johnv474

Tokonole doesn't stain. It dries clear. What it does is slightly resist the dye. You can be meticulous about cleanliness to minimize that effect, or use something else instead of Tokonole until after you have dyed it. Try CMC. It's awesome for smoothing the backs. It's not as good as Tokonole but doesn't resist quite as much. For edges, use hand sanitizer to smooth the edges, then dye, then apply CMC or Tokonole. If you don't want it to resist dye then just do your edges with water or alcohol or saddle soap.

Both of those dyes are alcohol based. The regular dye is like Kool-Aid: alcohol and then the color is some powdered pigment. Because of this, when it dries it tends to leave a little un-absorbed dye on the surface of the leather. No problem--just buff it after it is dry, or clean with saddle soap. These dyes tend to dry leather out (imagine using too much hand sanitizer on your hands). To counteract this, be sure to apply some conditioner (a light coat), such as Lexol conditioner or neatsfoot oil if you prefer. The pro dye (which used to be called oil dye) is ALSO alcohol-based. It is the new and improved version of the original dyed. The main difference is that, instead of powdered pigment, it uses an oil-based pigment. Think of it as ink. Therefore it penetrates easier, and gives a more even coating. Because the pigment is oil-based, the leather does not dry out as much as with the original dyes. Indeed, it may leave the leather slightly softer. Color-wise, they are virtually identical.

To be safe you can always use a deglazer (or, milder, saddle soap). There is no way to tell what has happened to the leather between the tannery and your hands. All it takes is someone with greasy fingers to have areas that don't dye easily. Usually the Pro dyes penetrate better than the regular dyes, and are more even. So I would look at the leather.

This is a big question. Whether or not you can dye over an existing dye depends a lot on what else has been done to the leather. You can always try, but you may want to use something like deglazer, spot remover, or acetone to cut through any sealer they have. Eco-flo dyes are not very great. You can use them but if you look around here you will see more people asking questions about how to get them to work properly. I would recommend a spirit-based dye like Fiebings or Angelus. Resolene is an excellent sealer but it comes too concentrated. Dilute it 1:1 with water for better results, and give two light coats and not one thick coat. Unless you want to risk messing up projects I suggest moving away from Eco-flo dyes.

Tan Kote was made for postal bags, i.e. undyed veg tan. Bag Kote is similar but for more types of leather. I have not used Tuff Kote but hear good things. Resolene is my preferred top coat, but it comes too concentrated and must be diluted 1:1 with water. The exact differences don't matter so long as you know what works and how to use them.

OP needs to just replace the Eco-Flo dyes with a dye that isn't junk. Eco-flo is only good if you are in prison and can't buy spirit-based dyes.

Were you wanting the share the pattern? If not, this might be more appropriate for the Show Off forum.

You can search reddit.com/r/leathercraft for hardening leather and you will find one study that suggests stearic acid. That said, stiffening a garment side is a little bit like buying cardboard and then trying to build a house with it.

Ohio Travel Bag aka OTB sells purse feet.

It'll be an uphill battle to help this guy. Offers half of the information you need and then gets confused when you ask questions.

Dude, helping you is more trouble than it is worth. A product is made by a manufacturer. That is the brand. Then there is the name of the product. Can you read? What is Beilers? We are from all around the world, not just in your town. This is why people don't help each other more on this forum.

STILL, the OP has not listed both price and location. Mods, can we just delete this and quit wasting everyone's time?

No latigo. They will bleed too much. For the seat, I would use a chap weight chrome tanned leather intended for indoor-outdoor use. If you park it indoors mostly, then indoor leather can last a while if you protect it from fadjng and don't mind touching up faded spots. Bison is an esoecially soft leather that is also strong, cool looking, and plenty thick. Veg tan or combination tan would work well for saddlebags. Bridle would be awesome looking. In any case I recommend diluted Resolene as a topcoat to give some UV protection.

