Klara

I just read in a LeatherMasterclass blog article that at the same thickness chrome tanned leather is lighter in weight. Which could be important for a rather big bag you want to carry around for some time.

It's quite possible Jessica Jahiel has never actually seen pure neatsfoot oil. Or she saw some in winter, at 20 below.... Smell is also relative. In any case, the leather oil I have here from tack-oiling days clearly states "neatsfoot oil compound" and talks about a blend (with vegetable oils) in the description on the back (orange bottle by Carr, Day and Martin). It also promises not to rot the stitches... Deco-cuir sell a yellow liquid that is supposedly pure nfo and they only warn that it will become stiff at low temperatures and recommend to heat it when crystals are forming. Regarding recorders, I have never read nor heard a recommendation to add Vitamin E to the oil. That idea doesn't seem to have crossed the Atlantic yet...

In case anybody wants to know, almond oil and olive oil have been used for centuries on recorders (the wind instrument) without ever one going "rancid". Hardening of the surface, due to oxidisation, would be desirable in a recorder, however. Except that these two oils are not famous for doing so - that would be linseed oil (which oxidises so much that it is generally not used by players, only by some makers). Incidentally, are you sure you are using pure neatsfoot oil and where do you find it? Over 10 years ago I read the following advice by Jessica Jahiel in her horse sense newsletter: "These days, what you see in almost all containers labeled "neatsfoot oil" is NOT pure neatsfoot oil at all, but a compound full of oils and solvents and perfumes... all additives that damage leather. I know several riders who truly believe that they use neatsfoot oil on their tack, but I've seen the products they use, and it isn't what they believe it to be. It's a fairly thin, oily liquid with a strong but not horribly unpleasant smell - nice to use, but not at all like genuine neatsfoot oil. One fellow uses it on his boots, and is in the habit of oiling his boots and bridles in the kitchen. He wouldn't be able to do this with the real product. Real neatsfoot oil is something that you couldn't use in your house unless everyone there had a wicked bad head cold. Real, pure, un-messed-with neatsfoot oil stinks. It's also very thick - technically it's a liquid, but if you're holding a jar upside down waiting for the last little bit of real neatsfoot oil to crawl out of it, you can wait a long time before anything happens..." (http://www.horse-sense.org/archives/20050911124635.php )

kop4 wrote that we should keep oxygen, i. e. air out: "Oxygen messes with this system. Obviously there is oxygen in the atmosphere and dissolved in your solution, and this can oxidize the iron ions – it will take them from the 2+ state to the 3+ state. Fe3+ or iron(III) is NOT what we want, because it is orange and gross and not soluble in water. If this forms, it creates an orange/brown powdery solid that sinks to the bottom of the jar. To prevent the oxidation of the iron in solution, we need to keep the pH LOW and keep the oxygen out of the system as much as possible – by not pouring or shaking the solution. " But I admit that I was to lazy to find the air lock so I did just leave the lid on loosely. And I don't think that's the problem - but there is a problem: After 24 hours the solution just doesn't dye. One leather gets a very light grey touch, the other nothing. Maybe I didn't use enough steel wool? Does anybody have a ratio of steel to vinegar?

Why wouldn't it? There we want hydrogen to get out and oxygen to not get in - seems a very similar situation to me (not a reason to buy an air lock, but I should have one lying around ftom my mother's wine making attempts). @kop4 Thanks for the write-up! I didn't find it boring at all and will likely try it in the near future

As somebody who has been perfectly happy with her kitchen for the past 20 years I have a solution to that problem: Find a way to provisionally furnish the space in the way you think will work best and work there for some time. Also, get good quality furniture - the best you can afford. I didn't for my wood workshop and I get annoyed every time I open one of the shitty drawers. Which isn't all that often, fortunately. But still, if I had spent more I would have forgotten the cost by now but I would still have decent furniture... @LatigoAmigo Great solution! I'll try to keep it in mind for when I need something like it!

