Brushpopper

Hi, Twin Oaks. The leather is veg. tan tooling leather. The item is a holster. Exposure to the elements could be considerable! Your thoughts would be welcome....

Is neatsfoot oil or olive oil enough of a finish for leather?

Thanks, guys. Maybe it would be possible to remove the shrinkage before cutting, by wetting the leather and leaving a little slack around the edges. (?)

Does casing and dip-dyeing leather cause shrinking? What do you folks think?

I cut pretty accurately but even so I need to use a Dremel 300 with a small sanding drum to get a satisfactory main holster seam. The Dremel is great - you have good control with it.

Thanks Kate, Bruce and Kevin for the advice. I'll try both Bick 4 and Lexol.

Hi folks - Is there a conditioner that will not darken leather?

Thanks for the reply, Chuck. Some of your holsters that are dyed with coffee would have an exposed flesh side. Do you seal that to stop the coffee rubbing off on clothes? I dyed a holster with tea once and noticed a week or two later that some of it was staining my pants.

Thanks for all the terrific advice. I have some Fiebing's thinner. Is that the same as denatured alcohol?

If you have carved or stamped the leather, does letting it steep in tea or coffee, maybe overnight, affect the crispness of the tooling? Also, Chuck, (if you're listening!) - did you use sealer on the flesh side of those terrific cuffs?

Thanks Art and Esantoro. That's just the sort of advice I'm looking for. I've never heard of Bick 4: I'll look into it.

Hi all - I'm a newbie leatherworker. Forgive me if this an old subject. I can't apply the dye evenly. I case the leather with water overnight in a ziplock bag, then let it return nearly to its original color and then dip-dye. I wipe the leather of excess dye and let it dry. The leather comes out uneven: sometimes dark, sometimes mottled. I have the feeling that it's the Dye-Prep I use to deglaze that's the problem. I use it neat. Is that right or wrong? Is there another way of deglazing that won't cause these problems? It's driving me nuts! All assistance gratefully accepted.