Back in 1970 I used to dye blue before black. I used regular dye and not Pro dye and just dying my project black didn't give it any deep color. You could always see a little brownish color from the leather being dyed. Once I found out about the blue trick, my black belts, gun belts and holsters had a new look to them. Nice dark black. Thanks for another great tips video!
Oh boy, I wish I had this video 2 weeks ago :D I dyed a leather project in red, it came out really wonderful with the pro dye, but it had black spots everywhere I touched. It took me a while to see, that it was caused by my already used gloves. So I learned it the hard way. :) Thanks for the awesome shop trick videos and all the awesome projects, Chuck :)
As a beginner leather crafter, I'd love to see a tutorial on making a simple pair of boot gaiters to protect from brush and to keep out snow in deep conditions. Thanks for all the videos. Well done.
I’ve also heard adding mahogany to black dye in order to get a good black, now I will be curious to try blue and compare. Thanks for the tips! Btw the star trick reminds me of the Moravian star we see often at Christmas here.
I was just reading the comments to see if anyone else did this. I do this with any color dye. Leaves the leather nice and soft after as well. I also always use olive oil- learned that from an old timer as well.
You didn't mention it. Is that the Fiebing's Pro Oil dye you used in this video? That's the only dye I use. It looks like their only blue in that line is a Royal Blue.
Dollar Tree sells the type of plastic gloves that cafeteria workers wear in 100 packs for a dollar, or a $1.25 now I guess. For 2 cents a pair you don't have to worry about saving them
Hi Chuck, first, let me thank you for all of the wonderful and helpful information that you depict in these videos, they are well worth the watch, especially for someone about to pick up a swivel knife for the first time. I'd like to make a suggestion for a Leather Element video, please. For those reading this, if you think this would be a good video, show Chuck some love and like or respond to this comment. I have noticed that in about 97% of your videos, you always mention "one of the best" or "one of my favorite" tools, stamps, dyes, antiques, leathers, etc... I was wondering if you could compile a list of YOUR top 3 Best and/or top 3 Favorite tools (each category), accessories, along with other items giving a brief description of why you like each item? With 3 being least and 1 being best. Once you reach #1, give more of a detailed reason. I think, at least for me these videos would be extremely helpful. Especially for those of us who "Wanna be more like Chuck."😉
Instead of dying the leather blue and then going back and put black dye on it, why not just use black dye and then add a 2nd layer? Or does that not work as well as the blue and then black?
Great tips as always- Thank you! Like someone else commented, I use olive oil prior to dying ( no matter the color). Seems to provide a more even tone and won’t dry out the leather like water or just the dye. But I’m definitely going to try the blue/ black combo.
That sounds interesting but with a lighter color, like say tan, wouldn't the olive oil darken it considerably or do you just lightly cover it with oil and allow it to lighten up first before you dye?
@@bodeine454 it will darken a little. I add the dye right after I oil that way the dye soaks in more evenly. Would definitely recommend trying it out on a scrap piece. As it drys and “settles” into the leather it’ll lighten up some. Hope that helps and “good luck with your project” 😉
Having trouble with stitching - one side comes out great, even, angled and spaced nicely but the back looks like a straight stitch. I've tried going thru the loop, not going thru, pulling at all different angles and so on. Thoughts ??
Is there a particular shade of blue that works best or just the darkest blue that you have or is there only one shade of blue that you use/carry? Also, a couple commenters here say they rub a little olive oil onto the leather before they dye and that helps to deepen the color as well, this would be interesting to see also. One also states that rubbing olive oil onto it prior to dying leaves the leather nice and soft.
Now that gloves are becoming more available and prices are falling back close to pre-covid days, so you don't need to fret as much about going through a box of gloves quicker, that's what I've always done. It's not just leather workers, wood workers as well are subject to doing the same cross contamination of stain on a project. But I don't toss the gloves, I let the stain completely dry/set up and then turn then inside out and use then again.
