TexasJack

Nice job in all aspects!

Always loved the western, and you did a nice job on the rig!

I've done the same thing - but it's still funny when someone else does it!!

A friend of mine made several knives out of O1 that were carried - and heavily abused - in Afghanistan. They looked better than the one in your photo. What the others have said is absolutely true, that pitting is far too heavy to be caused by veg tan. It's a terrible finish on the blade under the best of circumstances, and he obviously acid-etched that logo.

The answer to your question is far more complicated than you may think. Oils go "rancid" because they oxidize into aldehydes and ketones. Oils that are highly unsaturated (lots of double bonds) become rancid much faster than those that are more saturated (mostly single bonded carbons). Heat, bacteria, and exposure to air all contribute to this. Leather, however, is also a complex and reactive material. Lots of things go on when it is treated. I found the following link that has a lot of information (that may be far over the heads of many people) and it may give you a better understanding. Chemistry of the Leather Industry - New Zealand (Please note that the document is in PDF and the link will cause it to download).

Very nice!!

Bear grease? You actually have a source for bear grease, Chuck? BTW, good to see you're still vertical and ventilating!

I don't know why it would be any different, though I must admit that I've never seen enough fat on a deer to make it worthwhile to use it for something.

Leather is, by definition, a "sustainable" resource, as it is naturally grown. When it eventually decays, it consists of organic material and returns to the natural environment. Most leather used for the crafts on here is "veg tan". World-wide, about 80% is chrome tanned, simply because the process is much, much faster. Chrome tanning can be very damaging to the environment, but it doesn't have to be. I know of at least one battery recycler that will take chrome-containing waters and use them in a recycling process that recovers the chrome (for making stainless steel). There are some folks that supply leather that has not been obtained from killing an animal for meat. It's generally expensive. For those of us not sensitive to the consumption of meat, leather is a necessary by-product of the process and anything that puts that to use instead of creating a waste for disposal is a good thing.

Tears are shed.

Nice job!

About time you posted!! Nice holster.

Like the other posters, I have to say that's a pretty cool pattern and looking forward to seeing the finished product.

You don't say where you're coming from or where you're going to. That might help the discussion.

Sno-seal is a wax mixed with solvent. The solvent makes it liquid enough to put on, then the solvent slowly evaporates and leaves the wax on the leather. Key here is that word "slowly". When you put it on a project with ecoflow, the solvent can dissolve the color into the wax and make it "bleed". I'm not real keen on ecoflow. Solvent based dyes have been used for a long, long time. Making something eco-friendly doesn't necessarily make it better. If you look around this board, you'll see people happily using the stuff - but you also see people trying to manage disasters.

Very nice all around!

Thinking backwards - coat the blade with wax. I just use the furniture wax (like minwax).

Very nice

Nice job on the holster. Too bad about the restrictive gun laws.

I see what you did there!

This thread should win an award.

^ This. Are you the first to do that? Nope. Also probably not the last. Did I ever do that? Well, let's just say it's good to learn from our mistakes!

From National Geographic: Click Here for Full Article "Scientists today announced the discovery of an extraordinarily preserved "dinosaur mummy" with much of its tissues and bones still encased in an uncollapsed envelope of skin. Preliminary studies of the 67-million-year-old hadrosaur, named Dakota, are already altering theories of what the ancient creatures' skin looked like and how quickly they moved, project researchers say." ...."Plant-eating hadrosaurs are often called the "cows of the Cretaceous"—the geologic period that spanned 145 million to 65 million years ago—Manning said. They had horny, toothless beaks but hundreds of teeth in their cheeks and a long, stiff tail that was likely used for balance." JREESER1 did NOT buy a shoulder of this. Obviously. Remember that alligators and crocodiles are also left over dinosaurs, so people do make things from dino-leather!

Tandy's (and others) sell a deglazing fluid, but I think most people just use acetone or isopropyl alcohol or ethanol - they'll all work. If you use isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol), get the strongest mixture. The some of the stuff stores and pharmacies sell has a lot of water. Using a clean rag or towel, wipe off the surface very well with the solvent. (You thought this was going to be complicated!) You don't want to soak the leather, like you do when casing it; you just want to wipe the surface off. You should also probably wear rubber gloves when doing this and make sure you're in a ventilated area and not near a flame. There are waxes and oils that get worked into the surface during processing of the leather. Using a solvent to deglaze the surface will get rid of that stuff and let the dyes soak into the surface more evenly.

You don't say if you're deglazing the leather before dying. A good job of that will remove wax or oil on the surface that can slow down the dye.