Vinegaroon Done Wrong

[robs456]

Below is a pic of the first belt I ever made, maybe four years back. I used some real nice homemade 'roon but managed to burn it with the baking soda which as you can see made it very brittle.
Basically I just soaked the belt in the soda until it stopped bubbling. Sometime after the belt was done I figured out that this wasn't the way but kept the belt anyway just to see what happened and when.
Well, the 'experiment' is over. The belt got a small tear close to the buckle and I decided to try and rip it apart. Didn't take much, was like tearing off a stamp.
At the hole there wasn't even a tear but I just managed to rip it anyway.

Note that I oiled it with neatsfoot oil while making it but haven't oiled it since, it might have prolonged the lifetime a bit if I did.

I have since made a bunch of other stuff with vinegaroon that's worked out fine, but for me the quite inconsistent results (using Tandy leather) has made me turn to other products and more recently I've started buying pre-dyed leather instead.
Vinegaroon has it's place though (especially for period pieces) and if you use it -go easy on the soda.

[TheModifier]

Many thanks for the tips from a new member. I have been thinking of trying this.

[Walstr]

I recently used Vinegaroon for a wallet, w/Tandy leather. 1 minute in dye, rinsed under warm water, 15-20 sec. in Baking Soda solution, rub & rinse again, press dried in old towel, hung overnight. It still smells like pickle juice 2 weeks later.

We Love the beautiful black color, hoping it will last a lifetime. I'm aware, from many related blogs here and there, that it's important to maintain a slightly acidic chemical balance within the leather, to ward off future biologics, etc. Never heard about strength issues. Thanks for the heads-up.

I've ruined my first belt by over-oiling, so time will tell re: this wallet.

Mayhaps someone had the curiosity to test various samples with varying degrees of "neutralizing" soak times. Sounds like a fulfilling Winter investigation project.

Wally