Questions about Wickett & Craig dyed leather

PIndelicato

PIndelicato

Joined
Sep 16, 2002
Messages
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I've about used up my double shoulder of non-dyed Wickett & Craig leather and need to order some more. I'm thinking about trying some of the pre-dyed this time to save some time/steps in sheath construction, but I have never used pre-dyed material before and I have a few (dumb?) questions about working with it:

-Is it dyed all the way through? (ie, does cutting, tooling, carving, sanding, etc. expose undyed material, or does the color go all the way through?)

-I can't really afford buying more than one color right now. Could I buy, for example, a brown dyed piece and then re-dye it black if I want a black finished product instead?

-Not really related to being pre-dyed, but what grade (SP, UT, STD, etc.) and type (Skirting, Work Harness, Carving, etc.) are most folks using for sheath work? I recall specifically asking for 'double shoulder' when I ordered my first piece from them, but I also recall going around in circles a bit with them on the different grades they offer and what they were recommending for sheath and holster work.


Thanks in advance for any help!
 
Your questions answered based on my personal experience.

It is dyed top grain and flesh side, but there is an area in the middle that the dye does not penetrate. If you have the leather split to a specific thickness ie. 8/10 split to 7/8, quite a bit of the dye depth is removed from the flesh side. It does penetrate deeper on the top grain side, so carving and stamping presents no problems at all. Edges will have to be dyed after finishing for sure, but the time and expense of dying will be cut way short and it makes it well worth buying the dyed leather for me.

I buy only skirting and have it split to my desired thickness. SP can sometimes be a little lesser quality with regard to blemishes, but it also carries a lower price than the UT. I use both. I will buy SP if it is available, but most of the time I get the UT. I also buy only full sides, not double shoulders etc.

I find that 7/8 (split from 8/10 skirting) and 2/3 (for lining and other light work, also split from 8/10) suits my needs for sheaths and holster work , but I do line everything I make. If I were making unlined I'd probably opt for 8/10 either split from 10/12 or straight 8/10 skirting. A side split to 8/10 from a 10/12 will be more uniform in thickness than an unsplit 8/10

The leather comes in three dyed colors as you know. Chestnut, brown and black. Any of them can be dyed or re-dyed black but only black.

Paul
 
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Thank you Mr. Long, I really appreciate your reply. I think I will order a side of the dyed skirting and see how it works out.

I'd like a medium to dark brown...would that be the chestnut color? I'm having a little trouble determining what the colors look like viewing their website photos.

Also, is there a particular dye that you have found as a good color match to their dyes when touchup is necessary? I currently have and am using the following Fiebing's products: #121 Medium Brown, Pro Oil Saddle Tan, Pro Oil Dark Brown, and Pro Oil Black.

Thank you again for your assistance!
 
Check the photo below. Left to right finished color, Russet, Black Brown, Chestnut. Never had to try to match dyes on the top grain. I use Feibing's Pro Oil Dye, dark brown or black on the edges. Russet and chestnut do get one coat of Neatsfoot oil in the finishing process.
 
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Bringing this back to ask a question.

When buying the predyed leather, is it necessary to do the heavy buffing with a towel to remove excess pigment from the leather so it won't bleed? Or do they do some type of finishing at the tannery?
 
Brown and Chestnut are pretty well color fast. You can buff a little black dust off of the black, but for The most part it does not present even nearly the residual "dust" that top dying causes.

Paul
 
Awesome. That in itself makes buying predyed worth looking into. I hate having to buff and buff and buff some more just to get that last bit of pigment off of the sheath so I don't have to worry about it coming off on my customer's clothes.
 
PIndelicato said:
Thank you for the photo, that really helps. Again, I appreciate your help!
Click to expand...

GrizzlyBear said:
Awesome. That in itself makes buying predyed worth looking into. I hate having to buff and buff and buff some more just to get that last bit of pigment off of the sheath so I don't have to worry about it coming off on my customer's clothes.
Click to expand...

Gents, Paul knows what he's talking about. I started using W&C's Pre-dyed Saddle Skirting March of last year and love it!! I make a lot of fold over style machete sheaths and have noticed that the color runs a little when the leather is under the sink, but once it dries there is no problem. 2 weeks ago I made a prototype holster and used some left over leather from an inexpencive should from an other company. The leather was not to hard to work with, had to dye it and the finish was okay. Yesterday morning (Saturday) I started a new holster with 8-10oz Brown Saddle Skirting. Finished it about an hour ago, the leather was easy to wet mold, edges were easier to finish and the overall apearence is Very nice!! The difference between the two holsters is night and day. Saving hours because I didn't need to dye the leather was also nice. ;)
 
sheathmaker said:
Your questions answered based on my personal experience.

It is dyed top grain and flesh side, but there is an area in the middle that the dye does not penetrate. If you have the leather split to a specific thickness ie. 8/10 split to 7/8, quite a bit of the dye depth is removed from the flesh side. It does penetrate deeper on the top grain side, so carving and stamping presents no problems at all. Edges will have to be dyed after finishing for sure, but the time and expense of dying will be cut way short and it makes it well worth buying the dyed leather for me.

I buy only skirting and have it split to my desired thickness. SP can sometimes be a little lesser quality with regard to blemishes, but it also carries a lower price than the UT. I use both. I will buy SP if it is available, but most of the time I get the UT. I also buy only full sides, not double shoulders etc.

I find that 7/8 (split from 8/10 skirting) and 2/3 (for lining and other light work, also split from 8/10) suits my needs for sheaths and holster work , but I do line everything I make. If I were making unlined I'd probably opt for 8/10 either split from 10/12 or straight 8/10 skirting. A side split to 8/10 from a 10/12 will be more uniform in thickness than an unsplit 8/10

The leather comes in three dyed colors as you know. Chestnut, brown and black. Any of them can be dyed or re-dyed black but only black.

Paul
Click to expand...


Paul, you might not know this, but will the brown/chestnut respond to vinegroon? I used it the other day and got a nice dark black, but don't know if it would work on brown dyed leather. (takes a bit to get the smell out too!)
 
I've also been considering using predyed leather. Seems like it would save quite a bit of time. One thing I have noticed with the previous sides from W&C I have ordered is that they were very firm compared to other leather from different suppliers I have used. I have only ordered W&C's Russet sides. Does anyone know if the dyed leather sides are the same firmness as the undyed sides?
 
Bigfattyt said:
Paul, you might not know this, but will the brown/chestnut respond to vinegroon? I used it the other day and got a nice dark black, but don't know if it would work on brown dyed leather. (takes a bit to get the smell out too!)
Click to expand...
Not Paul, but the answer is yes. Vinegar blacking is technically not a dye, but a reagent which means the color is created by a chemical reaction between the iron in solution and the tannins (i. tannic acid) in the leather, thus most any veg/bark tanned leather will react and turn black - the only ones that may not might be the heavily pre-waxed/fat stuffed harness leathers.
 
Goose_52 said:
I've also been considering using predyed leather. Seems like it would save quite a bit of time. One thing I have noticed with the previous sides from W&C I have ordered is that they were very firm compared to other leather from different suppliers I have used. I have only ordered W&C's Russet sides. Does anyone know if the dyed leather sides are the same firmness as the undyed sides?
Click to expand...

The dyed leather is generally the same quality and firmness as the Russet. Once again I am referring to skirting sides as I don't buy shoulders etc, but I think you would be safe in assuming the same standard applies.
 
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