Question on dyeing.

[NatesLeatherGds]

1 minute ago, Mablung said:

Leatherwork offers innumerable rabbit holes, of which this is only one. Welcome to the hobby!

[Tophee]

4 minutes ago, Mablung said:

If you want the stamp impressions to be more obviously visible due to contrast, a lighter dye will certainly help. Darker dyes are more forgiving of the application of multiple layers to cover streaks, blots, and other mistakes, but a great part of that depends on your application method, too. 
 

Leatherwork offers innumerable rabbit holes, of which this is only one. Welcome to the hobby!

Doesn't scare me lol I welcome the learning. I just gotta find a purpose for my darker dye now, or learn the applications for it in any small projects I do in the future. Thank you all for your help!

[Mablung]

16 minutes ago, Tophee said:

Doesn't scare me lol I welcome the learning. I just gotta find a purpose for my darker dye now, or learn the applications for it in any small projects I do in the future. Thank you all for your help!

Happy to contribute what little I can. If I’m honest, I’ll tell you that the posts on this site are where I have learned most of what I know. There is sooo much to learn, and that’s part of the fun. You have the right attitude about it.

You can also thin the dye to make it a lighter brown. This notebook cover was done with a Fiebing’s Light Brown dye, but I thinned it with denatured alcohol, about 50/50 (editing to say: might have thinned it more like 40% dye, 60% alcohol). I’ve done a couple knife sheaths with the same dye without thinning it—those turned out about the same color as the piece you showed. Yet another knife sheath was done closer to 50/50 or maybe 60/40 and got it darker than the notebook cover but lighter than the other sheaths. Thinning it made all the difference. Just another aspect to experiment with. 

Edited April 16, 2024 by Mablung

[NatesLeatherGds]

20 minutes ago, Tophee said:

I just gotta find a purpose for my darker dye now, or learn the applications for it in any small projects I do in the future. Thank you all for your help!

Yes, plenty of uses for dark dyes though, so not wasted certainly. Try this - even with the darker dye - apply it to your stamped surface, then quickly wipe excess off the top layer (the higher portion of your stamped item). Practice on timing and speed on your item when wiping. (do practice runs on bits that you can afford to toss if you don't like the result).  And post more pictures of your progress!

[toxo]

I think the key might be in the casing. You mention that you wet the leather. Wet leather won't give as crisp an image as damp leather. Depending on the leather try dry stamping first. If not sharp enough just dampen just enough to soften the crust. When applying dye try using something flat like a sponge. A paintbrush will get in everywhere which might not be what you want if you want contrast.

[Tophee]

12 minutes ago, Mablung said:

Happy to contribute what little I can. If I’m honest, I’ll tell you that the posts on this site are where I have learned most of what I know. There is sooo much to learn, and that’s part of the fun. You have the right attitude about it.

You can also thin the dye to make it a lighter brown. This notebook cover was done with a Fiebing’s Light Brown dye, but I thinned it with denatured alcohol, about 50/50 (editing to say: might have thinned it more like 40% dye, 60% alcohol). I’ve done a couple knife sheaths with the same dye without thinning it—those turned out about the same color as the piece you showed. Yet another knife sheath was done closer to 50/50 or maybe 60/40 and got it darker than the notebook cover but lighter than the other sheaths. Thinning it made all the difference. Just another aspect to experiment with. 

That looks really good. Ill have to try thinning this dye out and seeing what I can get from it. Gonna be alot of little key fobs for me till I can get to where I wanna be. 

7 minutes ago, NatesLeatherGds said:

Yes, plenty of uses for dark dyes though, so not wasted certainly. Try this - even with the darker dye - apply it to your stamped surface, then quickly wipe excess off the top layer (the higher portion of your stamped item). Practice on timing and speed on your item when wiping. (do practice runs on bits that you can afford to toss if you don't like the result).  And post more pictures of your progress!

I shall try to post more of my projects as I go through them. Ill certainly give that method a try as well.

[Tophee]

2 minutes ago, toxo said:

I think the key might be in the casing. You mention that you wet the leather. Wet leather won't give as crisp an image as damp leather. Depending on the leather try dry stamping first. If not sharp enough just dampen just enough to soften the crust. When applying dye try using something flat like a sponge. A paintbrush will get in everywhere which might not be what you want if you want contrast.

Thank you, makes sense that if the leather is too wet it wont stamp right. I applied my dye using an applicator that I would ring out a little bit so it doesnt just puddle everywhere. I wet the leather using an empty hand sanitizer bottle I filled with water and sprayed it on there.

[SUP]

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.

 

 

[chuck123wapati]

for small pieces like that  try dip dyeing them first then stamping as the leather gets to the proper stage. 

[chuck123wapati]

or block dye them, in this case stamp first then dye.