Starman

Oh Im sure! I've never heard of it before though; I wonder why it's not more well known/sold as a product?

Well, I'll be damned! Not only does it work, apparently its an old trick (image taken from a 2016 facebook post I found)

Hey folks, Im gonna try this later, just to see how it works, and I was wondering if anyone else has tried mixing leather dye with an oil like neatsfoot (or another appropriate oil) and then applying that to the leather? my assumption is--if the dye mixes in the oil--you'll get a more even color mix especially with something like brown or red. It might even give the color a different look. Anyway, just curious if anyone's tried this, or something similar, and how it's worked out? Thanks!

Thanks for the suggestions, guys. I'm always trying to figure out new and different ways to do things...and not having any real luck with this one....but you never know what other people may have come up with or figured out, especially those who've been doing this for a while.

Hi folks, I'm trying to think outside the box here, and thought I'd see if anyone had any suggestions or solutions they might have come up with themselves. I'm trying to soften a 5-6 oz double shoulder (think of a belt, not the whole hide) to be as soft and pliable as a finished hide, ideally like bison, for example. I know you can use olive oil to soften it up some (I am aware olive oil degrades the leather over time, tho) or neatsfoot oil (although I've tried neetsfoot oil before but it never seems to stop seeping oil) so i thought I'd see if anyone had any other ideas or suggestions. I am aware I'll *never* get a shoulder to have the softness and pliability of bison (and that's not the goal) but any suggestions to at least make the shoulder MORE pliable and softer than it is now, would be greatly appreciated! Thanks you guys!

I wanted to follow up with you guys. I finally got the time to grab some antique dye, and tried it on a small sample I stamped to see how it works. Smoke black, I think. Now I understand how it differs from the regular dye. Its one thing to have it explained to you; its a whole other thing to actually experience it. For me anyway. I get it now. So, in a nutshell it works just like y' all explained it would! The flip side is that it doesn't dye as deeply or effectively as the regular dye, but I guess that's the trade off.

That makes perfect sense...thats gotta be what im looking for! Thank you SO much!!

Thanks, I will! Is the 'antique dye' a different dye than the normal dye one would use? This does sound like how this would be done... Thanks so much!

sorry, that pic is the best I could find :/ Im not sure, tbh, maybe? Im wondering how you dye the deeper tooled areas while leaving the surface relatively untouched?

The look i'm after is a belt that's been well used, so the color on the surface has been worn down/worn off, but leaving the color in the deeper recessed areas. I thought about dying it, then just sanding the surface...but sanding leather doesn't seem like a good idea. Any suggestions on how to approach this? I've attached a really small, horrible pic, but hopefully it coveys what my works may not have. Thanks all! I appreciate the knowledge ya'll share!

Hmmm...lemme see if I can find an image...thanks!

Hi everyone, Yall haven't let me down yet! How do I get a gold shine/sheen on a brown leather belt? It basically looks brown, but reflects that goldish shine. Whats the best way to go about doing that? Thanks!

Thanks!

Hi All, Does anyone know where I can get this 3/4" diamond shaped punch in the US? Or one identical to it? Thanks!

Hi All, Apologies if this is the wrong place to post. And, I did already search thru the site and couldnt find what I was looking for Does anyone know where I can get this 3/4" diamond shaped punch in the US? Or one identical to it? Thanks!

Hmmm...perhaps I just need to buff much more than I realized. Thank you!

Good afternoon all, I dyed a belt blank black, let it dry overnight, then applied mink oil to part of the belt and neetsfoot oil to the rest. Not too much, really let it soak in, make the belt smooth and flexible. I've rubbed it down, quite a bit, but black dye still rubs off. I don't recall this happening in the past. What did I do wrong? Will the dye eventually stop rubbing off? Thanks, in advance!

Is that what the hardening is? The lack of oil and nutrients?

Here's a mistake I'll never make again! Ya'll know how cold its been, and while breaking for a few minutes, I left my gloves sitting in front of a portable heater. Well, apparently they were too close because when I came back, there were a couple of dime sized liquid spots where the leather hardened and the dye had pooled/turned liquid. Now those spots are pretty hard and inflexible :( It makes the gloves uncomfortable to wear. Is there a way to soften or stretch those spots to get them as back close to normal as they used to be? Lesson learned! I'll never do that again!! Thanks in advance for your help!

Hey folks, What about this: what if I used a mister (like a squeeze bottle type thing) and sprayed a very, very fine mist above, and allowed that mist to settle on and lightly coat the leather? Do you think that would work? Has anyone tried that before? Also, in general, would soaking/wetting leather before applying any oil (neetsfoot) help spread the oil more consistently, more evenly than just applying the oil to the dry skin? Thanks, again everyone.

No, no...I meant to slightly darken the leather without the 'red' or 'orange' tint. Sorry!

Interesting. Thanks for the heads up on that. What about using Black? A seriously, seriously diluted back...think that might work towards the goal?

Hi folks, you're a fantastic resource so I turn to your sage advice: I have some deerskin (possibly elk) that's the natural/common orangish color. I'm trying to get rid of the orangish color, and give it more of a tan color (http://i577.photobucket.com/albums/ss215/austin569/Tan_Color_Block-721x591.png), but I'm having some trouble. I've already stretched it out and in the process of sitting in the sun it's faded a bit, which is a great start. I've tried a couple of things: 1) diluted a brown dye in water and soaked the leather,. It darkens it a bit (good) but also brings the orangish tint back (bad). I've also tried neetsfoot oil, but it turns it too dark a brown. Any ideas for how to 'thin' or dilute the neetsfoot out ? a very, very light amount of neetsfoot colors it OK, but how to do a whole skin with a very light yet even coating? Any other suggestions for getting it more of the light brown or tan color without bringing back the orangish tint? Thanks, guys!

Hmmm.....there's gotta be a way!! (Gears start turning!)

Rickybobby, Thanks for the insight--i'll try it. I think pretty much anyone who wants to actually wear/distress leather would know to do that...drag it, wear it, bend and fold it, and beat it up. I *honestly* didn't think the question could be misconstrued from asking about creating something ("...create a belt..." ) to be understood as asking how to destroy or damage (show wear) something. And my response was in jest: hence the winky icon. However, your point, Spinner, is made; I have to be very precise with my lanuguage. Thanks everyone taking the time to respond.