Does Anyone Have Any Ideas Or Advice?

[zuludog]

If it was mine I wouldn't try to remove the stains or dye over them, Id leave it as it was. The stains are part of it's history, or patina. I'm fairly sure that if your Grandfather had wanted it dyed, he would have done so

Wipe it in a cloth dampened in plain water to remove any surface dirt, then treat it in whatever leather treatment you have. I would use leather oil, but you could use any kind of leather grease, cream, hide food, etc. Put plenty on, massage it in with your hands, and 'work' the leather. The warmth from your hands will help the grease to penetrate, and the massaging will soften it

The treatment will probably darken the leather slightly, but will also tone down the contrast between the stains and the leather, and make them less obvious.

The cover on its own isn't much use, have you had a good look for the axe? If not you could keep a look out and buy one that fits, then you'll have something of yours, and something of his

[zuludog]

This thought has just occurred to me. I'm now fairly certain that your Grandfather didn't plan on dyeing the cover......or he wouldn't have signed it, would he?

[Ja5on]

Wow, Thank you "JAZZMAN" and "zuludog"!! Great insight and thoughts! I think I agree with you! Luckily the axe was with it so that makes it extra special. Thanks!

[zuludog]

I'm sure there are lots of Americans who can tell you how to rennovate and sharpen an axe, but you could also try this website & forum

http://www.britishblades.com

[WyomingSlick]

I am sure your grandpa would not have wanted an axe cover that looked like this.

Waterstains are simply the mineral, dirt,, and leather oil deposits left behind from wet leatther drying out gradually. Much like the mineral deposits along the shore of a dried up lake. To get rid of them, simply soak the leather in hot water which will dissolve the deposits - you might use pure distilled water for this. Gently rub the stains and flush with water until they are gone, There are several products made for removal of salt stains on shoes/boots which will also remove such stains.

If you wish to preserve the name, then just be careful there and do not rub it. You may want to do a small test on it first to check whether it was an ink based, or water based Sharpie.

Once the leather has a uniform appearance, then you will want to dry it out evenly so as to not cause more water stains to appear. If you see some showing up, use a damp sponge to lightly re-wet the area and spread the deposits out so that the leather dries to a uniform appearance.

Once your cover is dry and has a uniform appearance, then you will want to treat it with some type of leather conditioner to replace the oils that have been lost due to the fact that water and time will cause any unprotected leather to eventually dry out, that is, lose the volatile and water soluble oils in the leather from the tanning process.

Some of these products will cause a darkening effect. Read the product labels carefully before buying so you will know what to expect.

Edited November 11, 2014 by northmount

[Northmount]

Substitute warm rather than hot water in the post above. Too hot will make the leather hard, and hotter yet will cause it to shrivel up to an ugly mess.

Tom

[zuludog]

Wyoming Slick's suggestions seem like a good idea. That's what forums are for,, swapping information

[Troy Burch]

I've taken water stains off leather like yours and Wyoming Slick's method and it works pretty well, but I used warm water.

[Ja5on]

Thanks WyomingSlick! Great info. That is what I was hoping to find out.