Cracking - Is It The Dye/stain Or The Leather?

[tanda4]

I'm trying to make 1" inch dog collar and using:

Tandy Double Shoulder 8-9 oz.

Eco-Flow Leather Dye

Eco-Flow Professional Water Stain

I dyed two strips with the Eco Flow Leather Dye and two with the Eco-Flow Professional Water Stain. All four strips of leather split when bending to attach the buckle. The un-dyed shoulder seems to be flexible.

I'm trying to figure out if the cracking is from the leather, the Leather Dye/Stain, or a combination.

Any input?

[dirtclod]

Wet it where the bend will be, that should help. Spray bottle should be enough. You need to put some kind of conditioner like lexol, black rock, percairds or similar because the dye does dry out the leather.

[TomG]

You need to skive the leather at the buckle end to 1/2 the thickness of the strap. I go from the rivet holes all the way to the end at the buckle end.

Never had one crack doing this.

[Skipndance]

Just one more point: Holding the skived end between thumb and pointer finger, bent at the appropriate location so your skived end is folded back, dip the bend in a cup of warm water for a 2 second splash. You will feel the leather give as the water absorbs and it will not crack. Tap the bend gently with your tack hammer to set and when it dries, you should be good.

Edited February 24, 2015 by Skipndance

[cudofcow]

I've been having problems with this also when making belts. I was using a 50/50 acrylic resolene which seemed to make the leather very brittle. I'm trying some experimenting with neatsfoot oil to see if that helps make the leather a little more bendable.

[Feraud]

I've been having problems with this also when making belts. I was using a 50/50 acrylic resolene which seemed to make the leather very brittle. I'm trying some experimenting with neatsfoot oil to see if that helps make the leather a little more bendable.

The resolene shouldn't be making the leather brittle. It's just an acrylic finish. Perhaps the dye is causing it. After dyeing and before the resolene, try a conditioner on the leather.

[leathercraft209]

In my experience 8-9oz will sometimes crack if you bend U shaped, it AFTER you apply die and finish. This is because the dye dries and makes the leather stiffer. In order to make a U shaped bend, I always put a 90 degree or even the U right after I dye it. Do this while it is still wet from the dye, almost wet-forming. Let it dry, then apply some Neatsfoot oil, lightly and allow it to sit for awhile, to where you can't even tell it was oiled and THEN apply your acrylic finish. Neatsfoot oil can darken leather, so be aware of this...

[Handstitched]

G'day Tanda4,

I now use the method that 'dirtclod' suggested, have been for a while now. I also do any bending,

on belts or dog collars, while the leather is still in a damp-ish state, before it completely dries.

Skiving also helps.

HS

[craftsman827]

Use Lexol on the flesh side of the leather, about 2" on each side of the fold.

Right after applying the lexol, bend the leather carefully . You could put a little on the grain side as well.

Like dirtclod said, wet the leather, so it won't crack.

If your using 10 oz. , you can skive it at the fold a bit.

[Tesla Ranger]

I usually bend the leather before I stain it and if it's going to be a sharp bend I'll use a sponge to apply a bit of water to the flesh-side of the leather. Cracking isn't normally a problem for me but I've noticed that Tandy's brand of Water-based stain frequently leads to cracking and wrinkling. I have a good conditioner that I use on everything that gets stained but I'll still get the cracking/wrinkling with the water-based stains. It might be that it's just a few of the more commonly used one (Dark Brown for instance) and not the entire brand, but it happens often enough that I avoid using the water-based stains for anything that needs to be flexible.

[BJP]

Waterstains are garbage if they're used for things like belts collars leashes.   Anything with a hard fold because they tend to crack or craze.   

Dyes are much better I find.   Do the wet leather at the bend thing!. It works perfectly.   And really be careful how much resolene you apply.  

I had the worst time with that and actually gave up using it.. Until I started leaving each coat to dry overnight.  Now it's great stuff!!