studawg03

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Hey Danne, Know his is an old topic and you may have figured out your answer by now but I hope this helps. 1 issue I have with the Sedgwick leather care is the residue. I found if you clean first with Leather Amore by Bee Natural or even something like a castile soap first it tends to absorb better especially on bridle leather. Also work in well with your fingers into the leather and then wipe excess away after you feel like it has absorbed what it is going to absorb and then wipe away the residue right away with a very slightly damp cloth. Try rubbing the conditioner between your fingers to warm it up and I don't seem to apply too much of the Sedgwicks when I do that. I am going to experiment with making my own cream similar to sedgwicks this week with tallow, lard, cod liver oil and beeswax. I'll let you know how that turns out b/c I want to love Sedgwicks but just have trouble getting it right, but if I clean first, warm in hands, don't use too much, and wipe off excess right away then it works pretty well. With Bridle Leather it is important to use something like Sedgwicks to restore the fats lost in tanning and with wear. I don't use oil except a smidge of Cod liver oil on bridle leather, but the fats are the most important thing you want to continue to put back into the leather. I do like the softening effect it has on bridle leather but if it is just regular veg tanned leather it seems to just end up gumming up the leather if that makes sense and makes it feel heavy. The shine you get from buffing the leather after applying sedgwicks is not the best either. I sometimes use Sedgwicks and then actually use a conditioner by Higher Standards that gives a little nicer glow to the leather. I think a lot of the other recommendations above are better for vegetable tanned leathers that have not been stuffed with greases and waxes like bridle leather has after the vegetable tanning process. Saphir is really great for Chrome tanned but I don't love it on the veg tanned stuff as much. Stick with Saphir in my book.

Great advice guys! Anyone know of a good supplier of J Rendenbach or Baker precut soles preferably in the US to help with shipping costs?

Hello, Is there much difference in RTC by Sheridan being used as a finish compared to Bee Natural Leather Finish in terms of feel, durability, color transfer/fading, cracking or waterproofing that you guys have noticed. I like both products but wanted to get your feedback on if one is better than the other in the long run. Thanks!! Stuart

They are new strips cut from a hermann oak entire belt bend from Springfield leather but it seems as if only this hide is the one that has given me trouble so far so it could just be this hide and be dried out.

Do you tend to prefer the dauber or the sponge for your belts?

Hey Guys! thanks so much for all your advice. I use only Hermann Oak Belt Bends. When I finish dying the belts and then put a wax on it it looks great but as soon as I bend it to a circular shape to make a belt it looks lightned in the areas that have gotten stretched. I initially wet the surface of the leather and apply with a damp but not wet sponge. I apply dye with a sponge but I don't shape the belt into a circular fashion until it is all dry and has been finished and polished. I wonder if my biggest issue is that I need to curve the leather while I dampen the leather with a sponge to allow more access to more fibers of the leather. I really do like the richness of the Eco Flo Professional dyes. They are like nothing I have ever seen. I have never had this problem btw with the black dye. That color is truly amazing and will not rub off on clothing at all. Has anyone ever tried dying with angelus as a base coat and then putting the Eco Flo Professional dye on top or is that a terrible idea for consistency? I do like the fact that the water based Eco Pro seems to moisturize the leather as it soaks in as well.

Hey TIna. Thanks again! Is there a particular ratio of denatured alcohol/ dye that you typically use most often?

Tina, Thanks so much for your advice. I felt that this was likely the problem but I think I was being stubborn and didn't want to change my whole dying process. Thanks for giving me the push to change. I ordered like 20 angelus colors today. What a great selection of colors. Thanks for your help!!!!! Stuart

So, I am having some issues with dying using Tandys Eco flo professional dyes. I love the colors and I have found tat the colors are wonderful and go on evenly but when I put the belts on and the leather gets stretched a little it gets veiny looking with the stretched areas looking lighter than the rest. I dampen the leather before dying and apply with a wet sponge before dying and use hermann oak leather. Would stretching the strip before dying help? Any help would be great. Thanks!!!

Thanks so much for all of your input!! I think I am going to bite the bullet and buy the Blanchard b/c I just need one at this point

Hello. I was wondering if anyone had any ideas on the best way to sew a bag together like the one in the link below. I was planning on creating each half individually and then sewing them together with a saddle stitch. How would I use a stitching clamp to do this? Would it be better to just pre punch holes sew without a clamp? Thank you so so much http://mansurgavriel.com/large-tote-brandy-with-lime/

I was wondering if anyone had a preference between Dixon pricking irons and The Blanchard pricking irons. Is it worth the extra money for the Blanchard ones over the Dixon models? I am stitching with 3 cord Barbour linen thread and was debating between a 9 or 10 TPI tool. Any thoughts would be wonderful and much appreciated.