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I'll be starting to make sandals in a week. The front strap will be an inch and a half wide where it crosses over the big toe's knuckle and one inch wide over the little toe's knuckle. These are the bony protrusions over the ball of the foot and the little ball of the foot. The strap slots will be curved to be parallel with the edge of the sandal. I want to treat the leather with something to make it conform to the shape of these knuckles. I'll be using 8 ounce veg tan for men and 6 ounce for women, an Italian luxury veg tan for the ladies. I had heard I could tell my customers to brush saddle soap and water into the straps before wearing them, and I wonder if that's a good idea and if there's something better? I'll be stitching along the edges, about 1/8" in, to help resist stretching, but it would be great if the central portion of the strap between the stitch lines could bulge a bit to accommodate the tops of those balls. Generally I would like to know what I can do to make the top sole and straps soft and supple, and to prevent cracking teen years later. The top will be shoulder veg tan, 10 ounce. I have another, different, question. If I use 10 ounce shoulder for the bottom sole, glue and stitch the three layers (28 ounces total, equal to 7/16"), and then glue an 1/8" thick layer of gum rubber to that, do you think the sandal would protect the foot from walking on gravel? Or should I use veg tan bend (grain roughed off for two coats of glue)? Does anyone on here make custom sandals? Thanks in advance. My Cobra 26 arrives a week from tomorrow, and I'll finish the six drawers of my work bench maybe tomorrow. After that I'll unbox all my tools into the drawers and onto their fronts, and then start making some sandals. Patrick PS The front strap can be adjusted because the narrow end passes through a channel in the midsole and becomes one of the two other straps that are adjustable by a Conway buckle. I can't figure out how to get this picture appear.

I made an 8-strand braided belt and want to add a sheen, not shine. I have already conditioned each lace but thought a little more over the finished might add to suppleness, then add edgecoat and buff. Any advice on this?

I have just been reading the many threads here regarding a leather conditioner recipe as I want to create my own. A widely used one here seems to be a mix of neatsfoot oil and beeswax. I have come up with a list of possible ingredients and would love to hear the pros and cons of each as some seem to be very controvesial. Beeswax Lanolin neatsfoot oil Tallow Carnauba wax turpentine cod liver oil Vitamin e eucalyptus oil tea tree oil Then to further complicate things (or just for some interesting reading) I came upon this article from the National Park Service Leather Dressing: To Dress or Not to Dress Would love to hear your comments. I have found a local source for beeswax. As of this moment that is the only ingredient I am 100% sure that I will be using.

I was just given a full back, hair-on horse hide from a friend. Seen many different hides but never a horse! It still has the mane and tail on it and everything. Kind of creepy as I have one of my own and she is very alive. But still pretty cool never the less. Anyways it was given to my friend by her neighbor (it was her prize show horse who she had skinned after it died) who was moving and decided to give it away for some reason. Don’t think I want to hang it on my wall like she did but I do want to make it look somewhat nice again. It’s super dry and is pretty warped. Some of the edges are very brittle and tearing. It is now in a big box that it was kinda just shoved into for what seems to be a little bit of time as it’s kinda crumpled up. I was just wondering the best way to condition it? I know there’s some hydrating spray type leather products out there for cow hide rugs. Not sure how expensive they are but I really don’t want to spend a ton of money on this thing if possible. It doesn’t have to look perfect I just want to try to spruce it back up a bit. What is the cheapest way to do this do you think? I left it at my friends so I will post some pics of it tomorrow. Thanks!

I am a beginner to leatherworking, I just made my first belt last night. The belt was not dyed, I went through all the processes, including edge beveling/burnishing with water, gum trag on the back, finishing with acrylic resolene, and then applying obenaufs leather preservative as a conditioner. My question is, do I really need to apply a finish? I would have liked the belt to be a bit darker, which im sure obenaufs would have achieved, had I not put a finish on before hand. Would just skipping the acrylic resolene finish, and just putting the conditioner on affect anything? Sorry if this has already been discussed, I wasn't able to find any information on it in the forums. Thanks.

Is the product commonly referred to as "Saddle Soap" actually bad for leather? I came across a few web articles on saddle soap while researching a related topic which were news to me. "No Saddle Soap Please!" http://www.autogeek.net/nosasopl.html "Saddle Soap Truths - A Century of Deception?" http://voices.yahoo.com/saddle-soap-truths-97557.html Thoughts and comments ?

