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.

[bermudahwin]

Looks like warble fly scars, it used to be used with a spray dope finish so it would not be obvious, but now is often sold in russet or carving hides.

Its laborious, but pull out the hides at the merchants and inspect each one, in bright light, as they say above, until you find what you need. You're the customer, so they shouldn't complain.

One of the leather factors about 2 hours away will pre sort for me if I give him a call, but he knows what I want, and there are competitors near by.

H

[pattyharrington]

Thank you all for your replies! I’m going to try all of your recommendations and also try out different sources for my leather. Hides that are 50% unusable is not acceptable to me! Anyway, I darkened it a lot to help hide the spotting and here is the finished product along with a growler holder from the same hide. They were given as gifts and the recipients didn’t seem to mind the spotting (or even notice it). But still, I’m going to be more aware of what to look for and where to get it. 

[battlemunky]

Coolness! Glad it worked out for you and them.

[Jerry791hd]

yup yup yup... that happens to me too.... i exclusively use Tandy Leather because its the cheapest i can find and mainly because i'm still a rookie (although consider myself an experienced rookie) and every now and then i still ruin pieces of leather due to mistakes.  I use darker dyes to camouflage  the imperfections in the leather surface of these cheap pieces.   I also started to integrate skins (thinner pieces of leather that I layer on top of thicker leather) into my designs of holsters and scabbards and will dye the skins lighter and the contrast look awesome.  I've noticed the problem is not so common in thinner leather for some reason.

My plan is that when i eventually become a master at this trade then I will buy the quality leather that others in this post have mentioned....

Your items look awesome...

Jerry

 

[TheNorthldahokid]

On 2/13/2019 at 9:28 AM, Jerry791hd said:

yup yup yup... that happens to me too.... i exclusively use Tandy Leather because its the cheapest i can find and mainly because I'm still a rookie (although consider myself an experienced rookie) and every now and then i still ruin pieces of leather due to mistakes.  I use darker dyes to camouflage  the imperfections in the leather surface of these cheap pieces.   I also started to integrate skins (thinner pieces of leather that I layer on top of thicker leather) into my designs of holsters and scabbards and will dye the skins lighter and the contrast look awesome.  I've noticed the problem is not so common in thinner leather for some reason.

My plan is that when i eventually become a master at this trade then I will buy the quality leather that others in this post have mentioned....

Your items look awesome... 

Jerry 

 

I feel just the same Jerry about using the less expensive leathers first well I learn how to do My part of it. I also buy from Tandy Leather and I can't say I've seen really poor quality yet although that could just be inexperience . I mean why learn on the high price stuff when I can ruin a low-price piece just as well and I don't feel as bad about it, but the again if a poor piece of leather caused my project and hard work to be wasted I most certainly not be happy about it.

Oh, what beautiful piece that is wish I could do that!!! And remember this is natural materiel your working with so looking different is ok it's not wrong it's just unique.