Start over and buy more dye. That is the only correct answer. Dove: meh. Dawn, castile, or Saddle Soap would be better (only because you are dyeing it and will then be adding conditioner to it after dyeing it.) Nail polish remover: fine. Acetone, deglazer or spot remover could have worked too. It's debatable whether any of those would even be needed. Angelus dye: excellent. Fiebings Pro dye is another good option. Due to the situation skip any others. If you must, buy any other dye that is not Eco-flo, so long as it is made for leather. Kiwi, Lincoln, Kelly's, Hoffco, and at least a dozen other brands make one. Do not use fabric dye. Do not use vinegaroon (in this case). Do not use watercolor paints or markers. Magic eraser is not your answer. At a microscopic layer they are extremely hard and abrasive. The abrasive is mild but it can be hard enough to remove the smooth top layer of leather. A buffing wheel is not the answer. You are trying to make up for insufficient dye with polish with that. Polish can be a stain but is not a dye. A Sharpie is not the right answer. Their black ink turns green in the sunlight. If you really just want it black and wont listen to others, then buy a bottle of archival fountain pen ink (and no other kind), and slather that all over. You won't like it but it will work. Liberal amounts of shoe polish is never the answer. It should always be applied in thin layers. If saving money is the priority, do this: saddle soap ($3) for a good cleaning, then left to dry overnight. DO NOT SKIP. If there is still a lot of polish, do it again but just wait an hour. You don't need to remove all of the polish. If you don't have saddle soap, just wipe the whole leather surface down with hand sanitizer and water until it is damp. Keep it damp while you dye. Then apply the dye ($6), using a piece of damp kitchen sponge, using circular overlapping motions. Considering this dye is intended to permanently stain skin, I suggest wearing gloves. Let the dye dry at least an hour. It would be better to wait until the next day because the color will still be setting up. Buff with a soft cloth to remove any dried dye particles (or use saddle soap again). After the first coat, repeat the process from getting it damp again and applying dye with the sponge and letting it dry and buffing. If the color is not even, do it a third time. Ideally then you would condition with Lexol conditioner ($8), two light coats. When the dye is even, then use shoe polish ($5) in two light coats. Wait an hour before brushing or buffing the polish. Then apply a coat of diluted Resolene of diluted Mop n Glo (using Resolenes instructions). Two light coats. In fact, wait an hour after every step and it will go better for you. Rushing will triple your chances of messing it up and I will ask how there wasn't time to do it right but there is time to do it over. Do not use one heavy coat instead of two logjt coats. The only time one heavy coat is better is when when you are frosting cupcakes. Do not skip waiting an hour before each coat or step. It can all be done in one day, besides the original overnight you didn't skip. Ignore this advice at your peril. I spent years as the person beginners and pros would ask for advice on how to dye, redye, undo, finish, or fix bad dye jobs. I also have tried the solutions you have tried and hundreds of others. If you continue using whatever you happen to have around you will wind up with something you throw away, because the damage caused will be impossible to fix unless you have the budget of a museum doing the restoration of an artifact. It would ve better ti do that experimentation on a Goodwill buy and not something you need to turn out right.

Which Horween leather? It looks like Dublin to me. Chromexcel is not considered cementable. https://www.horween.com/tannages I would use diluted Leathercraft Cement, which is PVA-type glue, because it is water soluble, dries clear, doesn't stink, and is easy to clean up.

Even if Tampa is open, they probably shouldn't be. That county is currently at 100%+ of ICU usage in their hospitals... similar to 35 out of 67 of Florida's counties, including Palm Beach county. You may not care about that, but I imagine a lot of the people in those hospitals didn't either until they got sick and realized this wasn't a hoax. If I were the CEO of Tandy, who surely gets hundreds of emails daily, I would leave such an email sans reply or say "when it is safe". My local store had an employee or two mostly cleaning, organizing, and rearranging. They were not open to the public for months. I would strongly suggest ordering what you need online and having it shipped.

CF Stead? They are my favorite suede.

I'm curious to know if OP tried any of these ideas and whether they helped. It would help others looking for similar answers for OP's to give some closure.

