Whacha Been Up To......

[ecallahan]

I hit mt WC with neatsfoot. It won’t take a lot but I feel it is a good move. Give it another coat after a month or 2.

Edit: I responded too quickly. I use the English Bridle.

 

[Horsewright]

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Excellent work and great pics too!

I have a question. I'm tired of dyeing my own leather. So I bought some Wickett and Craig Traditional Harness Leather, dyed at the tannery. I'm practicing for sheath making by making a few field notes memo book holders.

I'm not sure if I should put neatsfoot oil on this type of dyed leather. But I put a thin coat of neatsfoot oil on a scrap piece of leather and it looks great, and appears to have absorbed the oil.

Does anyone have experience with using neatsfoot oil on this type of leather.

Thanks!

Yes we use to use a lot of that harness leather in making reins. It does oil up pretty well. If you are wet molding your sheaths, the harness leather won't work well for you there though.

 

[ron55]

Excellent work and great pics too!


Yes we use to use a lot of that harness leather in making reins. It does oil up pretty well. If you are wet molding your sheaths, the harness leather won't work well for you there though.

Ok Thanks Dave! The harness leather I have now is just for the memo book covers. No wet molding there.

But I do have 2 black sheaths that I want to make. And I dont want to dye - I want dyed at the tannery.

What type of dyed leather would be best for wet molding - English Bridle leather?

 

[Horsewright]

Ok Thanks Dave! The harness leather I have now is just for the memo book covers. No wet molding there.

But I do have 2 black sheaths that I want to make. And I dont want to dye - I want dyed at the tannery.

What type of dyed leather would be best for wet molding - English Bridle leather?

Drum dyed veg tan. It’ll work same as reg veg tan. The russet and chestnut Wicket and Craig I use are both drum dyed

 

[ron55]

Drum dyed veg tan. It’ll work same as reg veg tan. The russet and chestnut Wicket and Craig I use are both drum dyed

Thanks! Perfect!

 

[Horsewright]

Thanks! Perfect!

You bet. Yeah I gave up dyeing leather years ago.

 

[ron55]

Had to use up my old dye before I switch to drum dyed leather. So I whipped up a sheath for a knife I bought on Etsy.

 

[jfk1110]

Had to use up my old dye before I switch to drum dyed leather. So I whipped up a sheath for a knife I bought on Etsy.

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Nice blade and pants!!!

 

[Horsewright]

Had to use up my old dye before I switch to drum dyed leather. So I whipped up a sheath for a knife I bought on Etsy.

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Yes indeed! Very clean work.

 

[harronek]

It’s been ages since I last visited here and I’ve spent a good amount of time scanning through all of the posts .
All I can say is great work to all that have contributed.

Ken

 

[ron55]

Yes indeed! Very clean work.

Thanks! I'm glad you posted about the Wickett and Craig drum dyed leather. It looks far better than anything that I can dye. And the price is ok for me considering the few leather pieces that I do. Dyeing (for me) is a pita. I have to give it several coats to get an even finish and by then it's almost black. I could never dye a lighter color.

 

[Horsewright]

It’s been ages since I last visited here and I’ve spent a good amount of time scanning through all of the posts .
All I can say is great work to all that have contributed.

Ken

Great to see you here Ken! Doing any leatherwork?

Thanks! I'm glad you posted about the Wickett and Craig drum dyed leather. It looks far better than anything that I can dye. And the price is ok for me considering the few leather pieces that I do. Dyeing (for me) is a pita. I have to give it several coats to get an even finish and by then it's almost black. I could never dye a lighter color.

Yep it's the way to go for me too.

A few recents:

Went over to a friend's for some brisket. Thought some here would like Nichole's t shirt:

The meat was from one of our grass fed and finished steers:

Building a walkway behind the shop. Ultimate plan is to build a windscreen type fence there too. The wind howls through there during a storm and pushes rain through the bottom.

Finishing the sheaths today on a new batch. Cut up some elk scales:

That's my limit of pics I'll finish in another post.

 

[Horsewright]

Motoring on:

The elk are dyed in a solution of Potassium Permanganate and when they come out they are that dark purple color but they dry to a dark brown.

Then once completely dry a couple of coats of clear coat:

Once that's dry they are good to go.

Working on a matched set of a hunter and skinner. After clay coated heat treat:

Two on the left:

Bolsters on:

Handle material on, trimmed and profiled:

Up to 400 grit on the handles and 600 grit on the spine.

After buffing and sharpening:

Sheath time:

Whaha been up too?

 

[jfk1110]

Motoring on:

The elk are dyed in a solution of Potassium Permanganate and when they come out they are that dark purple color but they dry to a dark brown.

Then once completely dry a couple of coats of clear coat:

Once that's dry they are good to go.

Working on a matched set of a hunter and skinner. After clay coated heat treat:

Two on the left:

Bolsters on:

Handle material on, trimmed and profiled:

Up to 400 grit on the handles and 600 grit on the spine.

After buffing and sharpening:

Sheath time:

Whaha been up too?

Some fine work sir!!

 

[Horsewright]

Some fine work sir!!

Thank you!

 

[A.L.]

I have been wondering / meaning to ask how do you think these tilted pancake sheaths work for super thick belts (5-6mm)? Would you recommend thinner belts or do these adjust over time?

 

[badweatherbiker]

Ordered the buckaroo today!

 

[Horsewright]

Ordered the buckaroo today!

Very cool thank you! I did check the size of the knives you mentioned in the comments section and I think the small size is the one for sure you want. Tried emailing you but it wouldn't go through.

I have been wondering / meaning to ask how do you think these tilted pancake sheaths work for super thick belts (5-6mm)? Would you recommend thinner belts or do these adjust over time?

Well kinda a bit of both. Thinner belts do work a lil better but the sheath itself does break in over time too. I have gone, the last few years to making the top slot longer. This helps with break in too and helps to removeve any wobble or wad of belt under the sheath. I've had one customer ask me to make him a thinner belt. But his other one was A very thick caved belt. He didn't want to deform the carving by using it for his pancake sheath. I've had one of my wholesale clients, whom only orders pancakes, say that his customers say it takes about a month for the sheath to break in. Hope this helps.

 

[SwissHeritageCo]

Very cool thank you! I did check the size of the knives you mentioned in the comments section and I think the small size is the one for sure you want. Tried emailing you but it wouldn't go through.


Well kinda a bit of both. Thinner belts do work a lil better but the sheath itself does break in over time too. I have gone, the last few years to making the top slot longer. This helps with break in too and helps to removeve any wobble or wad of belt under the sheath. I've had one customer ask me to make him a thinner belt. But his other one was A very thick caved belt. He didn't want to deform the carving by using it for his pancake sheath. I've had one of my wholesale clients, whom only orders pancakes, say that his customers say it takes about a month for the sheath to break in. Hope this helps.

How long does it take you to carve one of those sheaths? It looks like it would be absolute hell to do lol, but then again you are a wizard after all.

 

[Horsewright]

How long does it take you to carve one of those sheaths? It looks like it would be absolute hell to do lol, but then again you are a wizard after all.

Aw shucks, thank you. Bout thirty minutes or so from the time the pattern is transferred to the leather to finished. Mostly I do several at a time. I’ll do each step to each one before moving on to the next step.