Boriqua Posted March 3, 2016 Report Posted March 3, 2016 No worries using tandy but I find I have a better chance of getting a not so good one when using tandy leather than say weaver. Having said that I have used a WHOLE lot of tandy leather over the years. Like I said .. cut out your pattern and then take a minute to rub some neatsfoot on it ... then as muhc as you want to move on to the next step .. set it aside overnight, give it a light buff and away you go like nothing happened and it has helped me in the past. One more thought although it is a little aside of the OP. Tighten up your circles when you are rubbing the dye in. Looks like you tried to cover a fairly large area quickly and I think you may be happier with the results if you really do tight overlapping circles when you rub in the dye. Takes a good deal more time but .... Having said that ... aesthetics and what we want the end product to look like differ from person to person so I dont know if there is a RIGHT answer but you may want to try it. alex Quote
Members brettra Posted March 3, 2016 Author Members Report Posted March 3, 2016 No worries using tandy but I find I have a better chance of getting a not so good one when using tandy leather than say weaver. Having said that I have used a WHOLE lot of tandy leather over the years. Like I said .. cut out your pattern and then take a minute to rub some neatsfoot on it ... then as muhc as you want to move on to the next step .. set it aside overnight, give it a light buff and away you go like nothing happened and it has helped me in the past. One more thought although it is a little aside of the OP. Tighten up your circles when you are rubbing the dye in. Looks like you tried to cover a fairly large area quickly and I think you may be happier with the results if you really do tight overlapping circles when you rub in the dye. Takes a good deal more time but .... Having said that ... aesthetics and what we want the end product to look like differ from person to person so I dont know if there is a RIGHT answer but you may want to try it. alex Agreed. One other thing came to mind as well. Where the leather is stored (cold storage porch) our humidity is about 15% so, the leather is likely extra dry. I appreciate all the tips and advise! Aesthetics goes a long way.... so does helpful advise from people willing to share. Thanks! Quote
Members TinkerTailor Posted March 4, 2016 Members Report Posted March 4, 2016 Thanks for this TinkerTailor, yes, I rushed this more than i should have. I placed down two applications of the antique dye but most likely did not work it in as well as I should have. I appreciate this, a very good reminder to me.... dye properly and stop rushing! Thanks Thanks Boriqua, I 'm limited to Tandy as a provider due to being in the far North of Canada. Shipping costs are prohibitive by other leather providers so Tandy is my choice. I do have some neatsfoot in my kit so I obviously need to start making better use of it. Thanks for the advice. What part of canada you in? I may have other options for suppliers that you are not aware of. Quote "If nobody shares what they know, we will eventually all know nothing." "There is no adventure in letting fear and common sense be your guide"
Members brettra Posted March 4, 2016 Author Members Report Posted March 4, 2016 What part of canada you in? I may have other options for suppliers that you are not aware of. Northwest Territories. Quote
Members TinkerTailor Posted March 4, 2016 Members Report Posted March 4, 2016 Northwest Territories. Halfords in Edmonton has mail ordered to the north for years and carries veg tanned leather as well as a whole bunch of other stuff. Quite a few things the americans on here can not get... I have never purchased there but they sell trapper supplies so they would have shipping to the north down pat. I have got good deals at buckskin in calgary, and i know they ship. They sell hermann oak and lots of chap, garment and upholstery leathers. They have S.B Foot (redwing boots) oiltan leather. This stuff is bulletproof and waterproof bootleather. Great for outdoor gear. I have got it as low as 5 bux a square foot. There is a little color rub off sometimes. The other thing to do is talk to every shoe repair or saddle repair guy you can get ahold of to see if they have sources or scrap. Quote "If nobody shares what they know, we will eventually all know nothing." "There is no adventure in letting fear and common sense be your guide"
Members brettra Posted March 5, 2016 Author Members Report Posted March 5, 2016 Halfords in Edmonton has mail ordered to the north for years and carries veg tanned leather as well as a whole bunch of other stuff. Quite a few things the americans on here can not get... I have never purchased there but they sell trapper supplies so they would have shipping to the north down pat. I have got good deals at buckskin in calgary, and i know they ship. They sell hermann oak and lots of chap, garment and upholstery leathers. They have S.B Foot (redwing boots) oiltan leather. This stuff is bulletproof and waterproof bootleather. Great for outdoor gear. I have got it as low as 5 bux a square foot. There is a little color rub off sometimes. The other thing to do is talk to every shoe repair or saddle repair guy you can get ahold of to see if they have sources or scrap. Thank you again TInkerTailor, I will see if I can connect with Halfords. Quote
Members TinkerTailor Posted March 6, 2016 Members Report Posted March 6, 2016 Thank you again TInkerTailor, I will see if I can connect with Halfords. Halfordsmailorder.com Quote "If nobody shares what they know, we will eventually all know nothing." "There is no adventure in letting fear and common sense be your guide"
Members silverwingit Posted March 10, 2016 Members Report Posted March 10, 2016 (edited) The biggest problem I see is that you awl is waaay too big for the size thread you're using. The two strands of thread that go through each hole should pretty much fill the hole. You need to either get or sharpen down a smaller awl blade or some substantially bigger diameter thread or both. If your thread and awl blade size were properly matched the visibility of the un-dyed leather in the holes would be greatly diminished.Your stitching should look more like this: Michelle Edited March 10, 2016 by silverwingit Quote
Members Tugadude Posted March 11, 2016 Members Report Posted March 11, 2016 I agree with Silverwingit and would add that a firm tap with a smooth-faced hammer should flatten the thread and force it to fill up any leftover voids in the holes. Quote
Members brettra Posted March 17, 2016 Author Members Report Posted March 17, 2016 Thanks Michelle and Tugadude, I figured the awl may be too big (as to why I included a pic). I'll check my kit as I' certain I have some smaller awl blades. If not, I'll look to Dremel out one. Very nice stitching Michelle, if I can get mine half that clean I'll be pleased. I'm still certain now that the low humidity of the NWT has contributed significantly to my leather drying out. House humidity gauge bottoms out at 15%. Guess what it's showing . I'm coming back from traveling and had a chance to stop in at both Buckskin Leather (in Calgary) and Halford (in Edmonton). Halford is in the middle of reno's so it was a bit difficult to see their leather stock. Limited in veggie tan but absolutely every other leather imaginable. I picked up a beautiful side of pull-up leather with a glossy finish at Buckskin. Nice to see both places and have another option for ordering. I'll be able to work a test piece soon so I look forward to layering up at least three pieces, applying neatsfoot, antique dying and then post my results. I will run this test from the same hide as my original pics. I will post back the results. I'll use the same awl for the test as well so that I can first fully test the humidity/oiling issue. Again, thanks for all the feedback and support! Quote
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