iknowshaun

I'm not usually into ladies bags but I really like the style of this, does anyone know if the bag type have a formal name? I'd like to try and make something out of undyed vegtan leather like this for my wife, maybe try some tooling on it.. or do you think the leather required for this would be too thin to tool? Thanks Shaun

Thank you!

Awesome, thank you. Cheers Shaun

Thanks for the advice Chief, I definitely agree, the dark brown and chocolate oil dyes from fiebings are pretty dark using them straight. I've also found saddle soap makes my dying blotchy if you don't wash it evenly DavidL, same as what Chief said, totally messed up a belt this way so ended up dying it black. Cheers Shaun

Wow, I really like the idea of using alot of beeswax in the finish. I was wondering Dwight, have you found that finishing with too much wax has any affect on using something like dubbin or nfo at a later date, like it makes the leather too impermeable or too hard? Cheers Shaun

Looks solid! Nice belt.

Hi Chief31794, would you dip dye something even if it was diluted with denatured alcohol? Just wondering if the tint would be even because I've been thinking of doing this, just waiting on some dye reducer to come through at the moment. Thanks Shaun

Thanks for the comments all, sux it kinda kicked off on the thread but that's what opinions are about I guess. learnt something from everyone. Take it easy. Thanks Shaun

Oh and Red Cent, thanks for the link, never tried it and I'll keep my eye open for some of it in the UK, recently bought some fiebings mink oil for oiling wallets and card holders, it's pretty cool too and smells kinda good. Cheers Shaun

Thanks for all your replies. 'Hi im Joe' , I've heard the same thing and yeah there's loads of conflicting info out there, I'd love to think it doesn't as I really like the way it works on leather, I've got a belt hanging that's had it for ages so I'm keeping an eye on it. Marine mp, that story on the cow had me laughing man, yeah you're right, the cow has probably put it through alot more than a waist will and I'm probably overthinking it, I'll let you all know if it turns out to be the wonder conditioner, ha ha or as Toolingaround mentioned, I fall back on neatsfoot oil, which I'm really fond of too. Yeah there's so many different products and ways to do it, I think being spoilt for choice is the the problem here and I'm trying to use everything! Thanks for all your comments and wisdom Cheers Shaun

Hi all, It's been a few months since I've really dived back into leatherwork and started making belts again. Ususally I used to use dubbin to condition the leather but after trying a few different things and reading up alot on these boards and other sources I decided to make a mixture of beeswax, neatsfoot oil, dubbin and a small bit of parrafin, which once melted together forms a vaseline like textured conditioner. So I've been rubbing this onto the front and back of my belts, it goes in great and the leather absorbs it and seems to like it. The thing I'm worried about is how do I know this mixture isn't weakening the leather in the long term or isn't good for it in the long term? I've had a belt for 5 months with it and it rocks but obviously if I was to sell a belt I'd want to know it's done no harm to the leather. An example of this would be, firstly I was trying olive oil in the conditioner and while it works great on the belts I then read it can cause the leather to rot in the future! So I substituted with neatsfoot oil. So does anyone have any knowledge on whether or not anything I'm putting into the mixture can have an adverse affect on the leather in time? Any additions to the mixture or advice would be greatly appreciated Thanks Shaun

Looks super sleek, nice colour too.

Thanks very much Electrathon, apologies for butting in PennyPower.

Thanks very much Celticleather, I've emailed J & F J Baker as i was at J T Batchelor yesterday and they didn't have anything over 3.5mm , I'll phone them today and ask if they're able to get it in though. Yeah I kinda figured it would be a little more expensive but I'd like to make some real nice belts with it that have a good heavy feel and hopefully can at least make my money back! Thanks for your reply Shaun

Love the detail in the individual feathers. Cheers Shaun

As a small hijack would anyone mind if I ask electrathon, do you apply anything other than the dye before you use an antique finish? Just asking as I've dyed a belt, used an antique finish and then applied some carnauba wax to polish it and some of the antique finish came off, is this just something I have to learn to deal with? I love the look of antique but sometimes lose some of the contrast in the stamping.. Thanks Shaun

Hi all, I've been trying out different leathers for belts and I'd really like to start making some belts from veg tan leather with a weight of 10 to 11oz (roughly about 4.2mm), I just like the actual weight of the belt and I'd like to do some tooling on it too. For the life of me I can't seem to find any UK suppliers that do veg tanned leather in this weight, it seems the butts are all oiled or put though some finish that means you can't dye or tool it, only cut the belt and setup the buckle... Does anyone know of any suppliers in the Uk that stock this kind of leather? Tandy have a 13oz saddle skirting russet but I don't think cutting belts from it would be economical, maybe someone could shed some light on a good area of leather for belt making? I've read that the butt is awesome for belts as it's thick and real tough wearing, anyone have any experience making belts of this weight and from this area of the hide? Is it economical to make belts from veg tanned leather of this weight? Many thanks for any advice Cheers Shaun

I really like these designs, the stamping and bevelling is real clever. I like the colours but personally would have put an antique paste on all of them to bring out the designs a little bit more but that's just what I prefer. Great idea. Cheers Shaun

Hiya Cyberthrasher Sorry to hijack but was wondering if you don't mind letting me know what colour and make dye you used on the seat? and you've got this cool 'darker at the edges of the design and seat' thing going on, is that because the leather was bevelled a little there or some dyeing technique? Sorry if it sounds naive but I'm used to painting paper and i'm trying to get used to the colour pallet of these dyes on finished products and of course techniques. Thanks Shaun

Beautiful carving and the addition of all wings etc... are done really well, great placement. When you say you used a paint gun do you mean the dye was airbrushed? and if so is that the reason you thinned your dyes down, so you could layer the colour? (sorry I know absolutely nothing about applying dyes with an airbrush/gun) Thanks Shaun

Looks really smart, great colour too. I'm curious about the fold over at the buckle, I've been folding mine to be hidden on the underside of the belt ie not on the stamped side, yours is the first I've seen the other way, does it make any difference or is it just aesthetic preference? Thanks Shaun

Really nice patterns, I think barbed wire will make a come back soon!

Hiya Em, welcome to the forum. I'm pretty new to leather craft too, from what I've learnt the best way forward is familiarise yourself with the tools and then pick something you'd like to do and research how to do it, ask on the forums etc.... everyone here is really friendly and helpful. Also I've been watching some youtube vids and you can pick up alot on the terminology, see how their workspaces are laid out, what tools/dyes the person is using for a specific finish etc... Cheers Shaun

Thank you, what a great tutorial!

Ha ha, well I've just spent over 500 bucks on tools and a swivel knife, I think I'll be stalking the postman soon! thanks again to all of you for your advice. Cheers Shaun