Bart Collar

[bentley]

Completed another collar for a friends Bulldog, 23" neck and 48" lead, 10 oz leather for main collar and lined with 2 oz doubled over. I used Eco-flo medium brown gel antique on the outer portion and left the lining natural with mink oil treatment.

[BigGriff]

Beautiful!!! I'm new. Would you mind describing the 2 oz, double over leather in more detail? Like what kind of leather and how you doubled it over. Planning on making a collar for my dog soon. Thanks for your help.

[bentley]

Beautiful!!! I'm new. Would you mind describing the 2 oz, double over leather in more detail? Like what kind of leather and how you doubled it over. Planning on making a collar for my dog soon. Thanks for your help.

It is veg tan thin leather that I wet and fold over both sides so they meet in the miidle on the back side, put a nice crease in the edge and put it under my granite slab for a while. Then open up the flaps and put some glue between the layers and also glue to the back of the collar then sew. Make sure you form the inside piece to the collar when it is damp and roll the two pieces while gluing so you don't get any puckers and it will want to stay in that curved shape, I usually put a roll of duct tape inside of the two before gluing while the moisture dries to give it a nice radius. I leave it natural so no dye rubs off on the dogs fur and treat it with mink oil. So if the collar is 1 3/4" wide I cut the back piece 4" wide so there is a little overlap. I have more collars on my blog if you would like more examples, www.bentleyleathergoods.blogspot.com

[BigGriff]

Make sure you form the inside piece to the collar when it is damp and roll the two pieces while gluing so you don't get any puckers and it will want to stay in that curved shape, I usually put a roll of duct tape inside of the two before gluing while the moisture dries to give it a nice radius.

This part confuses me a bit. At what stage do you from the inside piece to the collar? You do this after you wet it, fold the sides around back, and put it under a marble slab?

[bentley]

This part confuses me a bit. At what stage do you from the inside piece to the collar? You do this after you wet it, fold the sides around back, and put it under a marble slab?

Yes, I leave it under the slab a few hours to get a good crease but it will still be damp when you remove it, now place inside collar and wrap both around something like a roll of duct tape to get a nice curved shape to both pieces. When all is dry start the gluing process.

[BigGriff]

Yes, I leave it under the slab a few hours to get a good crease but it will still be damp when you remove it, now place inside collar and wrap both around something like a roll of duct tape to get a nice curved shape to both pieces. When all is dry start the gluing process.

Thanks for all the help and answers. I'll definitely give it a shot. Couple more questions. What color is that? And how did you get the lettering so dark? Thanks.

[bentley]

Thanks for all the help and answers. I'll definitely give it a shot. Couple more questions. What color is that? And how did you get the lettering so dark? Thanks.

You are welcome. I think it was Tan, I used Eco-Flo Gel Antique with two coats of Resolene sealer mixed 50/50 with water. The antique will be much darker in the impressions if you put it on heavy and then wipe off excess on smooth areas.

Good luck, experiment on some scraps.

Mark

[Tree Reaper]

Hey Mark;

Not criticizing but my sewing book warns against sewing across the end of the strap because it creates a weak spot in the leather.

[bentley]

Hey Mark;

Not criticizing but my sewing book warns against sewing across the end of the strap because it creates a weak spot in the leather.

Nice point and I would agree on a horse harness and even a tree strap but I know that your shoulder will be dislocated before that dog collar breaks if your dog pulls that hard.

[Hilly]

Your collars and leads are beautifully done. There's only one thing that I would change... Those cool looking spikes could hurt the dog that wears that collar.

I would switch from those pointed spikes to a flatter diamond or spots. Dogs try to scratch around or under their collars, and getting a sharp spike in the foot would not make for a happy dog.

Other than that small detail, your work is really nice. Thanks for sharing.