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@dikman exactly! But let's see, who knows? I get a load of it every fortnight or so. It probably stinks because of attached proteins. Using clear, pure fat might be different. We can always try.

@Leo1995, the die you sent me is good. I used it today. It is sharp and it cut my leather well. The stitching holes are clear and perfect slits and will give beautiful angled stitches. You have a good product there. I have left you a good review on Etsy as well.

God save us from experts!😅 I think i can replicate that. Makes it easier for me. I make my dog's food every few weeks with chicken. She dislikes all other meats. So when I cook the chicken, the fat of course floats on top and I can use that. The boxes I have will be nearly airtight which might not replicate either your friend's experience or that of the woman whose bag I worked on. Maybe I should keep several pieces inside bags in dry, dark areas, enclosed but not air tight. Maybe thick brown paper bags. I think I will try both, in the tins and in bags. Let's see which stinks more. I will also test some vegetable oils known for going rancid.

I could try the chicken fat thing. Exactly how do you use it? Just render it in a pan and use that?

I conditioned the bag with the conditioner from Chemical guys. I used that because it is not oil based. So it does not add more oil to leather that has already been over-oiled. It is conditioned now and looks a little better and smells loads better. I would not recommend D-Limonene for all leathers which smell rancid. This is pretty sturdy veg-tanned leather and while it did get some creases as it dried after the repeated washing and God knows what else was done earlier, the D-Limonene itself did not do much damage, as far as I can see. But it is still a solvent and other leathers might not respond as well. So I would decide on case-by-case basis. I have found a couple of small metal boxes in which to keep the over oiled leather pieces.

I received mine today too. I just opened it. I plan to use in in the next couple of days and then give a proper review, here and on Etsy.

I've been checking the rancid smelling bag. The parts cleaned with D-Limonene are dry now and do not smell rancid. It appears that D-Limonene really helps in removing the smell of rancidity. I am cleaning the rest of the bag today and once dry, conditioning it with a water based conditioner, probably the one by Chemical Guys. I like their conditioner. Not started the rancidity test yet. Probably this week-end or next week.

That is absolutely beautiful! The workmanship, the colors, everything. You are very talented.

I guess. I know they exist. Never had to get one so no clue about pricing.

An interesting practical pattern for a buckle. You should file an International patent Application. It allows you to get protection in multiple countries. Putting it up here, people might already be in the process of copying it. So I would suggest that you hurry up on the application. Things like this are rare and there are, unfortunately, plenty of crooks out there looking for such things. Try to determine how LOXX managed to prevent people copying their design - although something similar is available now on Temu, I believe. I've not seen it though. That is the risk.

@Leo1995 Good to hear this. If this had been mentioned right at the start, people would not have been suspicious. There are far too many scammers around these days. Best of luck in your endeavour. Incidentally, I've placed an order for a die from you and will certainly review it in Etsy and here as well.

Exactly. Most people here do not need a bribe to give helpful information. But the OP did not know that, I guess.

That wording itself suggests that it might be a scam.

Coming back to the rancidity question and the leather bag that I treated with D-Limonene. The section that I treated first and the one that I treated 2 days later, now 8 and 6 days ago, are still smelling of the D-Limonene and the rancid smell has not re-appeared. I live in hope. I have not cleaned the whole bag with D-Limonene as yet because I want to preserve that for comparison. The untreated part smells clearly rancid, and then the cleaned part is a relief to sniff at! I live in hope that it has worked.

Here too, there are plenty of us not making saddles and tacks. It is just that the people consistently active on this site are hardcore leatherworkers, who work with veg-tanned leathers and make saddlery, sheaths etc. or even bags, again with veg tanned leathers. I for one, don't make saddles or tack or anything even remotely horsey or weapon-y, since I neither ride not have weapons. So bags, shoes, caps, sheaths and sundry items it is, for me. If you find any excellent conditioners and cleaners for chrome and oil tanned leathers, please put it up here. I love to try new things.

Neetsfoot oil compound has, I believe, mineral oil or something similar added to it. I guess you will get different brands in Europe and not the same ones here. No reason why they should not work though. Oils and waxes and the petroleum products added to them are the same the world over! There will surely be good ones amongst them. I like the way you are going about it, trying different ones. It's the best way, isn't it? CDM compound is Neetsfoot oil compound, isn't it? CDM oil seems to be something similar. Do you know what the difference is?

