Dye questions from a new guy!

[OrdChief12]

New to leather crafting. I just bought a starter kit from Tandy along with a 12x12 6-7oz panel. Got it home made a few knife slips, sheaths wallet and instantly got hooked. Went back to Tandy bought a few more supplies to include fiebiengs low voc dark brown leather dye and a side of Craftmans Oak 3-4oz leather. Came home cut my pieces. One from the 6-7oz panel and some from the new side 3-4oz side I just bought. Dyed them and the results are not even close I was hoping someone could help me understand the drastic difference? 

Thanks in advance! 

[Ragingstallion]

different tanning processes on the hides, as well as types of dye and stains, will vary the results.

[NVLeatherWorx]

@Ragingstallion called it quickly.  Another thing to be aware of is the Craftsman Oak is the lowest grade of leather that you will find anywhere and it is not worth trying to ever get anything out of it that you plan on showing off because it isn't for that level of work.  The price is very enticing to many leather workers, especially newcomers, but it does not produce positive results as you have already learned.  Truth be told, none of the Tandy leathers are for any solid quality items but at the with the Oak Leaf line you can get something at least looks good.  Just take a piece of each one of your leather and look at how the grain structure and the surface look.  You will notice that there are most likely several flaws that are visible on the surface of the Craftsman Oak leather while the other one may look much cleaner without all of the bumps, scars, etc.; this is something to keep in mind every time you purchase leather so that you can make sure that you are only getting clean leather that will net the look that you want.

On that note though, welcome aboard to the world of leather. Yes, it is addictive and it only gets worse.

[battlemunky]

Yeah, hobby level, Tandy is better than playing pretend, but as @NVLeatherWorx pointed out, it isn't ideal for "nice" stuff. You can make some durable items with it still but reproduceable/reliable to work with, it is not. Also, while the panels at Tandy have a decent flesh side to them, many of the sides have horrible flesh sides, all fuzzy and nowhere close to flat and closed. Be picky and don't order Tandy leather without seeing it in person unless you are cool knowing it can be of poorer quality. Dying "good" leather is tricky enough to get it consistent all the time. If you are wanting consistency, drum dyed leather may be what you are looking for but the same rules apply for the hair side and flesh side. Nice, smooth and free of defects is what can be had.

Welcome!

 

 

[bikermutt07]

You have just saved a ton of money. I didn't find this site until I had spent some real money at Tandy. Think of Tandy as Walmart, except expensive.

Better everything is available elsewhere for less. Tandy is more expensive on everything when comparing side by side with someone else.

I will buy hardware or cheap chrome tanned leathers from them , when they are on sale or clearance. And it is nice to have them down the street, but for the most part I go elsewhere.

Dig into this site, soak it all in.

Then check out some of the advertisers on the banner ads. 

[VYO]

When I first started I noticed this too. I then purchased small pieces/scrap of different tannery veg tan leathers. Starting color of the leather is different for almost every tannery. The darker veg tans do great with browns but when pink, purple, blue, etc colors are using on them the result is not so great. When I'm looking for good quality and consistency across hides I choose Horween, Wickett & Craig, and Sepici. I saw some Vachetta Luxe somewhere and I want to try that out too. 

Along with checking the grain side also be cautious to watch for the flesh side. Don't buy 'hairy' hides. You'll be sorry. Make sure the flesh side is compact, smotth and tight.

Welcome to the leather addiction!

[nrk]

9 hours ago, VYO said:

When I first started I noticed this too. I then purchased small pieces/scrap of different tannery veg tan leathers. Starting color of the leather is different for almost every tannery. The darker veg tans do great with browns but when pink, purple, blue, etc colors are using on them the result is not so great. When I'm looking for good quality and consistency across hides I choose Horween, Wickett & Craig, and Sepici. I saw some Vachetta Luxe somewhere and I want to try that out too. 

Along with checking the grain side also be cautious to watch for the flesh side. Don't buy 'hairy' hides. You'll be sorry. Make sure the flesh side is compact, smotth and tight.

Welcome to the leather addiction!

are you really comparing sepici to HO/WC ? ))
 

Edited January 3, 2019 by nrk

[VYO]

2 hours ago, nrk said:

are you really comparing sepici to HO/WC ? ))
 

No, not comparing them at all but I do find Sepici to be a good quality leather for tooling and dye.