Does Anyone Have Any Ideas Or Advice?

[Ja5on]

I found this old leather hatchet cover from my grandfathers house (who recently passed). As you can see from the photos, it looks as though it has some water damage. I Photoshoped his name out with the red just for posting purposes; he wrote his name with a black sharpie on the leather. My grandpa was a huge part of my life and I loved him very much. I want to keep this leather hatched cover as a reminder of him but Im not sure if I should try and repair it in any way. I want to keep it in its original state as much as possible. Does anyone have any ideas or advice?? Thanks!

[thekid77]

I found this old leather hatchet cover from my grandfathers house (who recently passed). As you can see from the photos, it looks as though it has some water damage. I Photoshoped his name out with the red just for posting purposes; he wrote his name with a black sharpie on the leather. My grandpa was a huge part of my life and I loved him very much. I want to keep this leather hatched cover as a reminder of him but Im not sure if I should try and repair it in any way. I want to keep it in its original state as much as possible. Does anyone have any ideas or advice?? Thanks!

it still looks like it's in great condition...just a few water stains....what does the inside look like?

you may want a second, thrd and fourth opinion besides mine, but it the leather is really dry, you and apply a very thin coat of neatsfoot oil to the leather and that will help the leather keep from being dry and brittle....

anyone else chime in?

[Ja5on]

The inside looks good, no visible water stains at all. it does seem dry. Thanks!

[raysouth]

If you wish to improve the appearance of the hatchet case, I think I would begin with a good leather cleaner and then follow through with a very dark brown/chocolate or black dye. After that has been allowed to dry, then apply conditioner of your choice, to keep leather soft and pliable.

If maintaining the case in the color it is now in, the above mentioned oil application may be something you wish to consider. A slight change in color may be experienced, darkening slightly, with any treatment you apply.

I like the patterns that the water has produced and seems to give it an unusual but pleasant look.

God Bless.

Ray

[camano ridge]

Like Ray said if you want to dye it the dark chocalate will hide most of the water stain. However if you don't want to dye it. I would use a goood leather conditioner such as Skidmores leather cream, Montana Pitch blend, Aussie leather conditioner ect. It will darken the case slightly and it will hhelp even out the water stains. They will still be there but they will mellow out and be part of the character of the sheath. Anything you do will change the color at least slightly. The important thing is to get some nutrients back into the leather. The oil and or the leather conditioner will do that.

[Itch]

If it was me I would just put some Aussie Or Skidmores on it,and pass on the dye ..

[wlg190861]

What I would do is leave the cover the way you found it an apply a few coats of Aussie leather conditioner

[Ja5on]

Thanks for the thoughts and advice, I really appreciate it!!

[Northmount]

If you want to just remove the stains, try cleaning first followed by bleaching it with oxalic acid. Then add oils to condition it, and add what ever finish you want. If you want to keep his name (which I'm sure you do), keep the bleach away from that part.

Tom

[JAZZMAN]

Hi Jason, i am new to leatherwork and so would not offer any technical advice with regard to treating the leather, i will leave that to the more experienced on here. However if i might be so bold as to tell you my thoughts on this. I collect old coins and in the coin world most collectors are against cleaning them myself included, prefering instead to have the grime and dirt that has been picked up from the many hands they have passed through some of it being a hundred or so years old grime, it is part of the history of the coin, and to remove it would be like wiping away the history of it. I feel that it is the same with your grandfathers hatchet cover the stains and grime are a direct result of your grandfathers labour and hard work , my opinion is that the only wotk that should be done to an item like this is work that would stop the item from deteriorating over time, like conditioning.Just my own thoughts of course.Peace.

[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.