Greetings from California! I'm on a hunt to find the most practical, durable, and functional pair of boots for hiking/outdoor living. Still trying to understand all that I can about the leather, I believe I understand most of what I should know about shoe designs. Finished Leather boot: http://www.redwingheritage.com/boots#&f=&m=/detail/9016-heritage-us/9016-red-wing-heritage-mens-beckman-boot-cigar Unfinished Leather boot: http://www.redwingshoes.com/red-wing-shoe/899-red-wing-shoes/899-red-wing-mens-8-inch-boot-brown What I'm looking for is the leather that will have the most longevity (through maintenance, of course), will stand up to the elements better (dry heat, snow, heavy rain, sloshing through puddles, snow), and will of course just endure the everyday wear and tear. Also, a side question about conditioning leather; Whats the word on using petroleum jelly to waterproof either finished or unfinished leather? (In case of dire situations where proper oils and treatments are not available)

Hello good people, I've had a request for an apron from a friend of a friend. He has stipulated that the apron will be used at both a timber mill and a foundry. The problem I face is finding the right type of leather. Neither the customer or my self are overly concerned about the conditions at the mill, it is what the apron will face when used at the foundry (I assume it is a small semi-commercial set up). While the usual chrome tan apron split will be OK at the mill the customer wants something more durable for the conditions at the foundry. I believe that a chrome tan leather would be more durable than a veg tan given the conditions, but I then have concerns over the conditioning (neatsfoot oil etc.) of chrome tan over veg tan. Any and all suggestions are welcome on type of leather and method of finishing. Cheers Andrew

I picked up a leather school bag rather inexpensively, it's good size, and in decent condition. The seam on on side needs restitched, but my real concern is conditioning the leather. It's hardened, and of course I'm sure it should be hard given the nature of the bag, but the color and feel of the leather is--off. I want to clean it, but I've never cleaned any leather of this age before. I'm guessing the bag is within twenty years of age by it's hardware. I've read a few things suggesting saddle soap, but I've also heard some suggestions for Pecard and some for vinegar and water. There are no troubling odors, just an odd feel to the leather and the color is--well the color is not ideal. So I'm also wondering if I can overdye it, but I've never overdyed leather before. I've posted a couple pictures. I'm just a bit at a loss with all of the varying information I've found thus far.

I recently fell into the leather crafting world by telling myself it would be easier to just make the item than purchase one. $300 + dollars later in tools and supplies I engaged in making a custom pair of suspenders for my job ( Fire Dept.) I finished my first pair last night but I have doubts about the type of dye I used. Here are a few questions I have.. I originally bought the Eco-flo Pro water stain with an eco flo gloss finish... I ended up finding a deal on the Eco-Flo all in one prairie tan quart ($14 quart) and decided to use the tan with a black letter inlay. I used the water stain black to dye the letters, and used the all in one prairie tan to cover the suspenders. I had issues getting a nice even coat, they came out a bit streaky, and had some dark sports on them ( i figure out it was from letting the dye sit to long before wiping it off) My main worry is the dye bleeding for rubbing off while im using them.. its obvious that firefighter suspenders will come in contact with a lot of sweat and moisture. 1. How do you think the "all in one" will hold up over time? 2. Is there something else I can apply over it ( another gloss coat) or something to keep it from bleeding or rubbing off. ( i did dye both sides) 1st attempt was kind of messy and I didnt cover the back side before applying the dye and I decided to jsut go ahead and finish the under ( rookie mistake )I was originally jsut gonna do the sides and top . 3. Is there a way to condition the leather prior to stamping and dyeing to make the leather not as stiff? Or is there a way to condition it after, once the dye gloss has been added? I know they will break in eventually, but I wasn't sure if there was a way to make them more comfortable first time around

Hi Everyone, I know there are some posts about finishing and conditioning belts, but I am still having a hard time finding the answers I need. First I want to explain what we are currently doing when making our belts. We use a 1.5" 8-9 oz, and we cut them to size and punch all the holes. After everything is punched and skived we dip the belt in Fiebings oil dye. Once that is dry we use Oakwood leather conditioner to soften and waterproof the leather. We rub this product in and work the belt quite a bit to make sure everything is soaked in and the desired flexibility is met. After the conditioner we use Tuff Kote, a clear coat that we also use on our holsters. Here is the problem, the Oakwood conditioner and the Tuff Kote are not working very well together. It is making the belts sticky and the Tuff Kote is not setting correctly. We decided recently to try and not use any conditioner. So basically we are trying now to just dye the belts, which after drying leaves them very stiff. But if you work with the leather it will become somewhat soft again, and then we just put the Tuff Kote clear on them. However I am afraid this is not sealing and waterproofing the belt enough, especially the back side which is touching peoples clothing directly. The last thing we want are dye bleeding issues. Just wondering if anyone has any advice or a preferred process and/or products that you use on your belts. Anything would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Scott