Noob mistake - looking for advice

W

wareaglecj

Joined
Dec 30, 2014
Messages
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Hello. I am new to this forum (been lurking for a while) and new to leather working (dozen sheaths to date, all for family and friends) and I could certainly use some advice from the more experienced on here. I am building a machete sheath for my dad for a surprise birthday present. This is by far the largest project I have tackled but the process has been very smooth and rewarding, until now. All components but the horizontal straps got glued together today so I sanded the edges and set to dye them using oil based dye. Well as you can see from the pictures (fingers crossed they show) the dye ran on me pretty bad before I caught it. [emoji31]. I was so proud of the two-tone look of the sheath and all of the hours I have put into designing and construction of this sheath that I was literally sick to my stomach... So my question is: is it better to wait and see how much the leather "settles" or should I just go ahead and add more dye and darken up the whole piece to even it out

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I can't go any further with the straps and sewing until I decide. His birthday is 2 weeks away if that helps.

I apologize for the long post and appreciate any feedback you guys can give.

Chris
 
Once it's there it's gonna stay there until it all gets darker. But man, that sucks. This is one of the reasons why I like my stuff dyed black, doesn't matter if runoff, oils, stains, happens it's still gonna be black.
 
that sucks! i had to go through 2 machete sheathes for a friend before i got it right. that was a lot of wasted leather:(
 
Feel for ya. Thats one of the reasons I very seldom dye an edge. I'd probably dye the whole thing now. You'll probably still see a little of it afterwards but it won't be as noticeable.
 
Thank you all for the quick response. I have added two more coats of dye. I really liked the original color but it sure beats starting over again... Horsewrigjt, how do you skip dying the edges? I tried just burnishing without dye but it does not look as "finished" as I would like.
 
FYI, oiled and or wet leather doesn't run so bad. I'm would dye the out side to the tooling. Make it look like it is an inlay. It also helps if there is a cut where it is supposed to stop.
 
Ok, I looked again. I would dye the whole thing one shade darker then you had planned, but as you had planned.
 
Cody, are you saying to wet the leather before you dye so it doesn't run? I have always dyed it after it had dried from the casing... Thanks for your input. This has been quite a learning process.
 
wareagle I just rub the edges I don't dye them. Burnishing the edges will darken them up some but not as dark as dyeing. here's a pair of spurstraps finished off yesterday. This pic kinda illustrates the edges.

YqMkO9A.jpg


Mostly a cultural thing but dyed edges aren't seen much in my world. Mostly I think that is backlash against products like EdgeKote where the darker edge equates less quality. Its not an abosolute thing but call it a buckaroo bias.
 
Well it's hard to argue with those results! I tend to gravitate toward the darker dyes and even though burnishing darkens the edges it just did not look right to me. I think the problem is more in my edge work and not the color, to be honest.
 
If you are dying your project you will need to dye the edge as well. Dave doesn't dye his edges, but he also doesn't use dye anywhere on his work as a rule.
I can't tell from the photo if you were trying to use a darker dye on the edge or it is just wetter, making it appear to be darker.

Chris
 
wareagle check out my thread on how to build a pancake sheath in the stickies. I go over there how I edge. Chris, I've lost your email. Was gonna write ya and tell ya I received a very COOL box in the mail. Thanks. Gadsen thank you sir. Building up Christmas stock.
 
As a non-SME (Subject Matter Expert) I wonder were you using a dauber? Looks like what ever you used it held too much dye, perhaps using a Q-tib, with just a little dye would prevent it from running. You would have to dip the Q-tip more often, but it might be worth the effort. John
 
I like that acornym John! Thats funny! You are on the right track too. Years ago Tandy made two type of daubers. The commonly seen wool one that we see today and one out of a hard dense piece of felt about 3/8" thick. Those felt ones rocked for dyeing edges (misspent youth). If a guy wanted to dye edges maybe a clothespin and some felt?
 
Dave is right on. I have used small, shaped pieces of felt cut from a larger piece to dye edges for a long time. I just hold them with a small spring clamp but a clothespin would surely work as well. It gives you excellent control and, if you use oil dyes, you can keep them in a small plastic bag and use over and over. Just don't forget what color they were used with. It does work best to smooth the edge first. Some added finishing will usually be required. I use paraffin buffed in as a final step.
 
Horsewright said:
Mostly a cultural thing but dyed edges aren't seen much in my world. Mostly I think that is backlash against products like EdgeKote where the darker edge equates less quality. Its not an abosolute thing but call it a buckaroo bias.
Click to expand...

That's something I never realised , but I guess it makes sense .
In the past I spent hours trying to get my edges perfect , but came to the realisation that a mirror finish lasts about 3 minutes in the real world and a simple smooth and even finish is more practical .

Ken
 
You are correct John I was using a dauber. I will try the q-tip next time... Horsewright I will certainly check out your tutorial as I know I have a lot to learn. I also learned a lot from Paul Long's dvd. He used a dauber to dye his edge, if I remember correctly, but I imagine it has a lot to do with technique and a steady hand. I will try the q-tip or felt and see how that goes.

Thanks again,
Chris
 
Horsewright said:
wareagle I just rub the edges I don't dye them. Burnishing the edges will darken them up some but not as dark as dyeing. here's a pair of spurstraps finished off yesterday. This pic kinda illustrates the edges.

YqMkO9A.jpg


Mostly a cultural thing but dyed edges aren't seen much in my world. Mostly I think that is backlash against products like EdgeKote where the darker edge equates less quality. Its not an abosolute thing but call it a buckaroo bias.
Click to expand...

I don't want to sound like a suck up but you are my leather hero haha. I hope that someday my work will turn out just as nice as yours!
 
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