My First Batch

[Tigagreen]

This is my first post, thought I would share my first batch of holsters. I always read great feedback from y'all and thought I would solicit the same.

The Dk Brown 1911 was my first attempt and the black was this past weekends project. Still having trouble mastering the dyeing technique. I wet form, treat with mink oil, then prep and Dye, and then seal. I just don't think the dye is taking well. Could be the quality of leather, as I'm just starting with the Tandy 7-9 oz half shoulder special.

[J Hayes]

Nice job!

I would think you should dye before oiling, but I'm a novice so..

Jeremy

[mncarpenter]

try dyeing before anything else, it will mold just fine, let the dye dry first though

[midwestislander]

Dye first. Dry well. Think the mink oil is interfering with the dye penetrating evenly. When I wet formed-then dye, sometimes I would have areas that seemed to slick/burnish and the dye didn't penetrate as well either. This happened when I was "enthusiastically forming for a more detailed/tighter fit.

[Dwight]

You are off to a good start.

Dying is one of those "to each his own" things, . . . but I've found that making the holster, belt, bag, purse, . . . whatever, . . . first works best for me.

Once it is dyed, . . . and you start stretching, molding, cutting, fitting, etc, . . . you wind up with a bunch of areas that either fade out or need touched up, . . . and touching up can be one livid pain.

Adding oils before dying also acts as a blocker to a certain extent, . . . not allowing the dye to penetrate fully.

And you may want to consider dip dyeing. It will get rid of the un-dyed portion of the black holster under the belt loop. I do mine in a 9 x 14 by 2 inch deep aluminum cake pan, . . . pouring the dye over the holster as I pour it into the pan. That way the color is fully uniform, . . . something I never was satisfied with using daubers, brushes, etc.

Then after you have dyed it, . . . hang it up somewhere to fully and completely dry.

Leave it alone, . . . 100% until it is dry, . . . then add the oil, . . . just remember to be sparing with it. Too much oil and you have a floppy, greasy, dog's chew toy.

May God bless,

Dwight

Edited January 8, 2014 by Dwight

[tallhorse89]

don't you waste a lot of dye when you dip dye?

[vaalpens]

Welcome to the forum. You will learn a lot from the forum members. I am also new to leather work and have received excellent information from the forum members.

Regarding the question when to dye; I actually dye before or after wet forming depending on the look I want. After wet forming it is possible that the dye does not take as well, so you can get shades of the color you are dying with. I sometimes like the look and use this method. The more consistent color will be achieved when dying before wet forming. I always oil after the dying when the finish coat is being applied. I use neatsfoot oil, but you need to test it out since neatsfoot oil will darken the color. One thing I have learned is to clean the leather before dying. The reason for this is that you can have oils or wax from the stitching left on the leather which again will block the dye. I just wipe it with isopropyl alcohol, but you will find better cleaning methods/agents if you search this forum. When reading the posts you will find a common thread that leather bought from Tandy is not that good. I am not into buying expensive leather, but I just buy from Springfield leather. A good piece of leather is always a good start.

Good luck and welcome to this addictive hobby.

[Dwight]

don't you waste a lot of dye when you dip dye?

Actually, . . . No, . . . whatever is not absorbed by the leather (you don't allow it to take a nap in the dye, . . . just a few seconds to get a good, deep penetration) is then poured back into the bottle.

I mix my dyes up by the quart, . . . when it gets about half empty, . . . mix up another and finish filling the jug, . . . so most of the time I have at least one full quart on hand.

I use one brown pan, . . . one black pan, . . . and I have a spare that I would use for "others".

I average using something in the neighborhood of 3 oz per holster, . . . or belt. But remember, . . . that's kind of a rough figure.

The most important part, . . . my dying is uniform, . . . and anyone who is in the business of satisfying the public will tell you your product has to approach uniformity.

May God bless,

Dwight

[chiefjason]

The only solid color I offer is black. All the rest are not dyed uniformly. I prefer it and apparently a lot of others do too. I just like the depth you get and the mottled look with lights and darks. But I'm pretty intentional about how I go about and and work it until it's what I want. One of my best selling colors is a hand applied brown that looks like most of it has worn off. My approach is to make what I like and see if it sells. Seems to be working pretty well. But there is certainly a market for uniform color, no doubt about it.

I dye before oiling. If I want darker color I usually rub the leather with denatured alcohol to clean it and strip any oil off the surface. If I'm not worried about it, I just dye it without wiping it down. You will find that certain things will act as a resist to dyes.

[Red Cent]

What do you y'all do when the customer wants the white stitching?

[Dwight]

Now, . . . I am going to be good, . . . I am not going to be a smart alec and say "Sew with WHITE thread". Though as the class clown years ago, . . . I would have.

Actually, . . . every thing I make is contact cemented together, . . . in such a manner that the stitches are in some cases nothing more than decoration.

But when I do white stitches, . . . EVERY THING ELSE is done first. The object is finished except for sewing and applying the top-coat final finish.

THEN, I sew.

All dying, edging, sanding, burnishing, polishing, . . . every bit of it is done, . . . including the stitch gouging, . . . which since I know is going to be done in white, . . . I do it even before I dye the leather, . . . as it makes a much better presentation.

After I sew, . . . final top coat, . . . a little wax or polish sometimes, . . . look in the mirror and smile, . . . ya did good !

At least that is my process.

May God bless,

Dwight

[chiefjason]

I do a lot of light colored, contrast stitching. Cream and white. It's done last. Well, technically since I'm still hand stitching it's all done last. lol Heck, my normal process sounds a lot like Dwight's way. The only thing I do after stitching is wax, burnish, and finish the interior. I'm odd like that.

I really need to make that BOSS something more than a coat rack. Of course, it's my odd method that's causing a lot of my problems there.