Leathersmiths.....show us yer stuff, (#1) THIS THREAD IS NOW CLOSED

[Ten Wolves Fiveshooter]

Howdy All

      Boy this makes a pard feel good that you all like my new rig, Outrider and HorsePen, as you probably already know I tend to save things, I've had this Solid Brass buckle for over 50 years, I traded a neighbor kid a large bag of marbles for it back in 1954, I was really into the cowboy thing as a kid, guess I still am, this buckle has been on countless belts where there was a snap so I could change the buckle when I wanted, that's all I know about it, he said his Grandmother gave it to him and that it belonged to his Grandpa.

     Santee, & JD, the coffee I used to dye these pieces, was made with the cheapest DARK ROAST COFFEE I could find, I put the whole 1# can in a 20 qt. pot with lid, and plenty of water I usually make 10/12 QT.which filling the pot up just past half,along with some IRON shaving, maybe a 1/4 cup, I brought it to a boil and then let it simmer for 3 hours, then let it cool over night, and then did the same thing over again, after letting the coffee cool over night,I pour everything including the coffee grinds, into plastic container big enough to put my work piece in, I put my finished holster in the dye, and let it stay in there for 24 hours, then when dry, the first thing I used was Lexoil, after it dried , Neatsfoot oil, a couple coat, then BAG KOTE, and Gum thraecanth, both mixed at 40%/60% water,  with a final finish of Skidmores. tHE BELT was dyed before making. alcohol was added to the dye when done to preserve it, a 1/2 cup to a quart will do it, and store with tight lid in a heavy plastic container, I use the large cat litter jugs with the wide opening lid.


     Dalton you'll love a money belt, it's the most comfortable bet there is, Thanks
   
    Thanks Hank, for your kind words, and that won't happen Hank, you Pards are my folks, Justino and Irish Dave thanks pards for
your comments and kind words.


                                 Thanks All your comments are really appreciated 


                                             tEN wOLVES 
JD here is a picture of the holster and the color it is after dying and dried , the color is impregnated in the leather, and will jump out when oiled, you can see the difference in these two pictures, when oiled the color will return to the black coffee it was soaking in, which is a rich dark brown.

[cowboywc]

Howdy TW
Great work. You make me proud every time you make something.
WC

[cowboywc]

Howdy Johnny
Good lookin holsters.
WC

[Ten Wolves Fiveshooter]

Howdy TW
Great work. You make me proud every time you make something.
WC

   Thanks WC, if it wasn't for you, I wouldn't be doing any of this you've been a great teacher and mentor, and I continue to learn from you all the time.

                                        tEN wOLVES 

[Marshal Will Wingam]

I really like that finish, TW. My coffee attempt was a bust. I'll get the cheap stuff next time. Good tip.

[santee]

Yeah...think I'll try that route, also.

[Ten Wolves Fiveshooter]

                 Howdy Will & Santee

        if your going to do this make sure you get the DARK ROAST OR EXTRA DARK ROAST,I used the Ralphs/Krowgers brand the cheapest they had and the strongest, then don't get in a hurry, this whole process takes time , but I think it's worth it for the results you will get, just cook the heck out of it, it should look like old motor oil when finished, spend a couple days doing this , and DON'T FORGET TO PUT THE IRON IN,you need it for a mordant, then leave your piece in for 24 hour or longer, your on your own here, when you start the oiling , you can vary the shade by how much oil you apply.

                                     Good luck, and have fun with this 


                                            tEN wOLVES 

[Marshal Will Wingam]

OK, TW. I don't have any iron in it. That would explain why it wasn't taking. I'll boil the stuff again with some iron in it. Thanks for the tip. I knew you needed that in dying cloth but was unaware it was necessary with leather. I'll re-do it. Thanks.

I tried some since it wasn't coloring the way I wanted. Sheesh. It was strong enough to make a dog bite his grandmother.

[Ten Wolves Fiveshooter]

OK, TW. I don't have any iron in it. That would explain why it wasn't taking. I'll boil the stuff again with some iron in it. Thanks for the tip. I knew you needed that in dying cloth but was unaware it was necessary with leather. I'll re-do it. Thanks.

I tried some since it wasn't coloring the way I wanted. Sheesh. It was strong enough to make a dog bite his grandmother.

  Yea it gets strong OK, I use IRON, in all my natural dyes, it works great as a mordant, and will give you color that you can't get without it, you can use a hand full of iron nails, just make sure you clean any oil or grease off before you put them in, if you have some rusty ones all the better, and you can just leave them in your dye. if your dye has been sitting around for a long time, you can redo it, by putting it back in the pot and cooking it all over again, the alcohol will burn off real quick, and you will have to add more when it's ready to be put away again, this way you can really get some mileage out off your nuts and coffee so to speak. LOL just make sure you always use the Iron, it's really the KEY ingredient, you won't get much color without it.

                                           
                                                             tEN wOLVES 

[JD Alan]

Any suggestions as to a source of iron? Steel Wool good enough? I have a small steel shop that sells metal of all kinds, so I suppose they would have iron. does it need to be shavings, or just a chunk of iron? How about cooking in an iron pot?

This is all new to me, but the results are worth the effort.

Thanks Gents, JD

[santee]

I tried some since it wasn't coloring the way I wanted. Sheesh. It was strong enough to make a dog bite his grandmother.

HA! 

