Recipe For Bag Finish. Neatsfoot And Beeswax.

[rscow]

I recently finished a Boston bag, folding hoop top. Right now it is in its pristine state. I want to have an oiled finish. No dye.

My plan: treat first with some neatsfoot oil. When that is in, let it get a little sun. Then coat with a beeswax/neatsfoot mixture to give it a little more color, soften and protect.

Question: Anyone out there have a good recipe/ratio of the ingredients? For good penetration, but not too much stiffness?

Thanks.

[ClaireAshton]

Mmmm.... looks very nice! Guessing it's pretty thick leather, and from its construction I wouldn't have thought that it would go out of shape much with that kind of treatment. If I was going to be really picky, the crease on the gusset just under the hinge is where you need it to be supple, while the main front and back need to be left a bit stiffer.

Bit surprised you call it a Boston Hoop bag, I thought these were Gladstone bags?

Nice Job

Claire

[chiefjason]

I use a mix of 50/50 by weight melted together. I apply thin layers and heat with a heat gun so the leather wicks it up. Try it on scrap pieces first to see if you like it. I'm doing holsters with it. And use real bees wax, much easier to work with. You get a thin paste with the above ratio.

This one has a coat of neatsfoot oil. Then 3 thin coats of the oil/wax. Slightly darker than the initial leather.

[gary]

Nice looking bag. I've made a couple and you must have greater patience than me - I've sworn I'll never do another. I haven't anything to add on a leather conditioner and sorry it's a bit off topic but...

I was led to believe that the original Gladstone bag was more like a modern suitcase. The original was, allegedly, made for PM William Gladstone by a London bag-maker called Beard as, firstly, Gladstone travelled a lot and secondly, Beard seemed to have an eye out for cheap publicity. Given that the bag was for travelling and would presumably have held a large amount of clothing, and the Victorian habit of having a form of dress for everything and anything, then a larger bag would seem more logical and the rather (relatively) small bag that is these days called a 'Gladstone' would be too small for anything but Gladstone's mankini. http//www.pinterest.com/pin/401735229231794573/ shows a contemporary advert for one style.

[rscow]

Thanks, all. That rascal was a challenge. The design isn't mine...I plagarized one. But only from photos. I bumbled my way through it. I will never hand stitch anything like that again.

When doing your layout remember: the hoops nest. So one side of the bag is longer than the other. And if you forget that you end up with a bag of the wrong dimensions (ie it is larger or smaller than you need based on whether you base your measurements on the inner or outer nest of the hoop setup. You need to base it on both. "Obviously" you say. I forgot. But was able to trim and resew. It did cheese me off, though.

[rscow]

Claire, I wasn't sure what to call it so I researched a little and came up with this:

Boston Bag: a traveling bag or general-utility bag that is oblong at the bottom and is tapered or folded in at either end toward a top opening held together by two handles

Gladstone: a suitcase with flexible sides on a rigid frame that opens flat into two equal compartments —called also gladstone bag

Since no internal rigid frame, and it doesn't open flat I went with Boston. But when I started the project, looking for ideas I searched Gladstone.

Thanks for your comments, all!