ThisIsMyFirstRodeo

I repeated the experiment, but this time I sprayed the strips with water to see if that would even out the unevenness, and skipped straight to 5min. This time, it was worse. Much worse. And the depth of color was nowhere near that of the first experiment. Conclusion: Don’t spray your leather with water first… Cheers, AZR

Experiment: Testing 4 different ferrous and non-ferrous acetates to react with 6-7lb econo veg tan leather, using ~1min and ~5min dip times. Methodology: 1) Prepared 1 mason jar each of classic vinegaroon, classic vinegaroon, copper scrubbie substitute, SS scrubbie substitute. Jars have been sitting outside in mostly direct S.AZ summer sun, probably about 100F. No control for leather or with straight white vinegar will be used. 2) Dip a strip of undyed 6-7lb econo veg tan completely for ~1min. 3) Pull halfway out and continue dip for another 4min, for a combined time of ~5min. 4) Hang each on the “shaded” side of the jar to air dry. 5) Analyze and evaluate results at 1hr. 6) Test strips will not be stabilized with baking soda solution. Hypothesis: 1) Initial coloring will be relatively dark, and fade with time. 2) Longer dip time equates to darker color. 3) Because leather is porous, the color of the 1min dip may be skewed by wicking action. 4) Stabilization with baking soda solution (untested) may alter results. Prognosis: Based on historical and commonly available observations, results will be as follows: Jar 1 (classic vinegaroon 5wk aged) will be darkest, followed by Jar 2 (classic vinegaroon 3wk aged), then Jar 3 (copper scrubbie 6wk aged), and finally Jar 4 (SS scrubbie 6wk aged). Each of the testing strips will have noticeable but slight variations of color between 1min and 5min, and the strips themselves will have distinct depths of color. Results: At 1hr: A) The longer dip time yielded darker colors. At 1min, surprisingly, Strip 2 appears slightly darker than Strip 3, and results (darkest to lightest) as follows: 1,2,3,4. C) At 5min, results as predicted with results (darkest to lightest) as follows: 1,3,2,4. Observations: At 2hr, the colorations are evening out on Strips 1 and 3 (classic 5wk and 3wk). Surprisingly, Strip 2 followed by 4 (copper and SS) were the most evenly colored at each time. Also unexpected Strip 2 (copper) was very close to Strip 3 (classic 3wk), just slightly behind Strip 1. Although Strip 1 was the darkest at both times, the evenness of Strip 2 would give the copper scrubbie my preference in general. Strip 4 (SS), though, may warrant further experimentation into blue tones, and lend a really cool effect with a blue dye. Also would like to compare to dipping in straight white vinegar. Having issues posting pictures of the results. Almost like it’s my first rodeo or something 😉… If I’m missing something, or have made an error along the way, please correct me. Cheers, AZR

(Original post edited) I was going to give yet another glowing review to his saddle stitch tutorial, but it simply isn’t necessary.

Wow. Just. Wow. Beautiful work! AZR

Hey all, So I’ve been playing with the Angelus purple dye (on 5oz veg tan, if it matters), but I keep getting splotches of metallic/iridescent gold-ish color. How do I prevent/fix this? Thanks, AZR

Hi all, I'm sure this is probably a common issue with a simple answer, but how do I stop the dye from staining my thread as I stitch? Am I missing a step in setting the dye (like Rit for fabric)? For reference, current shenanigans: 6oz econo veg tan, Angelus oxblood dye, Ritza 1.2mm beige thread. Thanks, AZR

Further observations: SS: color hasn’t returned to liquid yet. Dipped a swatch this morning. At first, started to darken. As it dried, some light staining on flesh, only a hint of shade on grain. Cu: surprisingly vibrant color, similar to a new penny, but can clearly see through. Dipped a swatch last night. Darkened some initially, now a slightly pale blue color wash. Tossed outside again today, color seems to be fading from jar. 2nd Fe: Still relatively clear, nothing to settle out. Dipped a swatch last night. Initially turned relatively dark. This morning, disappointingly faded out. Outside also, almost seems to be a soapy dishwater appearance. 1st Fe: Black at top few inches, black sediment settled, gray-black but translucent. I cheated and dipped the faded Fe swatch from last night. A rather hazy navy blue color. Outside also, the jar is an opaque charcoal gray. All swatches buff veg tan. Will update observations as I think about it… AZR

Have you found a quality wheel? I’ll admit that mine are bottom-of-the-barrel price and most likely quality to match, but the few I’ve found don’t necessarily match the spacing of my irons, and tend to wobble on the axle. AZR

Thank you for the table, great reference. I use almost strictly 1.2mm Ritza myself, but still use basic blunt harness needles. My hand stitching is improving though, so it may be time to start practicing with more delicate techniques. As far as the range of irons, I’ve seen a few different descriptors, and per Nigel Armitage, there are a handful more that I haven’t come across yet, primarily of various European styles. Any insight into this? I haven’t bitten the bullet yet to experiment myself , as $60-$100+ per iron is a rather pricey let’s-see-what-happens, and I don’t know any other leather workers enough to ask to borrow their tools… Primarily, I guess between stitching chisels vs stitching irons, and stitching vs pricking (though that’s a little more obvious). Or to step up my overthinking skills, Jap vs French vs Brit vs etc. Nigel does have a detailed text comparison of irons here https://armitageleather.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Pricking-Iron-Review-Jan-2020.pdf, though he doesn’t define here the styles, or identify which irons are what. AZR

Is that the price point to expect for stepping up from entry-level? Clearly they can go much higher, but just to know what to expect… AZR

