NVLeatherWorx

As Mattsbagger said, do not apply to the flesh side of the leather as it will create some issues. When using Neatsfoot Oil you need to make sure that it is the Pure version and not one of the compounds that are out there as they are much darker than just pure oil. Apply lightly and let it set for a day or two and repeat if necessary. There is plenty of good information contained within these forums, all you have to do is search for it. You would actually be better off if you didn't put much value into the information obtained from Tandy as it isn't overly explanatory and leaves many newcomers making mistakes that could have been avoided if provided with quality and clear information. And the most important thing when it comes to final conditioning and sealing: all products do not play well with everyone else! In other words: you have to find out what is compatible with the materials that you plan on using and make sure that you only use those that will work with your intended direction; none of these are all encompassing so you will either have to get used to just a few items on hand which will limit what your overall direction is or get used to having a bit of everything laying around so you have flexibility. That is the way it is, it always has been, and it always will be.

Just be aware that Mop & Glo can crack, even if diluted, and it creates a very unpleasant look when it does; looks kind of like a spider web when it does it. This is a product that is not intended for use on flexible surfaces as it is a floor finish and not a fabric finish. I have known several soldiers over my vast years in service who used it to give their Jump Boots (yup, an Airborne thing) that extra glassy look and when I saw it I would make sure that their toe caps were pressed and that they got the spider web effect; Airborne Troopers don't cheat!

On the dry leather you may find it a bit more difficult to get the fades and other shading results you are looking for once you dampen the color as the moisture tends to set into the pores of the leather very fast. Another option that you may want to test out is to do all of your coloring and shading work while dry and then use a spray bottle to just mist the surface and see how that turns out. This way all that you will be doing is just setting the colors and shading and nothing more. Hope it works out for you but there are way too many non-leather folks out there who think that their stuff works on leather too yet they have never actually provided any visual evidence of it.

I would never use any form of cooking oil as it will attract rodents (after all, it is food oil) and it also tends to become rancid down the road and can really stink up the place. As far as shampoo, I would never use a soap of any kind on leather as it is just a soap and doesn't offer any valuable conditioning elements nor does lend itself to protecting the leather from the elements. I would say that this "fellow leather worker" has not even read the simplest of instruction on the craft and has been trolling some of the most questionable forums for their source of information. This concoction possesses no valuable benefit for leather or anything else; I wouldn't even recommend it for dry scalp.

I use Pure Neatsfoot Oil to condition it after it has dried but the oiling is not heavy, and it never should be. I give it a simple wipe of oil using a 1" stippling brush and let it cure for about 12 hours; I give it a second application using the same method and let it cure for another 12 hours. Once I have the two treatments applied and they have had time to set I check to make sure that the leather has the soft supple feel that it should and that the shape has been retained. Oiling of leather is so commonly done incorrectly and that is what results in the myriad of issues that leather workers are having with dyes/finishes not taking properly, heavy rub-off, excessive stretching, and so many other things; just apply your oil treatments as light coats and let it set before you repeat the process. I also apply my dye/stain/antique to formed items in light and layered methods with at least a 24 hour set time between each one. It takes awhile to get a formed piece done this way but you don't run the risk of undoing everything that you have just done by doing so; patience is what makes a fine finished product and patience is not found in speed and rushing things.

Soaking your leather in oil isn't quite a good thing to do as it will give the leather a very spongy feeling and it won't ever be quite right. When I have made sheathes I always have the clients knife with me and I wrap it in plastic wrap and painters tape to seal out moisture from the blade; this allows me to properly wet form the sheath around the knife and I don't get the spongy results that come from over oiled leather. The plastic wrap and painters tape do not add enough extra dimension to the blade to create an issue and just for safety sake I remove the blade from the sheath a bit before the leather is totally dried; when the leather finishes drying it has a little bit of room to snug up (some may call it "shrink") and the knife fits snug once finished. That is just my way of doing things. If moisture is going to be an issue then I create a form of the blade with the thinnest Kydex I can get and then build the leather around that; have used it repeatedly when the local hunters need a new sheath for their hunting knives. The Kydex sleeve allows them to put the blade into the sheath while they are working on cleaning their kill without getting the blood on the leather itself.

Just make sure that you get Pure Neatsfoot Oil and not the Compound version; the compound is a blend of oil and other chemical "conditioners" that does have issues down the road.

Nailed it!

