cord1974

Back in my Army days I would redye my boots with USMC black then buff the mess out of them. Then go right to polishing with Kiwi Black. They always shined well. The most important part will buffing out the excess pigment. For a high shine I would use Resolene.

I'm in a similar situation. My left ankle is fused due to nerve damage. I have my cobbler put zippers in all my left boots. Brass teeth YKK is what he uses. Not sure of the actual name of the product line.

Yep.. Should have picked up a lot of Barry's tools

I got a good one. Not going to lie.

When I went to Sheridan in 2022, we stopped by. My wife and son stayed in the car. Spent about 20.minutes trying stamps and talking to Barry. I come back to the car with a maul, a basket weave and two bevelers. Wife says, "that's all you got? I mean you're AT Barry King's!"

Steep checkered beveler: B936 Medium checkered bevelers: B701, B702 Pear shader: P206, P208 Flower center: J816 Backgrounder: A114 I have the others but these are the ones I've used so much I remember the actual numbers.

I'm seeing less and less Fiebings on Tandy shelves every time I make the trip to the nearest store. They seem to phasing it out Fiebings products favor of the Tandy Eco equivalent.

Edge Kote is just that, a costing. It will sit on top of the edge. My experience with it is that it will eventually flake off. Dye penetrates the leather and if properly finished, vis pretty permanent. Can't help with question about lining as I've never used felt. Chamois would be similar to suede, I suspect. I think the contact cement would be fine for it.

Tandy's imported veg tan will darken with NFO. I use it on almost every project in lieu of dye if I'm trying to achieve a lighter brown color. I use multiple light coats until the desired color is achieved.

I think it was Aaron from Makers who said Peter Main uses rubbing alcohol as a dye reducer. I've used it in the past as well denatured alcohol. I can't tell any difference.

I've always said "bonded" leather is nothing more than a leather version of presswood. It doesn't even rise to the level of OSB.

About 25 years ago, back when I was shooting competition heavily, I made a steel lined belt. 2 ply 8/9 oz 1 3/4" Ranger style belt with a thin strip of steel centered. The billets were sewn on the outer strip to avoid the need to punch through the steel. But we did do a double stitch line on the belt. It worked well for several years of daily wear and weekly matches. Eventually I got tired of the stiffness and took the steel band out. I unstitched on edge, pulled the steel with pliers and sewed the edge back up by hand. The belt is still in my closet. Unfortunately I'm not as thin as I was back then.

With black you really have to buff it well. Start with a soft cloth or wool. Buff it. Buff it again. The buff it some more. When you think you're done, take a soft paper towel and buff it. If any dye pigment comes off, start over. After buffing seal with your sealant of choice.

I've been noticing Tandy is carrying less and less of a selection in Pro Dye in quart bottles. I've been to two larger stores (Jacksonville FL and Tampa FL in the last several weeks) and only found a few shades of brown available. I would guess they're phasing out a lot of the Fiebings dyes in favor of their Eco dyes.

I recently did a few belts this way. After stamping I resisted using Wyosheen. After that dried I mixed a bit of dye with the Wyosheen (I read about that trick in one of Stohlman's books) and carefully used a small paint brush to go around each letter. After I'd gotten enough distance from the letters I dyed as usual.