cord1974

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.

That was my thought as well. I do like Resolene. And I'll end up using both eventually. Between Leather Balm, Resolene, Gan Kote, "Neat Lax" and Wyosheen I have all my finishing needs covered.

I haven't ordered from him yet but I've read nothing but great reviews about him and his business.

Edit: Springfield says Clear Lac has been discontinued. Ordered through Barry King!

Thanks!

I'm on Springfield's page now and can't seem to find it. Any suggestions?

I know Springfield has the "old faithful". I guess I need to go ahead and order some. I was just very disappointed.

I was in a Tandy store a month or so ago. Hadn't been in about a year. I got all excited because they had brought back "Neat Lac". Has anyone else used this yet? Because unless I'm losing my marbles I don't think this is the same as the old Neat Lac they used to carry. Old Neat Lac was thicker and had a much different smell. The new product is thin like Resolene and behaves and smells very similar. Anyway, just wanted to see if anyone has had a similar experience.

Sorry to drag a thread back from the dead but... If I'm doing something that will be worn I generally don't dye the flesh side. I do coat it with a finish though. My personal method: tool or stamp then one light coat of neatsfoot. Dry at least overnight. Sometimes as little as 8 or up to 16 hours. Then a second coat if antiquing. If not then dye. That again dries at least 8 hours then buffed and coated.

Used it before to glue holsters. Great for a lot of stuff.

Yin, if you're carving and tooling a lot, then no. You're doing fine. I just don't have the time to do as much tooling as I'd like. As someone said glycerin is available at any drug store. I bought a four ounce bottle 10 years ago and still have plenty..

Thanks Yin. It was Bruce's recipe I used but couldn't remember what it entailed. I mixed up a quart bottle a year and a half ago and I'm still on the same bottle..

Somewhere on here is a recipe for a casing solution. I forget who posted it but remember it contains Lexol and something else. I experimented with it and did see an improvement in the burnishing effect the tooling took one.

I go through this with every single piece I make. Something, anything, makes me think, "it's ruined". Yet, when the person it's made for receives it they never see the flaws I see. Someone told me that's being a true artist, always striving to make the next piece better than the last.

What I do for any strip is to take a bar of green compound and scrape off flakes into a cup. Then I grind them as fine as possible. Add a bit of mineral oil til I have a slurry paste. Then I run this into the leather. It's worked well for the last decade.

I'll check what I have. If I have it, it's yours. May take a few days. I'm out of town til the weekend.