Members pikefish Posted December 2, 2022 Members Report Posted December 2, 2022 (edited) Hi, First post here, great little community this forum, Ive been reading lots and drooling over many peoples amazing work. Im Dean and Im from Australia. So I thought Id test my skills at making a dog collar. A big "F" for fail me thinks, but I learnt a bit and had loads of fun. Any tips or ideas greatly appreciate! I started with Torino 3.6mm + 1.6 natural veg tan leather, looks nice but I dont really have a clue... My process was as follows, I cut two pecies of leather to size, dyed top piece, added a tiny neatfoots oil on a rag and applied to top and bottom layers. Then glued them together with leather cement, stiched them up, burnished edges with ro water, painted edges with fiebing edge coat the used ge-wy to protect. Looked amazing, but still needed a few finishing touches, im going to dye dee holder thing black and add another keeper. I didnt take pics as it wasnt finished and couldn't wait to see how it fitted on my dog. Shes a pup, loves the bush(like me) and took off to show her mates! Kangaroos are her favorite, just love playing chase, would never hurt them. 2 hours of her running a muck she came home with her collar looking like it was 20 years old! Lol Maybe this leather is too soft for this use? Or did using neatfoot cause me problems? I was hoping this would look good for years, not till i put it on my dog... Thanks in advanced! Edited December 2, 2022 by pikefish ge-wy, i called it deewhy... Quote
CFM tsunkasapa Posted December 3, 2022 CFM Report Posted December 3, 2022 As someone who has sled dogs, let me tell you, dogs will totally trash your best work. I had a malemute/mastiff cross that could break every commercial collar out there. The ones that I made last 1-2 years. I would say your work held up fairly well all in all. Quote Hoka Hey! Today, tomorrow, next week, what does it matter?
Members TomE Posted December 3, 2022 Members Report Posted December 3, 2022 Looks very sturdy and well done. The most noticeable wear is on the edge where the dye is missing. I haven't used Edge Kote but it looks like it didn't penetrate the leather - similar to edge paint? I use Pro Dye for edges. I burnish with canvas and water then dye the edge and burnish again with canvas. For some items, I seal the edge with hot beeswax using an edge iron. It's not shiny like edge paint but the wax penetrates the leather and I think its a good choice for outdoor items like tack that need cleaning and maintenance. The JH Leather videos on Youtube cover a lot of collar construction methods. Quote
Members pikefish Posted December 3, 2022 Author Members Report Posted December 3, 2022 Thanks for replies! I sanded the edges back, dyed them, burnished them and done the wax trick. I also added few bits to tidy it up, couldn't find 32 Dee's so used a 25 I had and made up a dog bone keeper. Pics added... Will see how long this lasts, lol. Crazy the damage they get from running though the srub! Quote
Members Hags Posted December 3, 2022 Members Report Posted December 3, 2022 The first attempt is always has the steepest learning curve. My lab has a plain piece of natural veg tan she's worn for a bit over a year now. It looks like I dyed it dark brown! Nice work and welcom to the addition! Quote Not so retired RN. Living on the Washington Peninsula.
CFM chuck123wapati Posted December 3, 2022 CFM Report Posted December 3, 2022 lol that's what dogs do. Your work is great and you have a fun dog no doubt. don't sweat it just make a backup for when company comes lol. Quote Worked in a prison for 30 years if I aint shiny every time I comment its no big deal, I just don't wave pompoms. “I won’t be wronged, I won’t be insulted, and I won’t be laid a hand on. I don’t do these things to other people, and I require the same from them.” THE DUKE!
Members Klara Posted December 4, 2022 Members Report Posted December 4, 2022 The collar does no longer look new - so what? That does not mean it will continue to degrade at the same rate. In any case, I'd make a new one where the D-ring is between the two layers of leather (or behind the buckle, or wherever Jo from JH Leather puts them - I second the video recommendation). Quote
Members pikefish Posted December 4, 2022 Author Members Report Posted December 4, 2022 Klara, Id use rope or chain if i didnt care how it looked or fitted. Its gotta look good or its not any good to me. I thought leather when done correctly was alot more durable outdoors than my collar... Tsunkasapa, id love to play sled dogs one day! Any pics of your collars? You must water resist them well, i think wet srub help destroy my edges? Im going to make a backup soon for more practice. Thanks for all replies. Quote
CFM tsunkasapa Posted December 5, 2022 CFM Report Posted December 5, 2022 1 hour ago, pikefish said: Tsunkasapa, id love to play sled dogs one day! Any pics of your collars? You must water resist them well, i think wet srub help destroy my edges? We use nylon for collars and harnesses due to wet. Growler was the only one that has ever needed a custom leather collar. He was 190 lbs, with a head the size, shape AND density of an anvil. When he hit the end of the chain, something was probably going to break. Usually either buckle or stitching, sometimes chain. I miss him but keeping him in line was a full-time job. The rest of the crew is much mellower. Quote Hoka Hey! Today, tomorrow, next week, what does it matter?
Members pikefish Posted December 5, 2022 Author Members Report Posted December 5, 2022 Sounds like a beast of a dog! Strong headed, smart big dogs are fun thats for sure, just when you think your winning they school us, lol. Quote
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