Too Late to Dye My Sheath?

redsquid2

redsquid2

Rockabilly Interim Pardon Viscount
Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
Joined
Aug 31, 2011
Messages
3,121
I guess the subject line says it.

I have a nice leather sheath that I have wet formed for my knife. I have not put any kind of finish or water protection on it. I would like to darken it. I want it to be either black or brown. For a brown color, I think a natural walnut dye might be nice. Is it too late to put some color in it? If I dip it in walnut dye, or dab Fiebings dye on it, will that ruin the wet-forming?

What would olive oil do to the color?

Thanks.

squiddy
 
I dye mine after I form them, I just dip a sponge in the dye and wipe it on and then buff it with a old rag after it dries to even it out
 
I dip-dye my sheaths after forming and sewing. I use rubbing alcohol to deglaze the leather for an even dye coat. Also, the water content in the rubbing alcohol will very lightly dampen the leather as well which can be beneficial for dying.

--nathan
 
Hopefully you didn't get glue anywhere noticeable on the outside of your sheath. Other than that, you should be fine.
 
I use Neatsfoot oil to color and protect my fillet knife sheaths.I put on rubber gloves, put the Neatsfoot Oil it in a pan, dip in the sheath, rub it in all over, drain off the excess and wipe as much off as possible with my fingers ( back into the pan), and then suspend them OUTSIDE on a dowel to drip. After about five minutes I rub them dry with a clean paper towel and put the sheaths back on the dowels to dry for a few days. I usually give them a second wipe down after 24 hours, to get any excess from the tip end. Once dry, I buff by hand with a soft cotton cloth. They get a nice mellow dark tan/light brown color. If I want black, I do sort of the same thing with a pan of black oil based dye.
 
Yep all the above. Warm your dye or oil up first. That also greatly aids in a uniform coat. I get a real rich reddish brown by using neatsfoot oil and then letting the sun darken it. I use a brush to apply and warm the oil in an old crock pot. All after wet forming.
 
Does anybody here have pictures of the finished product with neatsfoot oil? Don't go taking pictures on my account. Just post if you have a link handy. I am especially interested in the sunlight treatment and how it looks after it darkens.

Thanks again, and thanks for all of the tips.
 
I always dye and polish after shaping, I tried it before shaping Once and the water soak changed the color in splotches. I'm guessing the grain changes in the leather expanding and retracting gave the ugly appearance I ended up with. Just my experience like I said only tried it once so maybe it was just bad luck.
Sterling
 
It's a lot of fun.

First, I found some threads like this one:
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/846397-Vinegaroon-quot-Homebrew-Black-Dye-quot

Poured some vinegar in a small jar. Poured in some iron filings. Didn't have much iron filings, so I went outside and found an old rusty nail and dropped that in there, too. Now it is like 16 hours later, and the stuff is still bubbling.

In a week, I'll have lots of good black dye at a cost of $00.01 [give or take].

Fun.
 
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Redsquid check http://yhst-54354486753232.stores.yahoo.net/index.html for a picture of one of my sheaths and a pair of wrist cuffs done that way. I use to offer sheaths in a wide array of colors. I don't anymore just this way. I think that it makes a more serviceable sheath too. I use to often wonder about dyes drying the leather. I know that custom saddle makers (where saddles start at $5,000 on up) will almost exclusively use this technique. We have several of these types of saddles and its all we ride through very rough ranching conditions. It keeps the leather usable over a long period of time through all kinds of weather. Also look at my holster page http://www.horsewrightclothing.com/subpages/holsters/range.html for a few more examples.
 
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Horsewright said:
I don't anymore just this way. I think that it makes a more serviceable sheath too.... saddle makers (where saddles start at $5,000 on up) will almost exclusively use this technique. We have several of these types of saddles and its all we ride through very rough ranching conditions. It keeps the leather usable over a long period of time through all kinds of weather. ... http://www.horsewrightclothing.com/subpages/holsters/range.html for a few more examples.
Click to expand...

You are referring to the neatsfoot oil, right?
 
Yep. The belt in those pics has been more exposed so it has a deeper color than the new articles. Give the neatsfoot a try I think ya'll like it. Also use 100% neatsfoot not neatsfoot compound.
 
Horsewright said:
Yep. The belt in those pics has been more exposed so it has a deeper color than the new articles. Give the neatsfoot a try I think ya'll like it. Also use 100% neatsfoot not neatsfoot compound.
Click to expand...

It's all nice stuff. I really like that range holster. You don't see that style of holster very often.

Now let's see if I can find any pure neetsfood oil in Chicago.:05.18-flustered:
 
Thanks. Look for a Tandy's and leather crafting store. Also any Tack/saddelry store will have it. Shouldn't be too tough to fine. Then of course ya can order it on line.
 
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