Vintage Tandy leather kits

[Alane]

I recently bought a vintage Tandy Leather raft kit off a local garage sale site- besides the original tools it included a number of complete tandy leather kits their original packaging from the late 1960's-early1970's. The packages smell a little musty but no signs of mold or mildew. Does anyone know if these are worth tooling and using? And if so how do I get the musty smell out? Thanks!

[buzzardbait]

 

i tooled out a bunch of those old kits in years past. It was cheap practice leather. 

If there is no mold or mildew the musty smell will usually go away when they are exposed to air for awhile. The main issue I had with those old kits was the leather was really dry. A light coat or two of pure Neatsfoot oil will usually remedy that.

[Studio-N]

Fabreze does wonders in the meantime.

[Alane]

Thanks for the tips- I am always a little confused about when to apply the neatsfoot oil. In this case should I apply it before I case the leather for tooling or after tooling but before finishing or some other time altogether. Also can I apply the neatsfoot oil to the lining leather?

[buzzardbait]

some folks apply a light coat of oil before casing. the only time I apply before casing, is when the old leather is very dry and needs a little rehab. In either case you must be very careful to not over do it, it is easy to use too much. I like to apply a light coat, and give it at least 24 hours to soak in. If it needs more I repeat the process until it feels right. experience is the teacher for this process. Too little oil is better than too much because once it is in the leather it is in there. 

[Alane]

Ok thanks-I have quite a few kits so I will experiment and see what works best! Appreciate the advice!