Will vinegar harden veg tan?

[TomBanwell]

A fellow told he you can harden veg tan leather (like cuir boille) using vinegar and no heat. He compared it to ceviche, where vinegar is used denature fish flesh. Seems to me leather is way different than raw fish. Does anyone know if this would work?

[rdb]

The things I vinegaroon get hard as rocks, even with adding oil after. They break in slow, but do finally break in.

[MADMAX22]

I think it depends on how long you leave it in solution. I only dunk for about a minute if that and they turn very black once oiled and are alot stiffer but not to terribly hard.

Try experimenting, a gallon of vineger and some of the steel wool and about a week and your set.

oh forgot to add that I think from listening too others and from what it looks like, is that the vine pulls out the oils to the surface of the leather. This should harden it and makes sense.

Edited November 7, 2008 by MADMAX22

[Leerwerker]

Almost like water, spirit based dyes, and other liquids, the vinegar will cause the fibers to stick to each other depending on how it was tanned and how you let it dry. All of that will have nothing to do with how hard the leather will eventually be (if you did not add heat to change the leather chemically).

What determines the hardness of leather is what you do to it after it had dried out - if you add lubricant in the form of oil or fat or Dubbin or Dr Jacksons or Aussie - it will still not soften the leather - UNTIL you manipulate it so that the lubricants get to work on the fibers and the leather goes soft.

Hope this helps!

[TomLine]

Ammonia works. I've used up to 25% ammonia and luke warm water to dip holsters in. When dry, it's extra stiff. When you get a whiff of the stuff you mix-up you gotta figure it's melting the underlying structure of the leather.

Vinegar is acidic. I would be concerned that reisidual acid would rust a knife or gun left in the leather. Ammonia is an ingredient in gun cleaners and while it will dissolve soft metals like lead and copper it's pretty safe on blued and bare steel.