Hey all, So I broke my arm a couple weeks ago, and I’m tired of teasing myself by just staring at my workbench. I do at least have use of my dominant hand, so I did luck out in that department, but all of my hobbies seem to require 2 hands. I’m sure there are some of you with a similar experience, but how do I modify leatherwork to be conducive to 1 working arm until I get my cast off? Is it even feasible? Unfortunately, my bandsaw is disassembled to repair, and I can’t break the nut loose on my grinder to replace the stone with a buffing wheel, so I feel like I may be SOL (hope im not censored) on the power tool side. Any tips/tricks/hints/advice welcome, even if it’s not to bother. Guess it’s back to my first rodeo, AZR

Hey all, question for those smarter than me… Is there a way to adjust the color of the edge paint to a more desirable shade? I’m stuck somewhat housebound for the time being, so I’m trying to work with what I have… (Insert “first rodeo” line here…) AZR

Mask off the edges with tape, making sure that the edge being painted/glued is pressed down tightly. If you get an overbrush, give it a quick wipe with a damp rag. Take the tape off quickly before it dries to keep the edge line sharp. If it dries, it may pull some of the paint away. It might as well still be my first rodeo, but it’s what has worked for me so far… AZR

So I did the dollar tree run, but the scrubbies I grabbed were SS not steel wool. Finally got some wool today to start over, but lo and behold the vinegar was tinting! Yellow, not black, but hey. So I’ll let that go and see what happens while I start another jar with wool clearly my first rodeo, AZR

Back to the drill press… Troubleshooting 101: Grab a level and square to test the surface geometry… Sure enough, the press plate has a 4”crack visible, and although the area at the post is square, the rest is off-kilter, and therefore is currently impossible to give a vertical drive in relation to the plate. So yet another waste of a sheath… EXCEPT I was able to cut the welt loose along the glue line (and who says you can’t separate Barge lol…), and perhaps I can salvage the body with a fresh welt, though at this point, the stitch lines may be purely decorative and the body secured with more Barge and some rivets… We shall see…

Thank you all for the input. I wound up dying when it was just shy of damp, still cool to the touch. I dyed what I guess is becoming my “signature” finish, but in a different method than usual. Didn’t turn out bad, by any means, but not exactly how I was intending. I don’t know if it was moisture, method, or a combo of the two. I think I nailed it down pretty close to my others though. Thank you again, AZR

Hey all, I have a somewhat hypothetical question about dying leather… Has anyone attempted to dye while the leather is still damp from casing? What were your results? I imagine it would be different results for water-based than oil-based, and while I have used water-based (Eco Flo), I usually work with Fiebing’s Pro. Right now, I’m staring at a sheath I just finished tooling, and I’m getting antsy to keep working, but it’s still relatively saturated (rookie move, still learning). Which is where my question comes. I’m still going to wait until it’s dry, but I was hoping to hear (and learn from) other people’s successes and failures on the subject. Still feels like my first rodeo, AZR

Will edge paint do the trick to seal the flesh? (I use Fiebings leather sheen or eco Flo super shene for a top coat on the grain…) -AZR

Where did you find the reverse irons? Inquiring minds are blown! I had been thinking about why reverse irons weren’t a thing, and this is literally the first time I’ve heard of their existence. As far as your process, I had been using a similar method (I think). On my next piece, I’ll try your method. As far as my stitching itself, it’s adequate enough to be acceptable, but I’m not going to focus on it until I can get the holes right. Baby steps… Just tossing out the method variation that I used on my current piece, last night I marked/drilled the stitch line on the welt first, and used it as a template to mark the holes from the grain on both sides before I punched. This particular piece I am only riveting, and so far they line up, but rivets don’t need the accuracy of stitching. Still need to dye it, so I haven’t actually set the rivets yet, but so far I’m feeling positive about it. Just a continuation for Dwight and Dikman, I was playing with the press punches again last night. It does seem that the torque from the rotation can pull on the leather closer to the edge and give a more oval hole. On that basis, I do prefer normal drill bits. I’ll play with using a maul punch (probably not the correct terminology, but just to quickly differentiate from the press punches) in the chuck. I question if I’m going to beat the press up, as I’m not in a position to replace it. (cheap benchtop model from harbor freight, definitely not the best engineered, but it usually gets the job done…) Thank you to everyone for their input, AZR

The flesh side of the leather, not suede specifically. Am I mistaken with terminology? Real question, no sarcasm from me. Please do educate me if I’m out in left field.

My current/recent projects that I’ve considered have been: dog collar, a couple sheaths, and a dangler. I’m attempting to make them as environment-resistant as I can, as the pieces will be subject to a fair bit of use and abuse. -AZR

Dwight and Dikman, I actually found a set of drill press punches at harbor freight. The first thing I noticed was that you have to have the drill running, which bothers me for some reason, but as it punches, the friction does burnish the hole at the same time. Jury is out on if I prefer drill bits or the punches… For my work surface, I actually have a scrap of 10oz that I cased and hardened, and put another piece (not cased) on top of it, and that it what I put my working piece on. So far, the punches/bits haven’t gone through and hit my table (yet). I also use it when I’m stamping. Dwight, you mentioned putting a needle in the press… are you using glover’s needles? My diamond-point needle doesn’t seem to be long enough to fit in the chuck and still have enough travel to punch through. And Dikman, of everything that I have, I don’t actually have any awl bits. Are you referring to the little interchangeable ones? Thank you for your input guys, I’ll play around. -AZR WHAT is THAT?!?! Whatever it is, I want one!

Ok supposedly there are no stupid questions, so let’s test the theory… I’ll take for granted that you aren’t supposed to use gum trag on suede. Why? What happens? If I’m burnishing the flesh side anyway, wouldn’t it help? In the meantime, I’ll be using edge paint and hope for the best. Still feels like my first rodeo, AZR