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Craftool Pro Edge Dye Roller machine. I might be able to get one but I am wondering if it works well. Does it use a lot of dye? Is it practical for the hobbyist? I would love to hear from people who are using it or have used it.

@Double Daddy, this is a good find. These days I find that often, Amazon does not always have the lowest prices. If it is a couple of dollars difference, I consider it a convenience tax! LOL

@BigDogPaul1962 that is a really good comparison of prices that you have done. Thank you for sharing that. I usually go to Tractor Supply Co. and did not realize that Walmart is often cheaper. Now, I will not feel comfortable buying anything without making a similar comparison! LOL.

@Handstitched everything has its advantages and disadvantages. Free medical treatment, free education etc. all have their downside as well, just like our paid systems here. Nothing is every really free, is it?

What @fredk says is so true. Besides, earlier it was just a matter of what people knew in their own locality and shared with each other. Now, we get knowledge from around the world. They undoubtedly use other products as well, do things in other ways. There is so much to learn, so much more to know.

@fredk I agree. @bruce johnson that's true. I am beginning to think that oils from recent organic sources - animal and plant oils - penetrate better and therefore give better lubrication, while extracts from long ago organic sources - fossil fuel derivatives - remain more on the surface - ergo the smooth texture, uniform color and water resistance. Differences in organic structure probably. I have forgotten much of my organic chemistry. An organic chemist here might be able to give a better insight. I might be wrong about this as well, so if anyone knows, please correct me.

Neatsfoot oil compound seems to be a mix of neatsfoot oil and mineral oils of different types, from the MSDS, not silicones, as many people online seem to insist. Others say it has lanolin and mink oil, both more expensive than pure neatsfoot oil. If it were these two ingredients, the price of Neatsfoot oil compound would be higher than pure Neatsfoot oil, which it is not. Mineral oils and other petroleum derivatives are much cheaper than Neatsfoot oil and bring down the price. I suspect it is as simple as that.

Oh. He's from Australia - of course. In that case, they are probably smaller. He has mentioned mm as well. I should have looked more closely. @SteveOz sorry about that. Since these strap holder staples are from watch straps, they will be a different size from those used for belts. Someone who makes watch straps should best be able to guide you. There are many of them on this site. If they have not spoken up, maybe you could modify your title of the thread to reflect this - if that is possible?

The ones I received from 2 different sources, as staples for belt keepers are much more flimsy though - from Tandy and Amazon. His look a lot sturdier than mine and mine are smaller than 1 inch.

I see. These are thicker and a little larger than the the belt keeper staples. Hmmm. They might be called something else.

@toxo thank you.

Yes. @toxo It took me a while to find that name too. Where did you find them?

Oh That's beautiful @Sheilajeanne.The colors and pattern on both bags. Love that green and red.

The ones you have shown @SteveOz are the same items as those suggested by others here. The manufacturer might be different. . You could check different sellers until you get the exact shape and size that you need. You know what it is called, so that will help. Most leather stores have them in some form.

About stamping, you could spray water just sufficiently to penetrate no more than half way through the layer being stamped. Just look at the edges to get an idea. The back should remain dry. It works for me. For a spray bottle, I find that the delayed sprayer that Tandy sells is really useful. It gives more control. When dyeing, this is what I do. It might help. Stamped or not, I let the leather dry completely, A thin layer of Neatsfoot oil. I let that dry completely for a few hours at least. Apply a diluted dye. Dry. Buff lightly to remove surface dye. Repeat dyeing step if darker color needed. Buff. A resist like Pro-resist. A resist prevents further dyeing of the leather. So I try to keep it out of the stamped areas. Dry. Finally, the antiquing paste, rubbed into the stamped sections and then wiped off to remove it completely from the rest of the leather but left in place in the stamped depressions. Dry. Buff, and then apply a finish like Satin Shene. You can try to do a reverse if you have a light hand, if you want a really dark background. This is where the stamped sections remain undyed or light and the rest of the leather is dyed darker. This is tricky to do though. There are threads for both techniques on this forum, from people who are much more experienced, who can give much more valuable insight. For your darker dye, you could contrast with light thread - beautiful stitching can be as decorative as stamps.

That is lovely @Sheilajeanne . Thank you! That is what I wanted to know. The texture on your leather is just like on those gorgeous old bags too.

You need to do antiquing. That is where you dye the leather one color, apply a resist and then apply an antiquing paste, which is essentially a darker dye. You rub in the antiquing dye so that it gets into the stamped parts and shows it up clearly.. Search for 'antiquing' on this forum. you will find plenty of threads providing specific instructions. If you don't want to go down that route, you can just apply neatsfoot oil or coconut oil (both lightly) and keep the leather pieces in the sun. That darkens the leather beautifully and the stamped patterns might be clear as well.

Yep. Knowledge is never wasted - I told my professor that once when I was a student when he found me reading a completely different subject. Made an enemy that day. LOL Incidentally that is not 'my' experiment. Others play as much a part, from @fredk , who is also conducting the experiment, @chuck123wapati who had started as well to those who give their input from their knowledge. Any input from you is welcome too.

LOL. That's me! Always disappearing down rabbit holes - the older the better. That's the fun of it! New ones too though. Check my experiment on the effects of different oils on leather.

E-string. I will remember that. I think I will just try to learn this technique on some thick leather that I have. I don't need to make footwear for that. It is nice to think that I am learning techniques that have been done for centuries. A lot of leatherwork is of course as old as well. New tools and techniques are easy to purchase and use and convenient too. But it is things like this that make leatherwork so much more fascinating, for me.

Thank you. @Aven. I learn such unexpected things on this forum, it's wonderful! I've been looking up boar bristles, to see if they are available. Not that I am anywhere close to even thinking of making shoes but its good to know. Found one seller on Etsy and one on eBay. There should be more since boar bristles are used for other things as well.

Thank you @Aven I'll look at the video. Thank you, @DJole and @Dwight for your guidance as well.

@Aven Is that used these days? Boar's bristles as needles?

@Aven, Yes, I believe so.

It burns when I put a lighter to it. Burns down the length of the piece that I cut. No. That is wrong. I think it melts and leaves a small amount of firm black residue which would not happen with natural fibre. Natural fibre would leave ash. This thread burns up so fast, initially I thought it burnt up but now when I look, it has left a firm black residue. So synthetic fibre.