[Johnny McCrae]

JD,
I used twenty nails  to about 2-1/2 gallons of mix when making my Natural Walnut dye. I bought them from our local Hardware store. Don't know the "penny" size but they were around 3-1/2" long and 3/16" in diameter.

[cowboy316]

hey guys quick question since we are back on the coffee dye whole bean or ground?
    Cowboy316

[JD Alan]

Cowboy 316, I believe 10 Wolves talked about using the grounds, so I doubt it's whole bean. Also, he's using the cheapest store brand (I know Ralph's) and I don't think they have whole bean.

Johnny, I don't think nails are made out of iron, as distinguished from steel. But, I'm no metallurgist, and if that works for you, great. I can sure give that one a try. Thanks!

[Ten Wolves Fiveshooter]

Howdy Gents             


           MAKING COFFEE & NUT DYES = HOW TOO's

      Just so this doesn't get more complicated than it is.

  #1 , DARK ROAST COFFEE 1# CAN OR MORE, it's up to you, I make about 10 to 12 QT. with this, and I use a 20 qt. pot with lid, if you have a 20 qt. iron pot with lid , use it if you can lift it...
#2, use some IRON, SHAVINGS, IRON NAILS NOT PLATED OR GALVANIZED, JUST SIMPLE IRON NAILS, a lot of your finish nails are iron, if it will rust, or will stick to a magnet it has IRON IN IT, but you want to clean off any oil or grease it may have on it before you put it in your pot, steel wool is OK but you have to burn the oil out of it, which is a pain, LOTS OF SMOKE. WITHOUT IRON AS A MORDANT, YOU CAN'T ACHIEVE MUCH COLOR, IF AT ALL......
#3 with 10 to 12 QT. of water in your pot, bring it to a boil, then turn the flame down to a slow simmer, and let cook with the LID ON, for about three hours or so, let cool over night, and then do the same thing again the next day, if you want to cook it three or four days go ahead and do so, just make sure you keep your water up and don't let it boil dry, and leave the lid on through the whole process.
#4 AFTER THE COFFEE DYE HAS COOLED, you can pour the whole works, COFFEE/COFFEE GRINDS/IRON/DYE, in a thick plastic container, for what ever size you need for what you're going to dye, ( small and deep for holsters ) ( large and flat for belts )
#5 PUT YOUR LEATHER in the container, and leave it SUBMERGED for 24 hours or more if you want.
#6 REMOVE YOUR LEATHER  from the container, if it is a holster , you want to do your wet molding now, and let dry for 24 HOURS. if it is a belt, lay it out straight, so it will dry the way you want it.
#7 APPLY LEXOIL CONDITIONER, both sides of leather and let dry for a couple hours.
#8 APPLY NEATSFOOT OIL, a couple coats should do, but you can vary the color with the amount of oil you put on, LET DRY OVER NIGHT.
#9 THE FINISH is up to you, you can leave it the way it is now, or you can do like I did by using Gum Thraecanth at 40/60% water, and Bag Kote at 40/60% water, I use a spray bottle to apply this, just apply as you want and rub in, and when it looks the way you want , STOP... YOU can also finish your burnishing at this time.
#10 IF YOU WANT AN ANTIQUE LOOKING holster or belt, you will want to bend and twist your leather, to put some wrinkles in the leather, and give the leather that used look.
#11 AS A FINAL STEP, I apply a coat of Skidmores Leather Cream,
#12 NOW YOU WANT TO STORE YOUR DYE, I put the works in a empty cleaned CAT LITTER container, and I add a 1/2 cup of Rubbing alcohol to every QT. of dye, put the lid on tight and store.
#13 WHEN YOU WANT TO USE IT AGAIN, it will help to pour it all back in the pot and cook it again, the alcohol will burn off real quick, and you will have to add more at the end of your dying work, but this helps activate everything, you could even add more coffee at this time,
#14 JUST A NOTE, your dye should look like OLD MOTOR OIL, a dirty black, the Mexican one loop holster I did was dyed for 24 hours, and you can see the color of the coffee that came out when the leather was oiled, so have fun with this, you can create just about any shade or color you want by testing on scrap leather.
#15 When doing the NUT DYES, you want to remove nuts after cooking and before submerging your leather in the dye, you can hang the nuts up in a stocking and let air dry, or you can freeze them and use them again, also when cooking the nuts, I like to cook them for three days with the cooling in between, and when dyeing I leave my leather work submerged for five days, this longer time allows the color pigment to really get into the leather. Follow up the same as the Coffee dye.

       
                             I hope this will make it easier to follow how to make these dyes 


                                                   tEN wOLVES 

[cowboy316]

TW
  thanks bud im gonna give it a try today just got some maxwell house dark roast from walmart couldnt tell which of the walmart brand coffee was the dark roast so i went with one that said dark roast  LOL
  thanks again bud
       Cowboy316

[Hank Rugerman]

And That's why everyone on here knows what kind of Pard you are....You're a prince..and we appreciate you sharing that "How To"

It just don't get no better, being in a group like this one...

[Ten Wolves Fiveshooter]

                                Thanks Hank 


                                           TW 

[Gun Butcher]

  Wow, a guy is gone for a few days and it could take a week just to catchup. The amount and quality of work you pards are doing is tremendous

Like Hank said it don't get no better than this !!!!

[JD Alan]

Thanks very much for that info 10 Wolves, it's greatly appreciated. I'm coping it and storing it on my computer.

Bless you, JD