Best Dye for Sheaths?

T

The Mighty Ginsu

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Aug 11, 2016
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Working on my first sheath, for an Entrek Beaver.

Today I applied dye to the sheath. I got the dye from Hobby Lobby. Maybe there is a better source, but this is the place I thought of when I needed dye.

The dye is Fiebing low-VOC dark brown. I was disappointed to see that there was no applicator swab. Takes a long time to dye a sheath with Q-Tips.

Is this dye a good choice? Seemed to take forever to coat the leather. Lots of blotchiness. I decided to dip the welt in the dye to save time, and it still took three dips.

I followed the directions as I understood them. The sheath was damp when I started.
 
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Another question.

I am about to put grooves in the sheath for stitching. I'm using a 4-prong punch to make the holes. Should I groove the opposite side AFTER punching? I'm afraid that if I groove both sides in advance, I may turn the sheath over and find out the punch missed the grooves on the underside.
 
Fiebings is good dye, but havent heard great things abiut the low voc version. I used the pro oil dye they make. You dont need a wool dauber, a cheap kitchen sponge would work just fine. If you're looking for an even coat, applying .multiple coats is normal.

About the groover, it would be a fine idea to wait for the reason you said. Everyone has different ways they punch sheaths. Me personally i dont use a stitching groover, it stops the stitching from getting that nice slant. Some people punch the holes before they glue anything and line up the holes with needles as tbey glue. Its all preference. I punch half way through from one side, use my awl to go all the way through on the first hole, then punch the rest of the way from the back.
 
Thanks for the help. Now I'm wondering what people use to back up leather when punching holes. Maybe a piece of plywood? I don't want to drive the punch into my workbench!
 
The Mighty Ginsu said:
Thanks for the help. Now I'm wondering what people use to back up leather when punching holes. Maybe a piece of plywood? I don't want to drive the punch into my workbench!
Click to expand...

Back up For punching the holes. I use old cutting boards (plastic type) or soft wood ie reg 2x4 or 2x6. I’ve done this with mallet and with press.
 
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