It is a good idea to dip the leather in Vinegaroon and then rinse it in running water to remove excess vinegar. Vinegaroon is not a dye and need not be applied like one. Since the color happens because of a chemical reaction, the excess should be rinsed off. With a dip for a few minutes and rinse, the leather does not harden very much. Using Neetsfoot oil before Vinegaroon gets a better color and also prevents much hardening. At least, that is my experience. I use only Vinegaroon to dye my veg-tanned leather black. Neetsfoot oil might soften your hardened leather some. Not sure how much though.

I have been looking up the ingredients and SDS of many leather products and a major proportion have mineral oil or some other petroleum derived products and no harm done. The products advertise the presence of beeswax and other oils and butters which are usually in smaller proportions, banking on the fact that most people do not even know to look at SDS sheets or even read ingredient lists! What have you experimented with up to now, if I might ask?

Oh! I did not think of that! The bag was kept carefully stored inside as well. But from what I read everywhere, exposure to air and oxidation causes rancidity. The periodic opening of the container probably provided additional air and oxygen. I wonder if oxidation happens because of exposure but the results of oxidation remain close to the leather in the enclosed environment and get absorbed into it. Leather is notorious for absorbing smells. Ergo the unpleasant smell of 'old lady bags'. A bit mean, that. All leather bags get that smell regardless of the age of the owner or the sex. About animal fats, I know lanolin and tallow do not go rancid, at least not easily. Neither do neetsfoot oil and mink oil. So raw chicken fat? is that how you will use it? Rendered and then applied? After separating from the roast chicken-to-be? Small individual boxes is a good idea. Should get some from Temu or Amazon Vine if I am lucky. The controls will be similar pieces kept out in the open. I am thinking of trying it on both veg-tanned leather as well as veg tanned oil tanned leather this time. Need to check if any of my stock belongs to the latter category. I will try to note where I got the leather from as well, especially the oil tanned leather. I bet the oils and fats used differ everywhere.

Unfortunately! About what caused the rancidity, I have no idea. She said she used some oils, one of which was olive oil. I think she feels awkward to tell me more. It could be animal fat for all I know. I wonder whether, if we take a piece of leather and douse it repeatedly in a mix of oils, we might get there. But none of the oils we have used have gone rancid. So I really wonder which ones would get that result. It is possible that it is the excess of oils rather than a particular oil that caused the problem. In our experiment, we did not over-oil. We oiled the leathers judiciously. So the oils are well absorbed and not overly exposed to air and light for rancidity to result. But if there is too much of it, then it will stay on the surface and top layers and get exposed and go rancid and smell, I suppose. Also, this seems to be oil tanned leather - so already oil-stuffed. Adding more oil on top of that probably made it worse. Maye a piece of oil tanned leather soaked in oil and left out in light and air might get the same smelly result. I have plenty of oil tanned leather. I will try that once it stops raining. I an wondering which oil or oils to use.

In continuation of the attempt to remove the rancid smell from the leather bag, I tried the baking soda but not for too long as I was worried it would irreversibly damage the leather. I then applied pure D-limonene on it, in one section, left it on for a minute, then cleaned it out. I cleaned it out with my all purpose cleaner of which D-Limonene is an ingredient. Once wiped, I let it dry. This was about a week ago. I cleaned a second section 4 days ago. Both sections are still free of the rancid smell, so I live in hope. I will report here on how effective D-Limonene is in removing rancid smells from leather and the condition of the leather at the end of it. This is sidetracking a little from the original aim of this thread but since rancidity was a concern when starting it, I though this is the correct place to record this as well. In an aside, there is talk of mineral oil being occlusive. So is petroleum jelly (more so, in fact) and waxes and butters that people swear by, as well as other oils. The occlusive nature is what preserves the leather and keeps it soft and supple. Else it would dehydrate pretty fast. All those companies online which cleverly knock down everything but what is in their own products are a bane. People parrot what is said without realizing this and a myth is born and myths are far more persistent than truth. Another is that mineral oil 'chases' out other oils from leather fibres. Since Mineral oil mixes well with other oils, I wonder how that is possible.

Have you checked with Google lens or even with a photograph on Google?

Exactly!

Yes, all the boots are so beautiful! I can only imagine the work that went into making them. You cannot put a value to such art. I am delighted with the books. They have so much information on saddlery in one and boots and boot making and makers in the other, with gorgeous photographs. I might not make boots or saddles but I can certainly appreciate and admire talent and these artists have it in spades.

I picked up couple of books last week-end - both by Tyler Beard. One of them is a book about saddles and saddlery, and its makers and history. The other is about Cowboy Boots and everything about them. What I like in this book is the 'Anatomy of a boot', clearly shown. For those of use not used to using cowboy boots, this is new. It certainly is, to me. So I thought I would put up the photograph of that here, for anyone on this forum who, like me, does not have this information.