Dyes And Finishes For Leather Wallet

[Jimithing]

Greetings,

The search tool on this forum has proven to be an invaluable resource for me as I prepare to jump into leatherworking. Thank you all for the time and sharing of knowledge.

I am looking to purchase dyes and finishes for my first round of leathercraft projects. I will be making a wallet to start, using 3/4oz veg tanned leather. I would like some of the quirks/imperfections in the leather to show through the final product; using woodworking as a comparison, I want the look of a deep stain as opposed to multiple coats of paint.

Looking at the Feibings line, do you recommend I purchase Regular Dye or Oil Dye?

What sort of finish do you recommend for wallets? Does the type of dye determine the type of finish? When are conditioners or a product like Bick-4 used?

Cheers!

[Cyberthrasher]

1) Dyes will always show the flaws in the leather - like woodworking, they penetrate the material instead of sitting on top like paint. But, don't confuse them with stains/highlights. Those are designed to primarily color the tooling - they're liquid antique.

2) Fiebing's Pro Oil is the more vibrant choice, but the color selection isn't the best. Use Pro-Oil for what you can, and Regular for the others.

3) Any finish you want will work. Resolene, Clear-Lac, Tan-Kote, RTC, etc... Choice in dye doesn't matter. What does matter is applying the finish correctly without streaks.

4.) Apply conditioners as the FINAL step - this is a maintenance task that a customer would use, apply it before it goes out the door as if you were the customer (I'm assuming you are at this point - it's more of a state of mind statement).