SUP

I am making that hand from The Addam's family for Halloween for my daughter. She wants it to look relatively newly chopped off, so it needs to have a color like skin and bleeding, maybe a little early putrefaction. I am making it with veg-tanned leather, so it is naturally skin colored. I plan to apply neatsfoot oil so it will darken a little. Before that I need to decide on how to color it. What type of paint should I use for this? Acrylics was suggested but they would be shiny and not look very natural, isn't it? Alcohol based Dyes? Can they be painted on? Or are there other types of paints or dyes that I could use? Any suggestions would be appreciated.

The tall one looks even better.. I think the proportions make it look mor elegant.

@fredk @Frodo This is just in time for me. Saw a pattern for a key holder with a concho snap and wondered where to get one and then read this. Nice. Thank you.

LOL. Oh yes! @fredk Great idea. Good for gifts. Hand made and unusual as well. @Gezzer You have hit upon a winning idea.

@chuck123wapati If you insist on being a grumpus each time you are awake at 4.00a.m. why unload on this forum? Go outside and yell and stomp around a bit. It will decrease tensions until your coffee is ready and will not be offensive to anyone. Now back to the topic of the lovely candle-holders. @Sheilajeanne thank you for clarifying that it was someone you knew whose table was damaged by tealights, but you know about it and warned about it. That was nice. @Heartless You are perfectly right, about making different sizes as well about the care to take. Different sizes in complementary colors are going to look stunning!

@fredk yes those are really nice and convenient. I use them too. But I also need real candles for other reasons. And @chuck123wapati nothing silly about wanting to be safe and people are talking about personal experiences; not conjecture. If @Sheilajeanne's table burned, it is possible others have faced that as well and just been more careful about it from then on, without making a big issue about it, like Sheila Jeanne did not until this subject came up and she mentioned it, which is so nice of her. I, for one, rather hear about possible dangers than have people say " I should have told you' after I face a problem. I'm sure you feel the same. Leather gloves are used by welders and blacksmiths usually cowhide which are believed to be able to withstand temperatures of up to 500 degrees C and of course, resist sparks and electric currents. Elk is good as well, I believe. So leather is probably fire resistant and as long as we make our holders of cow leather or elk and don't let the wax run down the side and catch fire (does it do that?), we should be fine. Now I think that is enough from me on matters other than the lovely candle holders. Will make them as soon as I make some Halloween things for my daughter! Those, and the candle holders are exciting projects and short ones too. @Gezzer, I will put up photographs if I manage to make them reasonably well. If I don't put them up, you can take it to mean that I messed them up.

@Sheilajeanne, I did not think of that! None of mine have ever burnt down. Usually they burn down about halfway in the center and then refuse to stay lighted in the liquid wax, so I throw them away, or rather, store the wax for my wax punch surfaces. My glass holders are from Ikea. I use their unscented candles. I have no idea what will happen if the entire candle burns down though. They are plain transparent glass, which is why I want to make these lovely leather holders. I think I will let one candle burn down in its glass holder and see what happens. I do not want to damage a leather holder that I take the pains to make.

@Sheilajeanne thank you for that warning. I do not normally use tea lights and this is a further reason not to do so, since I always forget them until they die out. I plan to make these holders a little bigger for the small glass candle holders which I normally use and which are very plain. I always collect small bowls everywhere I go and place my candles in them. I need them, forgetful that I am.

I was just telling my husband how touched I was that @Gezzer took the trouble to give such clear instructions to make the beautiful candle holder he designed and made. We talked about how nice people are, in general, in this forum and my husband said something very significant. To quote: "If people form an opinion about the world on the basis of the nature of the people in this forum, they are in for a rude shock when they interact with the world outside." So true! I feel blessed that I found this forum!

@Gezzer thank you! Your explanation is very clear. Can't wait to make this!

@Gezzer maybe you could include a slight rim around the edge so that if the candle is lifted, the melted wax will not overflow onto someone's hands? I love this pattern though. Do you think you could share the pattern?

You could try using a non-oily conditioner first. I think chemical guys conditioner is one such - being water based, it might restore some of the moisture. Follow it up with something like neatsfoot oil or anything that will retain moisture. Not sure this will work but could be worth a try.

I vote for the leather strap.

@Gump I found the pattern pack. Thank you for directing me there and sorry about the very delayed response.

Yes, mine have curled up a little too, all of them. Will see what happens over the days.

That's really nice. I like the colors.

Oops! if orange oil does NOT show damage, I will use it undiluted, else diluted with mineral oil.

I do not know about the Vergez Blanchard but I have a Henckel and that works well for me - I use leather up to 6oz. so no idea how it would work for heavier leather. Frankly, I increasingly only use a Stanley knife and a round knife for most cutting these days, using the scissors only for the odd corner that might not be completely detached. Using a scissors, I find, does not give me as smooth a cut line as a knife does but that might just be that I am not cutting correctly with the scissors..

Welcome to the forum. This is exactly how I felt as well, when I discovered this forum.

You will need much longer than a week to learn enough about tanning to actually do it yourself, unless you get a person to actually guide you through the process.

@fredk I like the idea of the different numbers of holes. I will do the same. I think you have covered everything. I am using 5 oz leather, cut into 3 inch squares. Also using coconut oil instead of Sesame seed oil. I want to check if the rancid smell disappears or can be masked. So I am testing 4 oils - neatsfoot oil, mink oil, coconut oil and mineral oil. Planning to also check the effects of orange oil - I have the food grade variety and use it for all my cleaning. Very effective. Want to know its effects on leather as well. I will use it undiluted on one piece and if it does show damage in a week, since it is a solvent, I will use it undiluted, else will dilute it with mineral oil. I applied the oils with a kitchen paper towel. 1/4 tsp was just about right for the 3X3 inch pieces. The control pieces are all with my rolls of leather, in the house - temp controlled, humidity controlled, at least relatively. The ones in the car that I use regularly, I am keeping in an open box, exposed to light and darkness, heat and cold, car movement. And whatever else there is in the car! Outside, they are also kept in a box, on paper towels, exposed to the elements. In the garage, they are kept in a flat layer in an open box. I keep all my information on my computer in an Excel spreadsheet.

@TomE Thank you! That is a lot of information.

@chuck123wapati yes of course that is true. But then, that is why some chefs' food is much preferred over that of others. And of course tannins are not the only thing that affect the quality of leather! Not rocket science either to know that! It could be one of the things that affect quality though, along with other things. My question is just whether the quantity of tannins affects the quality of the leather or not. What @TomEstated above suggests that depth and extent of bonding may differ as well. So this might be a more complex answer than I expected! TomE's articles and the earlier one sent by @ArkieNewbie could provide that answer.

@TomE Could you please post them? I would love to read about it.

@Littlef Actually, I did not seal the leather before dyeing it with vinegaroon. I cleaned it with saddle soap like I usually do and no, repeated treatment with vinegaroon did not help. I tried that as well. I do apply neatsfoot oil oil after the dye, always. It does darken of course, but I cannot depend on it. These were always trials on scraps of leather, which I always do before I actually dye the piece I am working on, so I could adjust accordingly. @chuck123wapati I absolutely agree about it not being rocket science. I can read the process up but my question is about whether the quantity of tannins differs in good quality and average quality lather. @ArkieNewbie thank you for that. I will read the article. When working with leather, there is so much time to think that all sorts of questions come up!