First of all, replace your Mink Oil with Pure Neatsfoot Oil as it is a conditioner and Mink Oil is a waterproofing agent only. Second, anytime you apply any coloring agent (dye, stain, antique, etc.) you should let it set for at least 24 hours to ensure a full cure and set. Third, ditch the gel stuff and get some more permanent stuff (Fiebing's for example) as the gel stuff is water based and is going to rub off well after you even apply your final finish; it is not good quality stuff and there are hundreds of threads within this community that cover that and many other issues with water based products. Once you have finished a project if you want it to be water resistant (you won't every get it truly waterproof as that is a commonly misused term within the leather industry) then you need to look at using a final finish that includes beeswax as it will get into all of the pores and other areas of the leather and provide a good solid seal. I personally use Leather Balm with Atom Wax and then apply a final finish of my own blend of Pure Neatsfoot Oil and Beeswax to give it that extra water resistance that it needs. No matter what, the user will always have to take care of their leather items and give them a little love every now and then.

It is all about cost of doing business with PayPal on the larger market (world wide web shop versus smaller eBay sales; besides, PayPal is a requirement for eBay, it is voluntary everywhere else). If you are a seller and use it to process your payments from customers you would know real quick how much you give to them for each sale; now imagine that same concept for a business that does a few thousand dollars per day. And again, PayPal pools your funds within their system which then requires you to log into your account and transfer them to your bank; I speak from experience when I say that it gets to be quite a hassle to have to transfer everything every time I use PayPal. This is why I have gone another route as a seller.

What type of leather are you using? This makes a huge difference. What type of dye are you using? This too makes a huge difference. Some pictures would really help some of us be able to troubleshoot your problem and give you some direction. If you aren't using veg-tan leather then you are already heading down the wrong track but we can possibly turn you around (with another piece of course) if you are using veg-tan.

If you are a seller then there are better options to go to other than PayPal. My primary processing method when I travel and do shows, etc. is Square; they have slightly lower fee rate and your funds are deposited directly to a bank account that you link to your Square account. Their app is also much more user friendly and more Point of Sale looking that that of PayPal. Another option is to use Intuit's GoPayment app and device. It is pretty much the same rate as PayPal but they deposit your funds directly into the linked bank account and your sales data can be synced to your desktop/online version of QuickBooks accounting software if you are using it. It too is more user friendly than PayPal can be known for. Neither one of these two options have any monthly fees or hidden charges attached to them; there are several more systems that are available but they all have fees, charges, etc. that make them less attractive to sellers who are looking to maintain as much profit as possible from their hard work.

Anyone ever thought about reaching out to them and asking about it? If they did drop PayPal then it was most likely due to the hassles that exist around actually having it a payment processing option; I have used them but they are not my main go to choice because I don't like the all of the hassle associated with them. I have several friends who have dropped them altogether for this very reason; more options that are much more user friendly and actually cost less to use. Business is business.

If the dye is properly applied and allowed to set then neither of them will stain clothing. Vegetable-tanned leather by itself won't cause any ill effects to anything as it is tanned with natural materials. Poor quality control in craftsmanship and production of items is what causes things like staining, etc., and that is it.

Yes, it does. However, be careful with Olive Oil as it can result in over oiling really easy. If you want to give it a bit of darker shade set it out in the sun after oiling it and watch it tan, literally. Sun tanned leather is a unique looking thing.

You are welcome. Good luck on your project and post some shots when you can.

I posted one here somewhere awhile back that used the Eco-Flo Waterstains as the coloring medium and about 5 different resist products as well so that everyone could see that it could be done with the waterstains but you had to be wise to what your resist was as everything does not work to resist even if it is advertised to do so. My resist products were Tandy Super Sheen, Tandy Block Out Resist, Resolene (full strength), the Eco-Flo Professional Matte Finish, and Clear-Lac. If I can drum up a picture of my results I will shoot it to you. I am currently working on a full color carving that is going to be resisted then antiqued; I will shoot you those images as well if you would like. Keep in mind, I only use Clear-Lac as my resist (it has a proven history with me and I haven't found anything else that even comes close) and Fiebing's Antique paste as my coloring medium. You will get varied degrees of resist and those degrees can be further tightened up based on the number of coats you apply of your resist medium so there is an awful lot to take into consideration when doing this technique and your experiment. You know what would make that skull really stand out? Give it a color treatment of white acrylic paint, resist it, and then hit with a dark antique paste; that would give it an aged rustic look. Still though, damn fine carving for someone who doesn't think they have an artistic bone in their body. You sir have a knack with this carving stuff (I learned this from the get go so most of my career in leather has been carving and tooling; for me it is just simple but I know what it took for me to get there). You keep at it because this level of detailed work is what makes Master Craftsmen in this trade.

And so are Egyptian Leather and Buckle Guy; both of them have been doing it for a bit now.

