What is this? Spots on leather after dye

[pattyharrington]

I have had several pieces of veg tan that have these spots that come to light after I apply the dye. I make sure the leather is fully dry before application and I just don’t know how to prevent this or predict when it will happen. Dies anybody know what this is or how to combat this problem? 

[Rbarleatherworks]

I'm sorry I cant help you but I am interested in the responses so I am following

I hope you get an answer.

[battlemunky]

Maybe looks like the cow had a bout of bugs or some skin ailment like chicken pox but for cows? Since the skin is healed up and processed it may not come to light until it is dyed. Think about it kind of like wood grain that you can't see until you apply stain.

That's my shot at it. Hopefully someone with experience seeing that will see the thread and comment.

It may not be perfect like you were anticipating but it still looks good and has some added character!

[NVLeatherWorx]

47 minutes ago, battlemunky said:

Maybe looks like the cow had a bout of bugs or some skin ailment like chicken pox but for cows? Since the skin is healed up and processed it may not come to light until it is dyed. Think about it kind of like wood grain that you can't see until you apply stain.

That's my shot at it. Hopefully someone with experience seeing that will see the thread and comment.

It may not be perfect like you were anticipating but it still looks good and has some added character!

Good eye @battlemunky  there are quite a few insect bites which cause these little welts and spots; you don't see them as easily when the leather is still all natural but they sure do come out once you add some color to it.  This leather is of a very low grade/quality, looks like it is Tandy's Craftsman Oak because you get this with every one of the hides of that particular product line.

Cheap priced leather is typically cheap quality leather so if you are really looking to put out works and products that have a clean professional look to them you need to stay away from the cheap stuff.

[pattyharrington]

That is such a disappointment. I don’t have buckets of money to spend on leather, but I do hate to put the work into something that ultimately looks like trash because of that. Besides, $110 for a smallish double shoulder doesn’t seem like that great of a deal. But you were right, @NVLeatherWorx, it was from Tandy. They are the only shop nearby. Which online shops do you recommend? I like Springfield Leather, but are there others that are better?

[battlemunky]

Maverick is pretty good too. I found that the Hermann Oak and Wickett and Craig are less expensive than Tandy stuff unless you catch Tandy during a sale. Not to mentionthe quality boost. If you've never used HO or W&C, I'd recommend it. I still have 100 feet or so of Tandy 8/9 oz I'm working through, so don't feel too bad or that you've been swindled.

Your piece doesn't really look bad at all and only you and other leatherfolk are going to notice. If it irks you too much, discount it a bit @pattyharrington but I wouldn't.

[JLSleather]

13 hours ago, pattyharrington said:

$110 for a smallish double shoulder doesn’t seem like that great of a deal.

Sadly, that's not so far out of normal these days.  That's about $10/foot, which is normal for the convenience of buying smaller cuts (instead of multiple full hides).

I haven't used it in a while, but if you have a Tandy that close, I've made some (I think) acceptable projects with Tandy's "live oak" tooling leather, which I believe is still available in double shoulders.  Carves and dyes just fine.

Your pic small enough I can't claim those are bites (though they may be), but I have seen some leather almost look like it had some type of finish - looked a bit like that when you try to color it.  There's a 'deglazer' that might work, but it seems much easier (and better) to just get leather that doesn't do that.  Maybe use that leather on the inside of something?

 

[nrk]

19 hours ago, pattyharrington said:

I have had several pieces of veg tan that have these spots that come to light after I apply the dye. I make sure the leather is fully dry before application and I just don’t know how to prevent this or predict when it will happen. Dies anybody know what this is or how to combat this problem? 

looks like bites.

no way and a reason to fight.

just get a ggod leather.

Wickett Craig is good  (one of the best leathers) to work with. 9$ per foot for the top quality. Go get it now )))

[NVLeatherWorx]

On 1/7/2019 at 6:15 PM, pattyharrington said:

That is such a disappointment. I don’t have buckets of money to spend on leather, but I do hate to put the work into something that ultimately looks like trash because of that. Besides, $110 for a smallish double shoulder doesn’t seem like that great of a deal. But you were right, @NVLeatherWorx, it was from Tandy. They are the only shop nearby. Which online shops do you recommend? I like Springfield Leather, but are there others that are better?

Springfield has some good leather, just watch the "Bargain Basement" pricing, I also get some of my leather from The Hide House (www.hidehouse.com); they have a very clean European import veg-tan that comes from a very quality and well known pit tannery that is also not overly expensive.  

[AlexLeather]

Scars don't take dye very well at all. Look at your bare veg tan at an angle, so that the light shines brightly to you on the surface. Look closely for scars/stretch marks/stretching/thin areas and cut your patterns away from these spots.

Poor quality leather will always be Tandy's "craftsman" line. Better quality from Tandy would be the Oak Leaf stuff but you still will find 50% of the leather is unusable for paying clients orders.

If you want something worth your money, I personally use The Hide House out of Napa, CA. If you find Herman Oak leather, it is generally pretty good to use if you like very dense leather (use a very, very sharp knife) with a darker, oiled appearance. Wicket and Craig is also great, I find these are mostly paler in appearance and not quite as dense.