- Joined
- Jun 7, 2009
- Messages
- 2,720
Hi guys. Real sorry I don't have a camera now,maybe later.
I'm new to sheathmaking but have done a ton of reading and owe everyone here a boatload of thanks:thumbup:
I made a Kabar-type leather sheath a while ago and tried hot beeswaxing it. What I did was melt the wax with a little stearic acid and neatsfoot. I warmed the sheath around 120.F for 10 minutes and applied the wax with a brush. It dried really fast so I put it in the oven again to melt it a bit. Problem is, it really messed up the color. Sheath was not dyed,but it produced some really dark,splotchy areas.
I tried this again on another piece,this time no oven. Warmed the sheath with a hair dryer, applied the wax...and bang; as soon as it hit the leather, major darkness again.
Was my wax too hot I wonder? I wet-formed the sheaths first and let them dry then did the wax treatment. I'm kinda upset at the results although the sheaths are still very usuable, just not pretty.
Wet forming works really well I might add. I did another one with Sno-seal and a hair dryer and no color problem , although I noticed sno-seal softens the leather from it's wet-formed hardness somewhat. Anyways, these are my first observations and I'm learning a lot and am hooked on doing this hobby.
Any comments and suggestions are surely welcomed !
Pete

I'm new to sheathmaking but have done a ton of reading and owe everyone here a boatload of thanks:thumbup:
I made a Kabar-type leather sheath a while ago and tried hot beeswaxing it. What I did was melt the wax with a little stearic acid and neatsfoot. I warmed the sheath around 120.F for 10 minutes and applied the wax with a brush. It dried really fast so I put it in the oven again to melt it a bit. Problem is, it really messed up the color. Sheath was not dyed,but it produced some really dark,splotchy areas.
I tried this again on another piece,this time no oven. Warmed the sheath with a hair dryer, applied the wax...and bang; as soon as it hit the leather, major darkness again.
Was my wax too hot I wonder? I wet-formed the sheaths first and let them dry then did the wax treatment. I'm kinda upset at the results although the sheaths are still very usuable, just not pretty.
Wet forming works really well I might add. I did another one with Sno-seal and a hair dryer and no color problem , although I noticed sno-seal softens the leather from it's wet-formed hardness somewhat. Anyways, these are my first observations and I'm learning a lot and am hooked on doing this hobby.
Any comments and suggestions are surely welcomed !

Pete
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