Dying leather, edge finishing, etc

[Finagler]

I made myself a pancake holster the other day, finished the edges with gum traganth but when I went to dye the leather, there were some areas that would not take the dye.  The leather looked clean so I didn't do anything extra to clean it.  Would the gum keep the dye from penetrating?  What should I have cleaned it with?  Denatured alcohol?  Is there anything I can do now to get the dye to penetrate?  Should I have dyed it first and then finished the edges?  Thanks for your help.

[Boothill Bob]

Howdy Finagler.
The gum will seal the leather and keep the dye from penetrating.
I allways fix my edges after dying the leather..

//BhB

[Cliff Fendley]

I dampen them and slick down before dying then use the gum trag after dying for the final slicking.

You may try using edge coat on the edges now. You can get it in black and brown. It looks fine on something like a modern pancake holster.

[Finagler]

Can I put some denatured alcohol on the areas that didn't take the dye well, will that make it more receptable to taking dye or would I be wasting my time?

[TN Mongo]

You might try gently re-sanding those edges.  Start with something about 150 grit (don't over do it) and then finish with something finer - I like 600 grit.  Wet and re-burnish those areas.  I've quit using gum trag.  Instead, I use Fiiebing's Glycerine Saddle Soap and dampen the edge when I burnish.  Once the edges are dry, I dye the whole piece.  I often then take a darker shade of the same dye and touch-up the edges.  If I still have a light spot or two, I pull out the brown or black Sharpie and touch up those areas and blend it into the rest of the edge.

I then put a couple of coats of leather finish on the whole piece (Fiebing's BagKote, Tandy's Satin Shene, or Fiebing's Carnauba Creme).  My final step for the edges is to rub them with a 50/50 mix of paraffin and bee's wax and hit them with a different burnishing wheel.

I tried Edge Kote when I first started making leather again and it did not work well for me.  It seemed to "peel off" the edges when it dried.  I may have been using it incorrectly, but I have not used it since.

[Beauregard Hooligan]

I seem to be doing more work using black dye these days, and wearing latex gloves is necessary, unless I want to spend an hour when I'm finished sanding off the top layer of my skin with Lava soap. I'm really sold on using the airbrush for applying stain and finish. I tried it out of curiosity, and I don't think I'll ever look back. There are still places where daubers and brushes are needed, but to get even and deep color, it's very hard to beat a $70 Paasche airbrush.