What are you using as your resist? This makes all the difference, especially with the Eco-Flo junk. When you tried to remove the excess from the resisted areas did you use a damp paper towel?

Next time you do a random item like this try this technique to see what a real resist looks like: Step 1: use Clear-Lac to resist the actual tooled object by simply painting just the object with the lacquer and let it dry at least 8 hours. Step 2: once the resist is dry you can then use your antique of choice and apply it just as instructed by the manufacturer, just make sure that you don't let it set before removing excess, do this immediately. Step 3: final seal with whatever finish you desire. The object of a resist is to give different tones to the leather so you use it to block out the penetration of antiques into the areas that you want to be lighter or protected. For example, you see these beautiful carved pieces with full color detail and darker main body finishes; to maintain the pop of the color those areas are resisted before antiqued. You can not truly resist an entire piece because all you are doing at that point is to just try and obtain a lighter tone for the whole thing; this and resisting are two different techniques. Clear-Lac is a resist medium and a finish; Tan-Kote is a finish only. You can use Resolene as a resist or a finish; Satin Sheen is a resist or a finish. Leather Balm is a finish only; Neatsfoot Oil is a conditioner; beeswax is a conditioner/finish only. Everything does not work for everything and using any of these in heavy coatings is asking for some issues, regardless of what the manufacturer suggests. Regarding your tooling work on the skull: it is awesome dude! I love how that turned out and you have a knack for the tooling arts my friend.

Did you use Tandy's Eco-Flo Cova Color? I found that it is very watery and doesn't cover worth a hill of beans; I have always had good results with the original Cova Color from Fiebing's (I order direct as a distributor of their products). I have also experimented with the moisture content of the leather when applying Cova and have found that when the leather is still a bit moist (not soaked) I was able to get a more even cover; still had to apply more than one coat but the reaction between dry and damp leather is total opposites. Give it a try on some damp leather and see what happens. Another tip that I have learned over the years of using these acrylic paints is that you can't just shake the bottle to get it all worked up; remember back to the days of grade school when you were doing the fingerpainting projects and that acrylic paint was all lumpy? You have to stir up the settled layer on the bottom of the bottle and then give it a shake or two; if it is a bit thick just add some water and shake some more until it has a "creamy" look and flow to it. This stuff can be tricky and also very annoying but the pop of color is hard to match with just regular dyes. Looking forward to hearing your progress on this.

Might I recommend then that you make this belt as a double layered 8/9 oz.? If you want to go a bit thinner then you can go down to a 6/7 oz. back liner but if the firearm is on the more heavy side you should go with a double layered version from the same weight leather for maximum rigidity. In the future if you continue to make these gunbelts you may want to consider making them from saddle skirting as it is firmer and thicker from the get go and also wouldn't require you to line it with anything, unless that is your style of course.

Normally I would recommend that a person contact the maker of an item to discuss their questions but in the case the Mernickle line and knowing his work ethic (and the fact he is only about 1200 yards away from me and our respect for each other) you won't get anywhere with that direction. You may be able to figure your design question out by carefully "deconstructing" the design from the various images that you can come up with. Sorry that I can't provide any more on that though.

However, keep in mind that the only accurate measurement is that which is taken by physically measuring the person who will be wearing the belt. Another point to mention would be to space your buckle holes for the tip end at 7/8" apart versus the noted 1" spacing; the human body does not expand/contract (grow/shrink) in full 1" increments. The concept of spacing at 7/8" has been the recommended standard for decades and I have found it to be more accurate when fitting for comfort of the wearer, which is what we should be doing to ensure a satisfied customer. I also prefer to have a tip section of 5" in length (measured from center of last hole to the actual tip center/point).

Are you using a pre-dyed vegetable-tanned leather or an drum dyed oily leather? This makes a difference. The other side is, did you dye the leather yourself or purchase it that way? Oily leathers tend to release excess dye pigments because they don't have enough absorbing structure to latch on to; if you dyed the leather yourself then oiled it the oil content may be too high which will cause the same issue. The reality is that if there is too much pigment contained within the cell structure of the leather no amount of burnishing the edges or attempting to "seal" them is going to "stop the bleeding"; this is where the science of this craft comes into play and there are just some things that will prevail no matter what we try and do to prevent them. If you dyed the leather yourself then you need to make sure that you have buffed off all pigment before you do anything else; when applying oil replenishment conditioning do it in light coats and only enough to reestablish the natural suppleness of the leather (if it feels spongy or stretchy then it has too much oil/conditioner in it and will start to release anything you have applied). I am sure that you weren't looking for a science lesson here but there are times where they do come in handy. Good luck and keep us posted on the progress and results.