Darren8306

Thanks, I might try that. I had a terribly naive accident trying the other way... I thought I would add tannins to a belt, to get it to turn blacker. So I found a bowl which held the belt (and a couple keepers), put in a handful of tea bags, and poured in the boiling water. Then I let it steep awhile, and pulled it out. Anyone like to purchase an irregular belt? I'll try COLD tea, and some test samples. I guess it isn't good to run experiments while sipping gin with my sweethearts curling team...

I started a new side of leather, and the vinageroon produces a dark grey, nearly black. Now I want to get the light grey back...anyone know how to remove tanins from veg-tan?

Last summer I made some vinageroon for some wood projects. Then, I left it out, in an open jug, until mid-winter. There wasn't a lid, but I had a paintbrush stuck upside down in the opening, which would have kept a lot of the snow out. When I decided to try it on leather, I went out and grabbed it. -30C outside so I had to thaw it out first. It yielded a grey instead of black. First, I used a colour dye over the grey, to rescue it. (photo inset/blue with runner) After some drinks and internal arguments, I must have decided I liked it, because I just made a few more. The fresh batch of vinageroo also yielded grey. Of course, because of this thread, I suspect tanins, and may soon try tea or tree-goiters to achieve the black I was after. I'll post results when I get that done. The leather I'm using is a budget-friendly choice, and maybe going cheap means you don't get as many tanins...In anay case, I like the grey so much, I'm starting to wonder what other mistakes I can commit.

Thanks! I wish I could find dyes locally (shipping 'dangerous goods' to my region is a bit costly) I didn't get a notification, but I'll go look now.

I made a few things to practice my stitching and edge finishing. I think I've got that part now. The carving is VERY new to me, relatively.

Thanks guys! These are a pair of sealhide kamiks I purchased, second-hand. They are at least 30 years old, and good enough for me down to -40C (haven't tested them colder)

Hi there. I recently joined, and forgot to make an intro post, so here you are. I'm a novice leatherworker, from Northern Canada. My biggest hobby at the moment is running, and I have made a few things for that, but have a few things I would like to make of leather. Next, I'll have to go read a bit. I don't know what I know, or what I should practice to improve what skills I do have. Attached is a pair of mitts I recently hand-sewed. The pattern was given to me by a friend, who got it while guiding in the Nahanni. I've made several pairs since, and this is a patchwork pair.