Firstly, I was not criticising you, but giving you credit for the search. I'm criticising the search results, or rather the people who make knife rolls that I consider dangerous to use. Secondly, my sister's knives were in a hardcase, not a roll (she's a trained chef, and yes, my mother was shocked by the price of the knives). I admit that visible blades might make it easier to choose a knife, but I wouldn't want to grab a sharp knife by its blade, with more blades next to it. I'd also figure that having the blades in individual sheaths would protect them even better. And you could shape each sheath like the knife that goes into it, so one would still see which knife is where. Now I almost want to make a knife roll... Except I have strictly no need for one. A belt sheath for my Opinel would be more useful.

If it was cheap and is soft it is very probably chrome tanned and most of the information on "leatherwork" on the Internet doesn't apply.

JH Leather has videos on making an English bridle on Youtube.

I agree, that seems the logical way to do it to me, hence my above reference to Hansaplast (they make plasters etc.)

Why do most of the knife rolls in mrwatch's search have the handle in a pocket and the blade free? Sponsored by Hansaplast? What I would be tempted to do, but I don't know whether I could pull it off (I'm not even sure whether it would make sense) is to have three sheaths in the upper half, handle pointing down, and three sheaths in the lower half, handle pointing up. The aim being to even out the bulk of the handles.

My horse tack always dried out much too quickly, but I couldn't give you a time. I would wipe the suspenders off with absorbant paper and then hang them up to dry out of direct sunlight. And then wait for a few days to see what happens...

You very probably have chrome-tanned leather, not the veg-tanned that is used in most videos. (Or your beveler is not sharp enough..)

First I thought, "lots of work for a few scratches" but then it came that you are probably transferring intricate designs to leather for tooling, aren't you? Congratulations for finding the solution to your problems! Sadly I don't have any suggestions, because I only ever do a few scratches for cutting, and I use a simple "automatic sewing" awl for that. Or a doffer stick that came with my drum carder. My diamond awl handle has flattened sides so as not to roll on the table and I filed it down until it fit my hand.

I think - somebody please correct me if I'm wrong - that burnishing works well for leathers that are natural colour or died through. Or where you don't mind if the edge is a different colour. If you do mind, edge paint is the way to go (would leather dye and burnishing work? The sales woman said no, but maybe she wanted to sell edge paint or maybe my question was not clear). And only fairly stiff, thick leathers can be burnished. I've also thought, but maybe I'm wrong, that edge paint was just a product like Tokonole, which one applied prior to polishing. In other words, first one applies a clear or coloured substance, depending on the look one wants, and then elbow grease for shine.

No, but I'm starting to believe they are immortal (Highlander-style): Unless you cut off the head (or destroy it with a good wack), they rise again...

I've glued the flesh (rough) side to the wood and rubbed the honing compound to the hair side (smooth). I have a grey strop and a green one (Dialux as well) but mostly use the green.

Had to look up the Travelall and I have no idea how big their door panels were, but I still could see black on black flowers as part of a bag or briefcase...

Why? Just look at the belt dying mistake thread... I could see the panel either multicoloured or all black as YinTx suggested, depending on what you want to use it for.

Do NOT use double-sided adhesive tape from a leather shop. It is meant for sticking leather together prior to sewing and won't pull off cleanly. Guess how I found that out?

Actually, would a swivel knife be necessary for long straight lines? I am asking as somebody who hasn't done any tooling. But from what I've read the swivel knife is necessary for small cuts, curves, precision work? I don't have one and am trying to not buy any tools for a while. But I could cut with a kitchen knife and bevel with a screwdriver, maybe?

If you want to hunt flies, come over here...

Yes, I see. Your leather must be more flexible than mine, but this black plastic-coated sh*t is firstly easy to clean, secondly good enough to practice with and thirdly I'll be happy to use it up...

I like your corners on the square tray! What shape did you cut them? The best shape I found yesterday was to round them off, but the result is very different from yours: I don't mind that the angles won't be as sharp as if it was a wooden tray - I could always make a wooden tray if I wanted sharp angles and corners. And if I made a small stuff bowl in felt, it would be even more rounded...

A single layer of veg tan split leather won't be square or straight either, as I found out yesterday. But it does the job...