How do I change my brown leather sheath to black?

M

miguel_SF

Joined
Jan 3, 2002
Messages
127
Hello All:

I just got a small fixed blade with a "natural-colored" leather sheath with flap (and white thread). I know nothing about leather-working, but I do know that I'd rather have a black sheath (since the blade handle is black Micarta and doesn't really match the sheath). Is there a simple way to dye/paint/stain this sheath black? I need the finished product to look basically professional and not bleed.

Thanks-

miguel
 
Rit Dye. Its water based, and will bleach out onto other stuff if you don't let it dry really good.
If its a custom sheath you might be better off talking to the maker as wetting it might make it stiff or change the fit (probably not if your careful, but you never know)
 
Miguel,
What knife are you talking about? If you try to dye it yourself, you won't know the outcome until it may be too late. Perhaps you can get a second sheath made for you by one of several excellent sheath makers right here on the forums, so you can have both. IMHO a natural colored leather sheath is a beautiful thing that only gets prettier with age. Just my $.02
 
I've had success just using black leather dye found at WalMart, or just about any shoe store. The best stuff though is real leather dye from Tandy or any of the good leather companies. The leather should be totally clean for best results. No oil and no wax. The good thing about dying leather black is that if it comes out too light, just do it again.
 
Thanks for the suggestions (yes, even you alphamaniv - crayons might give it more of a people-friendly look:)). The knife is a Mike Irie Sport500, a really pretty small dagger, which I just got from Nordic Knives. The sheath is of good quality, but pretty basic - I wouldn't consider messing with it if it were tooled leather or otherwise fancy. It sounds like I have a few options for dying if I really don't like the color. However, as Marcelo suggests, I'm going to carry it a bit and see if it grows on me.

miguel
 
IMHO a natural colored leather sheath is a beautiful thing that only gets prettier with age.
Click to expand...

I really do agree. You will come to appreciate a natural sheath as it ages - they really do look good... If you really want it black though, PlaceKnives has a good suggestion. The black shoe dye from Wal Mart does a good job. It was designed for shoes, but it DOES work good on sheaths too. (it's all leather!) Like he said, if you're dying it black and it doesn't come out right, just do it again.

The best stuff is leather dye from Tandy. My brother makes leather armor - I mean real suits of leather armor from scratch like they wear at Renfair. He buys his bulk leather in the natural finish and dyes it with Tandy black leather dye. It turns out black - true black. Some dyes that claim to be black are actually very dark blue - so dark it almost looks black. The Tandy dye is true black and looks very good!
 
I have used black shoe polish on natural color sheaths. Doesn’t make'um black of course but it does darken the thread and leather. Looks pretty good.
 
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