leathervan

Some of the leather that I bought at Tandy has one side that is rough and the other side has a glazed type finish to it. Like the Hermann Oak Sides. Is that glazed side supposed to take a dye?

What do you clean it with? I know all grease from fingers have to be removed or the dye won't spread right.

I ordered a belt buckle that was advertised as cast in brass but when I got it the buckle was actually bronze with a brass coating. I sent it back and am waiting for my money return. But then I talked with someone who was sort of knowledgeable about metals and that person said bronze is the choice of some people in the art world. The problem with bronze is that it doesn't shine like brass and looks like a cheaper buckle. What would your choice be?

I wanted a stamp that would be the width of the belt that I am making so I made a wax model of the stamp and had it sent to be cast. The casting company said it should be made out of bronze so it was sent back to me buck they cut off the part that I would pound on to imprint the stamp on my leather. So I sent it back but I am wondering if anyone else have had their own stamps made and how they did it.

I don't know if this is anything new but I have had problems putting edge paint on a belt due to tiny smudges(and sometimes not so tiny) of paint that get on the flat side of the belt. So what I did was use some painters tape that I had laying around and except for one small smudge it worked great at getting the paint on without any smudges. The one smudge that happened was where the painters tape overlapped another strip of tape so there was a small place where paint got on the flat side of the belt. Next time that won't happen. The painters tape is designed to paint an exact line of paint next to where the paint isn't suppose to be. Anyone try that before?

Or doesn't it make any difference. Or maybe it makes a difference if there are different kinds of applications like if a person is going to blacken the lines of the stamped leather.

what kind of thinner do you use. So it sounds like what your doing is putting your solution in a pan and for a belt you would put one end in the solution and just pull the belt through the solution submerged and it should come out even. Correct?

It is real frustrating to have a nice piece of leather work finished only to have the dye or stain applications to come out uneven with darker spots here and there etc. You probably know what I mean. It would be nice if a dye or stain would just come out even when applied. Any secrets. What is your experience with that problem.

I plan on having my own stamp cast in some kind of metal. Since the stamp is to be used only on leather I would think almost any kind of metal would do the trick. However maybe there is a standard type of metal that is used by leatherworkers.

I need to mark my leather with something that can be rubbed off yet is permanent enough so that I can work with the leather without the marks rubbing off. Any solutions?

the question that I have has to do with #3. If I rub glycerin bar soap into the leather doesn't it prevent the dye from being absorbed into the leather. I put dye on very thick first things after sanding the edges even and when the dye dries it is absorbed into the leather. Otherwise with bar soap first I would thing that the dye wouldn't absorb deeply into the leather.

let me guess. No less than 4oz. minimum and can't guess maximum.

I am going by Bob Park's method of 'Finishing Edges". After wetting the edge and rubbing in glycerol bar soap I burnish the edge with saddle soap as he says and then apply the dye. My question is this: Will the dye be absorbed into the leather after glycerol bar soap and saddle soap have been rubbed in? It seems the proper way to do it would be to apply the dye first and then the bar and saddle soap. I guess I must be missing something.

Someone said that shoe polish is only a polish that covers the surface of the leather without penetrating the leather as a stain would do but boot polish is a stain polish. Meaning boot polish penetrates the leather like a stain would. Any truth to it?

Someone started a conversation with me with the message being left in my email. I can't figure out how to respond because I don't see any way to access a conversation on the web page.

I think I am going to try it since I didn't really like the stitiching pony that I used in the past. Its a Tandy bought item but thats not saying it isn't a good item. I like the way the workmate holds the leather tight. Maybe there are other things to use also. On youtube I once saw a guy using a vice to hold a small piece while he hand stitched the leather.

The reason I want cheap leather cow hides is because I am making my second briefcase and much if it is experimenting with different techniques etc so I expect mistakes and learning things that I probably won't use again. So I don't want to use leather that is $8 or $9 a square ft. or anything around that. But I do want real leather, just not top quality leather. When I am ready for the real thing I will use more expensive leather. And I don't plan on selling this second briefcase. Any ideas where I can get cheap leather?

It seems that most companys sell soft leather and uphostlery leather. I need leather with a firm temper for briefcases and pouches. What is need is about 6oz leather that is firm and preferably with a grain texture although that isn't necessary(the texture). But is should have a finished side to it. Anyone have any suggestions.

I meant thread for hand stitching and not sewing thread.

What do you think would be reasonable? Would $8 be too much in your estimation? Who has reasonably priced good leather.

Is it suppose to be the strongest or what. Seems like it has something special about it. Maybe the best thread around? If not what is the strongest thread around?

As you know cow hides rarely come in perfect squares or even edges. So how does a person measure the square footage of a cow hide when it has an irregular shape?

I have never worked with bison leather so I don't know how it might be different than cowhide. But I heard it is stronger. Anybody work with it? Any different than working with cowhided?

his prices look reasonable and the leather looks good but one can't really tell the quality of leather on an internet picture. anyone have advice on this