Do you have any complete skins, or any that still have the size printed on the back? I take it, it doesn't have any sort of tannery stamp. If you don't care about getting that exact supplier and can deal with a similar color and product from a different supplier, your search will be easier. Kobicha, apparently, is a color and not necessarily the tannery it came from.

How glossy is high gloss? You can make patent leather, if you really want to. You can polish with shellac or lacquer, but not if the leather is expected to flex. You can always use shoe polish (cream polish then paste polish). It leaves a protective wax coat and is specifically made for leather. It is also relatively inexpensive, leaving the work to you. You can apply Resolene or another acrylic topcoat before or after the polish. Note: it isn't especially difficult to learn to polish but there is no way to do it (that lasts) that doesn't involve some elbow grease. You want a good walkthrough or video (shoesnobblog has one). I polish nearly everything I make, though not necessarily to a high shine.

A good option is the USPS Regional Rate boxes (available free at website, delivered to your door). You can get a medium size box with a 15 lb weight limit and if it ships within a state or two of you, the price is about the same as the small flat rate. Shipping time is about the same as priority mail... at least until we got a new postmaster who was instructed to slow down the mail in order to avoid mail-in voting for the election. Build in a dollar or so per product fo pitch in for shipping, and then you can charge 5.95 or some other flat rate to ship. Holsters shouldn't be too bad to ship but probably you want tracking and insurance. You can risk it with first class if it is under 13 oz but you will get no tracking numbers, etc. Only when you get to larger boxes can UPS compare. DHL doesn't compare in the US, and FedEx won't either. If you are shipping a few packages a day, none of these will offer much discount. You can consider stamps.com or other memberships that use their collective shipping to earn discounts.

Besides ensuring no nicks, possibly even polishing the dies, or finding a different/new cutting surface, can you stack the fabric so as to cut 5-20 layers in one swoop? My experience (limited) with that approach left me with ten good ones and one or two that required some touch-up.

Nigel Armitage's great trick on Youtube is to use a scratch awl and mallet to make one round hole right where the two lines cross. You sew it the same but the result is tidier. When i don't do that, I straddle the lines evenly, so each of the two prongs are the same distance from the corner, leaving one stitch right about 45 degrees betweem the two lines. I don't have a reason why I pick one approach over another on a specific project.

You can get good results with any of them. Many people have strong opinions about what is best or right, but they are mostly opinions. Some looks are liked by more people, and some approaches can look more finished or consistent to a customer. But some crooked stitches or uneven stitch spacing does not really affect anything except looks and resale value. This is a cardholder, not a parachute (an example where certain details do matter). In order for your holes to turn out right, there are some things you can do. Rotate your project so you are looking along the line of stitching. Take your punch and hold it straight up and down. Pick up your mallet. BEFORE YOU HIT THE CHISEL, rest the head of the mallet on the top of the chisel. THEN, raise or lower the mallet's handle until it is going straight out, horizontal. NOW, raise and lower your hand/arm to hit the chisel, and when you swing down try to retrace your steps so the mallet goes right back to where it was. If your mallet hits with the handle higher or lower than horizontal, or if your chisel is not straight up and down, then the chisel will exit higher or lower than you want it. The thicker the leather, the more precisely you must hold the chisel. When it comes to stitch spacing, ideally this would be figured out ahead of time on a pattern/template. If you work straight onto the leather, as many of us do, we run the risk of more errors and also run the risk of having to 'bluff' a bit more with our stitch spacing.

Tokonole contains a small amount of adhesive that the glue sticks to. CMC is a very mild adhesive as well, perhaps on par with envelope glue. It is a very thin layer that does not seal anything. Most adhesives will seal the fibers once dry. Cutting the pieces after being glued, as Paloma mentioned, is also very effective and can help eliminate fibers crossing the centerline. To eliminate fibers crossing over you can use thinner leather (fibers are looser the deeper in the skin they were), or from a denser part of the hide (butt then shoulder then back then belly), or skive / sand the back smoother, or compress the fibers on the flesh side.