Telrasha

HI All, I am looking to create something like the below for the armour set I am making but am wondering what leather would be best to use for the main layer. I love how it kind of wrinkles and it feels to me this is not veg tan but more likely chrome tan leather. If so what thickness would you recommend so that it is stiff enough, thick enough to offer some protection but still pliable enough that it wont be annoying around the knee. Also if you would recommend veg tan again what thickness. Cheers, Jelle

Cool yeah I just finished my belt which is the same colour scheme and belongs to the same outfit. I tried this with Brown waterstains only and no Antique and managed to get somewhat the same effect. I also have a few ideas on how to improve it even further next time so as you say experiment. Thanks for all the help and advise and @Yintix thanks for the complement :), still very new so not sure on what good quality looks like lol

Pretty much :), and understand that some will come off when applying the resolene but it is also how i get the nice effect. Added some pictures below to show the effect I am creating in the brown. Not sure if I could do that with waterstains or oil dye's. If this is something that is regularly done with other products please let me know how. I have since ordered some dyes and the fiebings antiquing paste and going to try different combinations to see, potentially thinking of doing the tan in normal dye and then the medium brown in the antiquing, this way less layers on top and hopefully, when i don't wax it first, the resolene will take properly Totally, and i did not do this on purpose it was only after applying i realised i had ordered the wax instead of resolene and more of a facepalm moment than conscious decision. And yes was afraid the wax would prevent the resolene from taking but thanks for confirming. Let me know if you have any other advice based on seeing the picture. Mainly trying to prevent this in the future and your advice above helps with this and also just think i have been using the gel for things it was not designed to do but again new to this and haven't really got anybody to ask IRL.

Thanks for the advice, Can either of you confirm that resolene won't ever do the job on gel or is it something i did wrong? Had a look for the tandy-lac but cannot find it on the European site :(. Will keep an eye out for similar things around the area though not very familiar with chemicals and all :p Also yeah live in a 1 bed apartment so airbrushing isn't really an option due to the chemicals and no closed off room but will have a look at the polish option and see if it works with a sponge. I did also try Winsor & Newton Satin varnish, not sure if that would be similar to any of the above options but that didn't seem to work either.

Hi All, I am wondering how/if I can waterproof my leatherwork that has been antiqued. I have tried Leather balm with atom wax and resolene (I do not have many options). When i started leatherworking I started using Eco-Flo Antiquing Gel as i can get some really cool effects mixing the colours. I just finished doing my first breastplate, using mostly this combination and was finishing it but noticed that when it gets wet again the colour leeches off :(. A bit more info: I dyed it with the antique gel, and understand this sits on top instead of sinking into the leather. It would have stood like that for a good week or two while i finished the pieces. I buffed it and there wasn't really any dye coming off anymore, when I sealed it some came off, as is normal i think for the antique gel, but my main concern is that even after a few hours of drying time when i put a wet cloth to it it will still come away brown with the dye meaning the colour is not fully sealed. Is this normal and just a part of antiquing? I did it first with the leather balm until i realised it was leather balm (had mistakingly bought this instead of resolene) I used resolene since but it still comes off. On the parts where I used eco-flo waterstain it is fine, no colour bleeding. Would love some help in understanding what is happening and how to solve it as it would suck if i can never wear it in the rain (I live in Ireland...). More importantly I am hoping to eventually do this for other people and then obviously cannot have this happen. Cheers, Jelle

Hi, I have recently started increasing my leatherworking and as such have been using different dyes and started really embossing leather. Previously I would only have used Eco-Flo gel Antique on embossed leather as it sits nice in the grooves and darkens them. However, having watched several how to videos I am now experimenting with using normal dyes (currently have a Fiebings Waterstain that I am using) and then using a finish to darken the groves of the embossed bits. In the video I watched they used Fiebings Antique Stain finish but I cannot seem to get the black version of that anywhere online for a decent price (I am in Dublin, Ireland). So instead I got Eco-Flo gel antique black as from what I can tell they do the same thing. Here comes my problem, I tried it out on a small piece of leather that I stamped a little, Dyed it green with the waterstain and then applied the gel after it dried and tried to wipe the excess off straight away but it didn't really come off and just left a black smear over the green. I applied it with a dense sponge and wiped it off with a kitchen towel wrapped around a sponge. Am I doing something wrong? Is there a difference between the two antiques and should I keep looking for the fiebings one? Hopefully somebody can help as I really want to start using more colours but the whole idea of embossing is to get that nice dark vs light effect. Cheers, Jelle

Hi, I am posting to see if anybody knows of any place where I could go to learn fantasy or medieval armor leatherworking. Whether this be a paid apprenticeship or working for food & board I don't mind, I am looking for something where I can go for a few months and really practice the craft and learn the ins and outs. I started leatherworking about 2 years ago and found a had a real like and affinity for it. My main problem is that my current lifestyle does not lend itself to learning this myself. As of 2 years ago I left my corporate career to chase one working with animals. For the foreseeable future I will not have a homebase where I can practice my leather craft. This coupled with the fact that I don't learn very well on my own but learn a lot better when I have somebody knowledgeable nearby who I can bounce ideas off and ask questions to every now and then. I also find I am not very interested in making wallets and handbags (which is the majority of modern day leather craft I feel. I realise that what I am looking for is very niche and I have searched the internet countless times but have never been able to find anything like this (aside from Prince Armory but I need a bit more experience to start there) even though I know it is out there. I am hoping somebody here can point me in the right direction. Cheers, Jelle