Stamp/impression before or after dye?

[Emphasiski]

just like the title says, do I dye before or after i stamp/impression designs into the leather? Also, do I dye the inner portion of the leather? And also dye the portion being glued? I'm using a black dye/sealer combo on vegetable tanned leather.

 

[Gary W. Graley]

It depends on the final output of the embossing, if I am to leave it
a different colour than the entire sheath, I emboss first before dyeing.
If the embossing will be dyed the same as the sheath, I now dye it
and then emboss, especially on lighter coloured sheaths, just works
better for me.

I don't dye down inside the sheath, if you are not careful you can
get transfer from the dye to the scales, depending on the knife of course.

This dye you are going to use, I highly recommend using the Fiebings
Black Oil based professional dye, there is another black dye that is
kinda like a two part deal, I think it's some kind of Marine stuff or has
Marine in the name some where. I Avoid that at all costs as it always
seemed to rub off on you, your clothes and about anything it came in
contact with, a two part thing that for me just didn't work. Where the
Fiebings really works very well !

Back to the embossing, if you are forming the sheath, you will want to
wait until you have it fully formed and dry so that all the give is taken
out of the leather and then emboss away.

I use a very thick block of steel to emboss on and also place smaller
blocks of aluminum beneath the leather to act as mini anvils.

and here's some steps where I emboss, dye around the embossing and
then use highliter to darken the area of the embossing to bring out details

highliter is a thicker goouey gunk that will wipe off but be left in the creases
of the embossing to help it look more 3d like;

after drying a little, wiping it down leaves this effect;

hope that helps some for you,
G2

 

[Emphasiski]

That helps a bunch Gary, thanks!!!

 

[Gary W. Graley]

You're welcome, a key thing is a solid base that you are pounding on,
I have a large marble block from Tandy AND that steel block plus the
small pieces of aluminum, so you can imagine things are sitting solid.
Also press downward with the embossing tool as best you can, so
as not to get any bounce effect when you strike the tool.

Here's an example of a sheath that was overall dyed burgundy and the
embossing was a saddle tan, but also rubbed in some of the highliter
to bring out the details of the embossing. It's a bit tricky and not
something I like to do too often;

The highliter stuff seems to have changed from the first batch I have, the new
stuff doesn't wipe away as well, so you have to be careful with it. Here's one
I did and used the highliter to bring out the detail of the fish...

Another tip, after I emboss, I'll wait a bit and strike it again as the leather likes to
spring back to it's original shape, BUT don't over do it, you can hammer too much
and go through the leather, so practice is a good thing with embossing!

G2