efsam

Black bridle leather side from Thoroughbred. Died through and finished on the flesh side. Originally 23.5sq/ft but I've cut a couple inches off the back for a straight edge and a strap. 72" rule in the picture. $175 shipping included to cont. US

Sold

http://imgur.com/l6wttVV Barely used hand press from Goldstartool. Comes with 9mm double-cap rivet die, line 20 snap die set, and line 20 snaps in nickel and antique brass. Originally packages of 100 each (though a few have been used). Additional dies are only $20 shipped on their site. A $120 value. Asking $90 shipped to cont. US

They're a little less than 4mm thick. Feels more dense than WC bridle and is more consistent on the grain and flesh sides and throughout. Less stretch too than WC. I can ship to Australia for the additional shipping.

http://imgur.com/a/aVwh7 I have some very nice European Bridle bends from RJF for sale in havana brown. Dyed through, tanned for no stretch, and embosses well. Flesh side is smooth throughout the entire area so there's almost no waste in these. And already got a nice straight line cut if you're making straps. $150 for the larger $130 for the smaller includes shipping to cont. US

So I don't use any heat in the drying process. Typically for belts I'll apply a light coat or two of pure neatsfoot to the grain side and maybe a coat of Obenaufs leather oil to the flesh side. I've found that on belts I get good results with this method. It darkens a little but it's totally manageable and predictable. On the Hermann Oak, just 2 coats of neatsfoot still leaves the dyed leather feeling like wood, completely brittle and hard. I tested some undyed HO with a light oiling and the color darkened much more than the other leathers I've been using and never lightened up like it on the others either. I'm just wondering if this is normal for this leather or I got a weird one. It's the HO belt bend from Springfield. Thanks all for the suggestions!

Hmm, an oil that doesn't darken sounds like something handy to have around. I'll check it out. It's not just oil dyes though, if I use the Tandy Waterstain dye the leather gets just as dry and cracked if not worse.

I picked up a back of HO in 10oz to use for belts but it's been a nightmare to work with so far. After dying, the leather gets crazy stiff and brittle and when I oil it up the color turns much darker and never lightens up. I have some W&C tooling leather that I've never had either problem with. What's going on here? Everyone talks up HO and it certainly looks good and has a nice flesh side but I can't get any good products out of it. Could this just be a bad piece or is there more to it? Thanks!

EJ, I've got a thread on Reddit (https://www.reddit.com/r/Leathercraft/comments/3cp4bq/made_a_leather_splitter/) with all the parts list if you're interested. The blade is from one of those break-off box cutters.

http://imgur.com/a/nLYqL I made my own leather splitter which works a lot better than the hand skiver or small plane I was using before.

Using tallow seems pretty similar to using neatsfoot or olive oil or a blend of that and bees/paraffin wax. I wonder if the tallow provides something the others don't. And as far as the dye, I've come to the conclusion that the edge is being sealed pretty effectively by the techniques I've been using as has the front and back sides of the leather with resolene or other finish. The problem area is still where the rounded edge meets the face of the leather. That's where all the bleeding is coming from when I run a cloth on it no matter how well it seems to be sealed up. I tried this on a latigo Orion belt I have and found just as much bleed. Is this simply unavoidable?

Thanks for the replies. On some further experimentation it seems like most of the dye is rubbing off of the corner right where the burnished edge meet the face of the leather. It might even be more coming off the color of the leather rather than the edge dye. I guess some color rubbing off is unavoidable on veg tan leather.

Hey all, I've been having a problem with dye bleeding off the edges of my belts. After I've finished the edge, I can rub a cloth along it and get a small but not insubstantial amount of dye out of it. I'm concerned that this will beed onto clothes. Here's how I've been doing my edges. I've been using Wickett and Craig Brown English Bridle and Black Latigo. - clean off edges with saddle soap - bevel edges - burnish with water - light sanding - dye the edges with Fiebings oil or leather dye (I've experimented with dry times to no better results) - wipe down and buff edges - burnish with gum trag - finish with beeswax/neatsfoot oil blend I've even tried sealing with Resolene and I still get dye rubbing off. Anything else I can do or that I'm not doing right? I've read through the edge tutorial thread but haven't found anything. Thanks!