Members crissy Posted August 11, 2009 Members Report Posted August 11, 2009 hello hidepounder, I have a question not really about edges but about dying, I was told by someone I buy leather from that when using fiebings oil dye that I should apply a coat of thinner to open the pours...? I was wondering if you had an opinion on this and or a method in which you also followed this procedure. I had been cruising the site looking for a topic on this but to no avail. I am so happy I have found this site and the people here are so honest and generous I look forward to your reply. have a wonderful day crissy REVOLUTION LEATHER one side fits all
Members MHolzer Posted August 11, 2009 Members Report Posted August 11, 2009 (edited) Thanks so much for the brilliant tutorial! However, I have a stupid question: Edging should be one of the last steps in the piece, right? After dying/staining the tooling but before the finish? Edited August 11, 2009 by MHolzer 1. A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm. 2. A robot must obey orders given to it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law. 3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.
hidepounder Posted August 11, 2009 Author Report Posted August 11, 2009 hello hidepounder,I have a question not really about edges but about dying, I was told by someone I buy leather from that when using fiebings oil dye that I should apply a coat of thinner to open the pours...? I was wondering if you had an opinion on this and or a method in which you also followed this procedure. I had been cruising the site looking for a topic on this but to no avail. I am so happy I have found this site and the people here are so honest and generous I look forward to your reply. have a wonderful day crissy Hi Crissy, The first question I would ask is what color dye are you using and where on the leather are you using it? Is it just a highlight or are you dyeing the entire piece? I use the alcohol dyes rather than the oil dyes, mostly because that was what I learned on and am most comfortable with. Also, 90% of my dyeing is in the background of my tooling and I use very dark colors. I haven't found a need to do anything to the leather to accomodate this type of dye. When I am ready to dye my backgrounds I clean the surface of the leather with oxalic acid. This removes any soiling picked up off the bench as well as oils from my hands that are left on the leather. I feel strongly that the this cleaning makes a difference when I begin applying my finishes such as antiques. So it holds for me that it will be beneficial when dyeing the leather with medium or light colored dyes as well. By cleaning the leather you are removing anything which may inhibit the penetration of the dye or affect the color. For the dark colors, I doubt you would notice any difference whether you are using oil dyes (which aren't really oil at all) or alcohol dyes. Using oxalic acid is just a good habit to get into to help keep everything as clean as possible. I can see where applying a coat of thinner may help increase the penetration of the oil dye. I have just never seen the point in using it on what I do because the alcohol dyes work so well. The alcohol dyes dry much faster than the oil dyes do, which I think is a positive side benefit. I hope this answers you questions... Bobby Thanks so much for the brilliant tutorial!However, I have a stupid question: Edging should be one of the last steps in the piece, right? After dying/staining the tooling but before the finish? Hi Mholzer, For me the answer to your question is yes, that's the best sequence. There are, however, times when I will edge and dye before I apply any antiques only becasue the sequence of assembly requires it. I was taught to edge and dye right after tooling, but I like to get some of the finishes out of the way first. It helps me create neat straight lines when dyeing the edges and also helps in keeping everything clean along the way. It's not critical, it just works a little to my advantage to do it this way. Hope this helps.... Bobby
Members crissy Posted August 11, 2009 Members Report Posted August 11, 2009 the colors are the basic brown and black though I have the h2o dyes I don't like at all how they go on or I should say don't go on very well. as I cruised the Internet it seemed most had great success with the oil dyes so thats how they ended up in my first dye collection I am certain eventually I will tr the alcohol dye too. I thank you for the information and shall try your method. thank you again! c REVOLUTION LEATHER one side fits all
Buttons Posted December 10, 2009 Report Posted December 10, 2009 What method do you use to apply the dye to your burnished edges? You have a perfect clean edge. Incredible work.
Members equiss Posted December 10, 2009 Members Report Posted December 10, 2009 Hello everybody, I receive quite a few PM's and emails requesting information on edges, finger cutting, tooling patterns and various other topics. Questions regarding some of these topics come up on a fairly regular basis, so I thought I would put something together that members could easily refer to. This article describes the way I finish edges and Johanna has posted it in the "Tips & Tricks" section on the main page. I hope that some of you will find it helpful. Finishing Edges Bob Thanks Bob, for those of us that are fairly new to the trade, and need all the advice we can get, things like this are invaluable - thank you for taking the time to pass on to others, I really appreciate the time that you spent to put this together! 3 CHEERS! Happy Holidays! Charlene Stovin C. Stovin
Members DaCodaBuchan Posted January 4, 2010 Members Report Posted January 4, 2010 Does this work as well on thinner leather as it does on thicker pieces like belts? There comes a point at which leather is too thin to really tell it's been properly edged in my opinion, but I am curious as to what if any additional steps or products you would suggest for much thinner pieces.
Members Mongo Posted January 14, 2010 Members Report Posted January 14, 2010 (edited) Hi Bob! I have added some of your ideas to my burnishing and edge fitting process after reading about your method on a different thread. I do have one problem that sometimes occurs. When I burnish before dyeing edges, sometimes some places on the edge don't want to take the dye. It doesn't matter if I use alcohol or oil base dye. Well known knife and leathersmith Chuck Burrows recommended cleaning the leather with alcohol right before dyeing and that does seem to help. Do you have any ideas on the topic? This problem is most troubling when I'm doing a black rig. I've attached a photo of edges on a recent project. Edited January 14, 2010 by Mongo
hidepounder Posted January 14, 2010 Author Report Posted January 14, 2010 Mongo, I experience what you are talking about from time to time, but I am ususally able to touch up those areas by reapplying the dye. I think what seems to make the biggest differrence for me is to let severything completely dry between steps (burnishing & dyeing). I don't like to wait after burnishing to dye the edges, I am usually dyeing right right away because I am impatient. However if I see that some aresas are not taking the dye I will stop and let everything dry before continuing to dye. I agree also, that sometimes utilizing alchohol will help. I edge sequentially this way because I have never been able to get a nice clean dye line by dyeing first. If I could I would dye and then burnish. I know this doesn't really answer your question. By the way, I think the edges you're getting on your holsters look good. Did you polish them with parafin when you were finished? That will really make them shine. Hope this helps... Bobby Does this work as well on thinner leather as it does on thicker pieces like belts? There comes a point at which leather is too thin to really tell it's been properly edged in my opinion, but I am curious as to what if any additional steps or products you would suggest for much thinner pieces. Some weights of leather are just too thin to burnish.....when they are I typically turn them back and sew them so that you get a nice finished edge. Hope this helps.... Bobby
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