farmkidkoko

Looks so great! Question - how far apart did you space the straps?

Awesome! Thank you for that - I was trying to think of what kind of paper I could use to make the pattern - manila folders are perfect!

Hey all! A customer is looking for a scabbard with butt cover (like this one), and I'm having problems finding a pattern. Thinking I could probably just make my own, but I'm wondering how you'd do the butt cover - same piece of leather as the scabbard, but it just folds over? Or would you stitch it on separately? Any good ideas out there?

Awesome! Looks so good.

Once again, thank you to everyone for weighing in. In case you were wondering, here's what happened with my project: I got a wet rag and scrubbed the heck out of it. I was worried about gummy residue on the blacker parts - luckily, I was able to scrub all that stuff off completely, leaving me with a fairly consistent light brown. I let it all dry and then went back, dampened and re-dyed it (thinking it wouldn't work, but hoping it would). Application was patchy. Second application looked a bit better, but still nowhere near up to spec. I intended to go to Tandy and get the Pro Dye, hoping it would solve my problem, but Tandy is a good four-hour round trip that I didn't really have time to make. Ultimately I called my customer to let him know what was going on (mostly cuz of the time lag due to me having get the Pro Dye). His suggestion: use a Sharpie. I laughed pretty hard at that (thought he was kidding), but when he said it again, I figured why not. So I Sharpied it, let it dry, put a top-coat on...and it's about the nearest thing to perfect I could hope for at this stage. Project salvaged! I'm not sure about longevity, especially since the ink is on top of all that dye, but I rubbed it good and hard with a white cloth and nothing came off. I'm still going to get the Pro Dye on my next trip to Tandy and I'm still going to try the purple/blue trick and the wetting the leather trick...but I'm also going to do a little more digging into the Sharpie thing. I'm interested in making a piece I can keep and use to find out what happens with it over the long term!

Ah, YouTube. I always forget that it can teach us all things! Thanks for posting that; it'll be helpful in the future. And I'm definitely excited to try the wet-dyeing!

No I didn't. I've never even thought of that! Do you do it?

Thanks for the feedback, everyone! Very helpful. This was a strip of leather I bought from Tandy a couple years ago - just veg tanned. I didn't put anything on it prior to using the black dye (spirits). When that failed, I called in the antique and when that failed, I went with Eco Flo black dye. Lots of drying in between. The residue that's left behind is, in my experience, because of all the layers. I'm not sure if there's any salvaging this piece, but I've "been there, done that" so many times with black, I figured I might as well reach out and see how I can improve my method. I like the blue/purple idea and the reminder to dry, dry, dry is a good one - it's easy to get impatient when the project just needs to get done!

This is the project of which I speak!

Hey all! I'm looking for advice on a problem I've been having for awhile. Whether I use black dye (water or oil based), antiquing, edge coat, or whatever, my black doesn't stay black. When I put a top protective coat on (resolene, super shene, satin shene, etc), the black wipes off leaving brown behind. On this specific piece I tried one technique that didn't work and subsequently tried a second one that hasn't failed me too badly in the past. Well, this time it did fail. All my attempts (including my last one of over-dyeing the entire project) went bust. I personally like the rustic look I wound up with, but it's not what my customer ordered. So, two questions: 1. How do you keep your black vibrantly black? What products or techniques work for you? 2. Any ideas on how to fix this specific piece? Thanks, Miranda

Well that would be why! I was kind of wondering why they didn't have it. Thanks, Matt.

Hey all! I have a guy who's looking for a saddle scabbard for a Winchester 94 carbine - it's a wedding present, and he's unable to get his hands on the gun. He's looking for a style similar to the one in this book, so I thought I'd buy the book and read up. Just my luck, my Tandy store doesn't have the book and this is a rush order - the guy needs it by next Wednesday! Does anyone have a pattern kicking around? Or any idea of how to adapt from something else?

Cowboy, you don't happen to have a saddle scabbard pattern for your Winchester 94, do you? I have a guy wanting one by Wednesday (WEDNESDAY!!!) and he can't get ahold of the gun. I guess he wants the scabbard as a gift for someone. He's looking for this type of thing:

Awesome!!! Thank you! I just got an order for a Rossi holster and, although I traced the gun itself, I still didn't feel overly-confident. This will be a great help, I'm sure. Very much appreciated!

Sorry, just checked my product bottles; I was mistaken - it's the Eco Flo Professional Finish (Clear Matte) that's been leaving white crud all over. The problem with the Block Out is it didn't work well (yellowed up the white quite a bit!)

Okay, so I have a question for all of ya! What do you use to resist the antique? I typically use Super Shene or Satin Shene, but my white never stays white enough after I do the antiquing. I've also tried that Block Out stuff, but I find that this white crud will always settle in my low spots, and even the antique can't fix it. I want my white to be bright, bright! What to do, what to do?

I've never had problems with Super Shene. But I put a lot of coats on! (Probably five or so - - paranoia. Hahaha!) I should add that the Satin Shene drives me kind of crazy. It always gums up on me really fast for some reason, and the projects end up with thick patches on them. Super Shene's never done that to me.

These are all really great ideas! When I do belts, usually all I do is seal it with Super Shene and it ends up pretty smooth. Never occurred to me to try anything else. Good question and good answers! I'll have to try some of these tricks next time. :-) Love this forum!

Yeah, I live pretty far from the nearest Tandy, so I ordered them online, and was thinking pretty much the same thing when they showed up in the mail. Guess I should've waited 'til I could go and see them in person! Live and learn! I have one person who wants it as is, so I guess I'll forge ahead and try it anyway. The worst that can happen, I guess, is that it doesn't work out! But the inlay looks pretty cool, so I'll have to try it that way, too. Thanks a lot for your input, Camano! :-)

Hi everyone! I could use a little help, if you please. I just bought a bunch of hair-on straps and want to make them into belts. (I'm thinking to basically just add conchos and rivets to them.) I might be crazy, but I didn't think there'd be so much hair shedding going on. Haha! Anyway, there are a few questions I have with regards to finishing the belts. 1. How do I slick the edges? Ordinarily I bevel them and then use my edge slicker, but I'm thinking that will increase hair loss. Is there a better way to smooth the edges? 2. I use Super Shene to coat al my belts once they're done. I plan on still doing that to the backs (and possibly edges) of these belts. Is that a good idea? 3. Is there anything I should be doing to the hair to "finish" it? I obviously don't want to go putting Super Shene on it - I can envision the disaster that would be - but do I just leave it au naturel? Thanks, everyone! I appreciate your expertise! Miranda