how can I darken a sheath?

[Fallbrook Forge]

I got a knife sheath for my Busse BATAC recently and it turned out to be a little too light for my taste. Is there a way I can darken the leather to a chestnut like color?

 

[rifon2]

There are so many sheathmakers here on BF, I'm sure you'll get some great responses.

I'd personally suggest mink oil or neatsfoot oil, depending on how the sheath has been finished.

 

[xaman]

well, do you know what the sheath has been finished with? That will greatly determine what you can do to it. First step is probably to contact the maker and find out what it's coated or finished with...

 

[ilbruche]

Good points. If it's coated with resolene or something you'll need to get that off the sheath. Usually deglazer will remove a lot of finishes....but it's best to find out what is on it first.

 

[ElectrikHellfire]

You can try some successive coats of Neats foot oil. Short of that you can try some dyes from Tandy Leather and cut them with alcohol for the alcohol based ones or oil for the oil based ones. I often have to cut mine to get a lighter finish. Good luck.

 

[sheathmaker]

Grunt, a lot depends on how the sheath was finished. If it has a sealer top coat such as TanKote, Risolene, NeatLac, etc. then that has to be removed with a deglazer in order to successfully re apply the successive coats of neatsfoot oil as recommended by Eletrikhellfire.

A fairly simple way to darken it some requires only some patience. Set it in direct sunlight and leave it all day. The next day do the reverse side. You will be amazed at how quickly the sunshine puts a darker color "burn" on your sheath, Just remember to turn it daily until it approaches a shade you like. In hot Texas sun untreated leather will turn three or four shades darker in just a couple of hours, but remember the shaded parts retain their light color.

Paul