Thank You!

[Jeff L]

Nice dye job! What color/brand of dye is that?

[vaalpens]

Nice dye job! What color/brand of dye is that?

Thanks. I have just been using the Fiebing's regular dye (alcohol based), dark brown.

http://springfieldleather.com/18542/Dye%2CFieb%2CReg%2CDk-Brown%2C4oz/

[leatherjunkie]

looks good. remember one thing the dyes are designed to give the right color by oil.

after dying apply a light coat of neatsfoot oil and let dry 24 hours keep applying till you get the color to your liking.

always apply light coats and let dry overnight. after you get the color to your liking let dry for 24 hours then apply your finish.

[vaalpens]

looks good. remember one thing the dyes are designed to give the right color by oil.

after dying apply a light coat of neatsfoot oil and let dry 24 hours keep applying till you get the color to your liking.

always apply light coats and let dry overnight. after you get the color to your liking let dry for 24 hours then apply your finish.

Thanks for the excellent how-to tips.

I am just a novice with only two completed leather projects under the belt. The aim is to do small projects trying out different methods, especially the finish which is something I definitely need to learn and improve on. My two projects I just dyed the leather and then applied some clear shoe polish after everything was done. My plan is to also do a natural, no dye finish, at which time I was planning on starting to use neatsfoot oil. The method you described is probably what I will try next so I can compare it with my current dye results.

If I may ask, what type of finish do you put on top of the dye and neatsfoot oil?

[ryankim3612]

looks good. remember one thing the dyes are designed to give the right color by oil.

after dying apply a light coat of neatsfoot oil and let dry 24 hours keep applying till you get the color to your liking.

always apply light coats and let dry overnight. after you get the color to your liking let dry for 24 hours then apply your finish.

THAT is something I did not know (like alot of things).......Thank you Junkie

[leatherjunkie]

forgot to mention when you put the neatsfoot oil on your project do it after you let the dye dry for 24 hours.

take some scrap leather and dye it then cut it into a few pieces and do the oil treatment to the scraps. each piece of scrap add more oil to it. this way you can tell how the oil affects the color with the times of oiling.

you can use super shean, leather balm with atom wax, bag kote, whyosheen.

i like to use leather balm with atom wax just dont use it on top of your project with antique paste. the leather balm with atom wax will pull the antique color off of the leather.

[TwinOaks]

The lighter dye may also be a product of molding first. When you mold the leather, you are stretching some of the fibers, and compressing others. Either action will effect how the fibers take the dye.

[vaalpens]

I have just completed another small project where I replaced the belt loop on my BK2 sheath. I tried to keep this as simple as possible and only used olive oil, some time in the sun and then some kiwi polish on it. I also installed a snap for the first time. The keeper strap implementation is an idea I saw on a knife forum from Dwayne Puckett and Nick. The belt loop actually has two 1.75" slots to alter the carry height. I wasn't to concerned about the edges since it will be used outside, but maybe I'll put some edge kote on just to seal it a bit.