The Grizzly

I'm working on a set of wrist bands for a friend and I need a flexible finish for them. They will be dyed with Fiebing's Pro Oil black and then the tooled areas will be painted with acrylic. Can anyone recommend a flexible finish coat that can be found locally? I don't have a Tandy nearby. I do have Hobby Lobby, Michaels, Lowe's and Walmart. I've read about people using Deft as a finish as well as various spray lacquers like Krylon for projects, but haven't found if these finishes will flex. Granted, once the band is wet formed in a circular shape, it won't have to flex much to put on and take off with the snap. What ever is suggested will need to be compatible with the Pro Oil dye and any conditioning the leather will need after dyeing to replace natural oils and what not. I don't want to get it finished and have the top coat lift. Speaking of that, what would be a good conditioner to add to the leather after dyeing, before painting and finishing? My local hobby lobby has that 4 way leather care I think by Fiebings. Thanks in advance for the help!

The smell should dissipate within a couple days or so. Put it in front of a fan to finish drying.

37 views and no insight to offer?

Old post, I know, but I'd really like to know how you did the star. Thanks!

On my last sheath I colored up with a heavy dose of Fiebings Light Brown Pro Oil dye then finished with a hot waxing using a mixture of beeswax, paraffin and neat's foot oil, I've noticed that if I rub the sheath with a cloth to buff up the finish, I still get color coming through the wax. Did I use too much dye perhaps? After dyeing I rubbed and rubbed with a microfiber towel till I removed as much of the extra pigment as possible, then did my waxing. Any ideas why? Should I stop using these homebrew blends and switch to something like Sno-Seal or Montana Pitch Blend for my waxy water repelling finishes?

Just go to www.hobbylobby.com/weekly/coupon.cfm for their current coupon or go to www.mobile.hobbylobby.com on a cell phone with net access and show the cashier the coupon.

I got mine from www.woodcraft.com it's 2 x 9 x 12 and works perfect for my primary use (right now) which is knife sheaths. They were running a sale and I got it for $24 with free shipping http://www.woodcraft.com/Product/2004864/7535/Granite-Surface-Plate.aspx

Thanks for the tips Spinner!!! Dick- That cordovan looks wonderful!! Great color!

Eagle, that was me you were talking with on Bladeforums I think I'm still going to pick one up and give it a try. Here's an idea. For the 2 tone holsters/sheaths couldn't you swab/dip your item in the lighter color first, then airbrush on the dark accents that fade into the center?

For single colors like black and dark brown, I may stick to my wool daubers. For lighter browns and 2 tones I'd like to use an airbrush. I really like the look of a lighter center with dark brought in from the edges

I thought so too Mike, but it's what he wanted *shrug* Got to please the customer!

Awesome, thanks again! Going to work on the belt tomorrow!

Thank you so much, you gave me quite a bit to work with there I had actually thought of the sandpaper trick to get the gravel look, glad to see that idea wasn't just something weird passing through my brain . Very cool idea on the screen bead roller!! Thanks again!

I have a belt to make for a friend who was given a buckle for the Union Pacific and Illinois Central railroad companies. I'm doing his name in the center, in one of the older style railroad fonts. I've decided that I would like to do railroad tracks (overhead view) as the design on the belt. How would you go about tooling a line of railroad tracks? Similar to this or more of a straight down view: Would the tracks and ties need to be cut with a swivel knife first? Using that picture as an example, I could bevel along the tracks where the shadows are. Use some tools to work some grain into the wood... Here's what I'm afraid of. I'm afraid that I'm going to get WAY WAY into this and try to work every little detail and add gravel between the ties and all that...and it's going to be lost on the person the belt is for. I would like to keep it rather simple, yet nice. It's been very hard finding a railroad theme that will look good on a belt...I'm about at the end of my ideas.

Thats how I work the beeswax/paraffin/neatsfoot mix I've been using. Prior to that, I was using mink oil in the same manner. I actually remember, as a small boy, my dad having me put mink oil on his work boots after they had been sitting by the fireplace getting warm. Apparently the ol' man knew what he was doing after all

Sure, here's a few. Sorry for the bad pics, this camera is very tempermental and likes to do odd things to pics.

I've had that happen so far with Pro Oil Black and Light Brown. The black has a reddish/brown sheen to it and the light brown gets a green cast. Buffing doesn't remove all of it so I tried a horsehair brush, that helped a lot. It didn't get it all though, so I took a cloth with a little neats foot oil on it and wiped the sheath down, that removed the odd color sheen.

Another question: how good is the dye penetration into the leather using an airbrush?

Ive been thinking about giving MPB and Sno-seal a try, hear lots of good things about them

Luke, that border appears to be the 'wire' stamp in the Barbed Wire stamp set. The set has a corner stamp, the wire stamp pictured, and the stamp that has the barbed knot.

Are you guys using an oil/water seperator inline before the airbrush to keep compressor oil and condensation out of the airbrush and subsequently the finish?

Dave, thanks for the info. Really, the only reason I thought to try the hot waxing was that I already had the wax/oil on hand so there was no cost out of pocket. One thing I noticed with this last sheath, is that when I applied the wax mixture to the inside of the sheath and it soaked in, it reduced the 'grip' the sheath has on the knife. I have to say, I'm not a big fan of that. I wet form the sheath and my knives usually 'pop' into place but are also held by the friction of the leather. This last one pops, but there is not much grip (this really only matters on pouch sheaths). Dave, what do you finish the inside of your sheaths with?

Shooter: How resilient is the finish itself when cured? Does it resist minor scratching? Does it allow the application of conditioners (is it permeable)? Is the finish fairly water resistant? I am also thinking about getting a cheap air brush to experiment with. I love lighter dyed items with darker tones laid in towards the edges. I have a nice compressor and tank, perfect for airbrushing, that I haven't even taken out of the box yet...I got it at Lowe's at Christmas time 2 years ago when I was wanting to get into actual artistic airbrushing.

Dave, does it go on directly after dyeing and is it a final finish? Does it soften the leather up any? I like the stiffness this hot wax gives the sheaths, but I think that might be where my scratching issue is coming from...maybe they are too stiff, the outside too hard.

As much as I like this hot wax finish, I'm always open to other ideas to try. What do you guys like to use as a tough, water repelling finish on your holsters and sheaths? Looking for something that helps resist scratching. Thanks!!