiebing's another. Coffee another. Tried resolene. Other products I've lost track of by now Talked to Tandy, die manufacturers, and a stray tannery that took pity on me. Nothing worked, dye comes off the minute it gets damp. Bambi rules. And after all this - the guy said go ahead and braid it natural - he'll just get it dirty!
  2. I rinsed one string for literally 2 hours in running water once, and it never completely stopped shedding dye. I think now that I've done the resolene, my current strings are shot. I could try some scraps with coffee and neatsfoot oil, and see if I have enough to cut more string. Thanks
  3. I am assured by the hunter that something bright white is a problem, and would scare ducks away. That's why the hunters wear camo. Unfortunately, it appears I cannot dye this. I've tried Rit, Fiebing's dye, atom wax, resolene - no matter what I do, it bleeds when damp. I have spoken to Fiebing's, Tandy, some misc. tannery in Colorado who was nice enough to try to help me. What people seem to think now is, that it is a chrome tan, and will repel dye. Guess I'm not going to solve the problem it appears.
  4. I remember neatsfoot oil from my horse days - that will darken them. But I seem to have read recently that neatsfood oil can cause leather to degrade. Not sure where I would get beeswax. I am wondering why those finishes, as opposed to the leather balm or resolene?
  5. I'm not sure what that is. But please remember - these strings are already dyed, I am trying to figure out what to do with them now? Are you saying to put the Tandy stuff over the top of the other dye and leather balm w/atom wax? Thinking... question comes to my mind - is that leather balm with atom wax waterproof? Or is that the wrong product? In which case, do I need to use the resolene? If I do, will it go over the leather balm, or do I have to rinse that off or something?
  6. Yes, unfortunately, it is absolutely necessary It is going out in a duck blind, and a bright (almost white) color like that would scare away the ducks. It has to work along with the camoflauge clothes. Sigh
  7. Ah ok. I just got confused when you said finish followed by the atom wax. The strings are a soft texture, not really suede, but definitely not shiny. Whenever I have used resolene, it makes things stiff and shiny, which I do not want here. Hence, why I was using the atom wax as recommended by Fiebing's and the tannery. But - the atom wax didn't seem to keep the dye in. Days after I applied it, if I just pulled the string gently across a damp paper towel, dye came off. I guess I can try it again with the string that I rinsed for hours, after it dries, and hope that is more successful. This string is supposed to be a lanyard to hold duck calls. Since it will go duck hunting, it needs to be able to get damp without 'dying' the hunter. Thanks very much for the help.
  8. Well I didn't immerse them (strings) but I got a fair amount of dye on them. Wiped off excess. I probably let them dry 24 hours before doing the atom wax. What do you mean immerse them in "finish"? What is finish? At this point, they are already dyed and done with atom wax. I've rinsed the heck out of one string, waiting to see how it does - I presume I would reapply the atom wax?
  9. This deerhide project is going to drive me insane. The strings did not work at all with rit dye - they barely took the dye, turned weird colors, etc. I called Fiebings, and also some leather tannery that took pity on me. Both told me to use fiebing's leather dye, and leather balm with atom wax. So ok, I put the dye on the strings with the dauber, rubbed it with a cloth. Let dry, and put on the leather balm. It took the dye, color is fine. But... as soon as it hits any dampness, it leaks dye. I've taken one string, been rinsing it in warm running water for an hour. I think it is STILL giving off a little dye. Color still looks fine, but water that comes off it looks yellow. Any ideas? (p.s. I am never EVER dying leather again!)
  10. OK thanks, I can try the coffee maybe. In the meantime, I called some very kind tannery in CO, they told me to use the Fiebings dye, and finish it with leather balm w/atom wax. I was going to try medium brown. Fiebings thought I would have to use deglazer first - the tannery thought probably not.
  11. Thanks. I kept reading about using Rit, but I've given up at this point. I use it for other things, but it apparently is not going to work with this leather. I did the set it ice water with vinegar, and it is still running. Plus ridiculous colors. I'm not experienced at dying things - can you give me any more detail as to how to use coffee? Or, you mention other types of dye - like what?
  12. OK, the beveling doesn't matter, this is soft and smooth anyway. However, I am having terrible trouble trying to dye the strands. I posted this in the dying/staining/etc forum, but haven't gotten any replies, figured I'd try here. I do not know how this skin was tanned and cannot find out. The guy said some "fairly new method" whatever that means. It is very soft. When he got it back from the tanner a few years ago he said it was a weird greenish gray color. Now, just from sitting around, it is almost white, slight grayish tone. If I get it wet, it looks greenish gray. I have been trying the Rit dye on scraps. But the results were very weird. Tan dye = greenish gray. Medium brown dye = red. Dark brown dye = lavender (!). I tried soaking the leather a while before dying it. I tried soaking it over night, didn't make a difference. I heated up the water, added the dye, soaked the leather from 45 minutes to 3 hours. Then soaked it 30 minutes in ice water with vinegar. In addition to the 'lovely' colors I am getting, it seems as if it gets wet again that it will release the dye, obviously not workable. What I am trying to do is just this darker somehow (tan brown etc) as for duck hunting, he can't have a real light color as it would stand out. Funnily enough, most macho hunters aren't really into lavender. I cannot seem to figure out how to dye this stuff - any ideas?
  13. I am trying to make a duck hunting lanyard for a friend out of his deer hide. I have it cut into lace at this point. I do not know how it was tanned and cannot find out - here is what I do know. It is very soft. He said when he got it back from whoever tanned it, it was sort of a weird greenish gray color. Now, it is almost white (just from sitting around). If I get it wet, it gets darker and looks a little greenish gray. I have been trying Rit dye on some scraps. But the results are very weird. Tan dye = greenish gray. Medium brown dye = red. Dark brown dye = lavender (!). I tried soaking the leather a little while before dying it. I heated up water, added the dye, soaked the leather for at least 45 minutes. Then soaked for 30 minutes in ice water with some vinegar. My last attempt I soaked it overnight and left it in the dye longer. I'm not sure what the color will be yet, but I cannot seem to get it rinsed enough so it will not give off dye. As a hunter might get it wet, having dye all over his clothes is not a good plan. What I am trying to do is get this darker - tan, brown, whatever, so it can be used for duck hunting (can't have it real light as it would stand out). Funnily enough, most macho hunters aren't really into lavender. Any ideas?
  14. Well I got the strander. And a Tandy splitter. omg I do not like cutting deer lace What a hassle. Sooooo stretchy. Sooooo soft. aaaaaah! But I guess I have enough cut for a lanyard. I may not even bevel this (as it is even horrid to bevel) - guy wants rustic, and thick. It's so soft, the lanyard might be fine without. Thoughts?
  15. Thanks, I try to avoid the Birdsall lace though, I prefer Packer. I have got this mostly figured out - I have 1/4" core, and a 12 strand braid with 1/8" lace looks good. Now, I need to figure out how long to cut the strands. A basic 4-strand braid I cut approx. length of braid x 1.5. This I can tell I'm going to need more - is length of braid x 2 likely to be enough? Or even more?
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