Finishing Leather - Using Neatsfoot Oil

When selecting a method for putting the finishing touches or “finish” on your leather project it is not a whole lot different than selecting the color you want to have your house painted. The selection you make is a matter of what you like or do not like at the time. For the longest time my favorite way of finishing leather project, that I made for myself had to be with the pattern sealed and with a combination of oxblood and mahogany antique finishes mixed together. I used that combination for too many years and I believe that I still have some oxblood and the combination of the two still around. I have eliminated the oxblood and just use the mahogany antique finish now.

I still like to use antique finish on some projects because I think that it really sets them off in a way that dyeing or staining the background does not. I do like a dyed background on some projects but I have never been partial to it because of the time factor involved in getting it done. I may have mentioned a few posts ago that I used to use a lacquer finish on all of my projects, including those that had Neatsfoot oil on them. I got away from using the lacquer on the oiled projects but it really defeats the purpose of using the oil, which is rejuvenation of the leather.

Since the last post, I tooled some samples and used different methods of finishing them. There is one method that I found on a site that suggested using a product that I already have on hand. I do not plan to use it on any of my projects unless they have been completed for many years. Some photos of the different samples will follow on this post and maybe one more afterwards so that I do not bore you with too many details.

I used the same carving pattern on all the following ones that I had used on the previous sample. The first photo is actually two tooled patterns, each done on different weights and leather tanned by different companies. The lighter colored leather is the same as that which I used on the first example. It is 2-3 ounce leather that I for lining special projects. If I were to make a somewhat educated guess, I would say that the lighter weight leather is tanned by a different process as well. It does not seem to have the oils in it that the heavier leather does.

The photos that below are to show the difference between the initial look of a pattern tooled on 9-10 ounce leather and that tooled on the 2-3 ounce lining leather. At first look, you will notice that the leather on the right is much lighter than that on the left. Again, my guess is that the lighter colored leather is tanned by a different process. When I worked for the saddle shop in Pendleton, Oregon a 9-10 ounce leather was purchased for me to use for making belts. It was one of the worst leathers that I had ever had to carve. My swivel knife blade would chatter on the leather as I attempted to carve the pattern.

Pattern samples before applying Neatsfoot Oil

Looking at the samples/examples above you can easily see the difference in the colors of the raw leather after it had been tooled. I like the more mellow look of the sample on the left. The decorative cuts and the impressions left by the stamps are more distinct in the heavier weight leather than the lighter one on the right. The decorative cuts just above the flower on the right are just some of my playing around; testing my skills at making the decorative cuts.

The photo below shows both of the previous samples of tooling after they have been covered with a liberal coat of Neatsfoot Oil. You can still see the difference in the colors between the different types of leathers. Even after being covered with the oil, the one on the right is still much lighter in color. In addition, at first glance it might look as if I have destroyed the sample on the left because of the darkness of the leather. Most of this type of leather will appear very dark even after just one coat of Neatsfoot Oil because the grain absorbs the oil readily.

Pattern samples immediately after applying Neatsfoot Oil

You will also notice that I labeled these samples at the bottom so that I would remember what they are.­­ That way I know what they are now and I will be able to read the label at the bottom and know what they are in the future. If you look at the background that is stamped on each of the samples, you will notice that on the left is much darker than that on the right. Looking at the edges of the flowers, you can see that the leather is a little darker there than it is in other areas of the patterns. This is because the carved edges of a pattern will absorb the oil quite readily, and, there is a notch in the leather to hold more oil, allowing it more time for absorption.

To show how quickly the oil can be absorbed into the leather I snapped the photo below, showing the flesh side of the lightweight leather. I took this photo within five minutes of applying the oil with a piece of sheepskin. The point of this photo is to demonstrate the absorption rate of the oil into this leather. Notice how the background areas around the flower are already darkened with the oil. The outline of the flower showing on the backside of the leather is normal because the leather is moistened and it will be “stamped down” just because of process of tooling. It is easy to tell from the discoloration on the flesh side of this piece of leather almost exactly where each carved line and each stamp has been struck.

Flesh side of lightweight sample - showing oil penetration

The photo below shows both samples at a little over twelve hours after the application of the Neatsfoot Oil to the top surfaces. Notice how they have evened out in color after the oil has had time to penetrate. Although the leather in the previous photo looks as if it has achieved the “maximum” level of saturation, it would take much more to reach that point, especially with the heavier leather. Also, compare the color of lightweight leather with the one shown previously. See how little the color has changed compared to the original.

I took a photo of the flesh side of the lightweight leather after it had been sitting overnight to show how much the Neatsfoot Oil had penetrated into it. It is obvious just where the flower has been carved and stamped on the front side of the leather. The brownish areas that are seen are where the swivel knife was used to carve the petals of the flower and to make the decorative cuts in the petals. At this point, it looks as though you could just have the flesh side of the leather exposed rather than the grain side. That would be a lot of work to have done and not show it off.

Flesh side of lightweight leather 12 hours after application of oil

You might wonder what the point is with this line of gab. I am trying to make the point that the oil will soak through the thinner leather quickly and it could present a problem down the line. I do not like to use Neatsfoot Oil on lightweight leather for two reasons. First, as you can see the oil has come through the leather and it will easily get on anything that touches it. If you oiled the back of a wallet, the money and other papers inside will soak up the oil and become permanently stained. It may not be too bad for the money, but what about business cards or photos?

The second reason is that the oil will possibly break down the glue that you might use to attach a liner directly to the flesh side of the leather. Remember, any lightweight leather project that has areas that are carved and stamped will more readily absorb the oil. I have experienced failure of rubber cement when I mixed Neatsfoot oil with antique finish. It might be necessary to use Barge Cement instead. It is the kind of glue used to glue the leather soles on your shoes when you have them redone. How do I know this? Does experience sound like a good teacher?

Again, if you have any comments or questions be sure to post them here on the blog or e-mail them to me.

Have fun!

Final Touches for Finishing the Sample Project

In the last post I more or less demonstrated the process of sealing a pattern carved and stamped on a piece of leather. The idea was to show how I have finished leather for many years. The only difference between what I had done on the sample and what I used to do was to use an acrylic sealer on the pattern rather than the lacquer. I am strongly considering switching to the acrylic sealer after this experience.

If you look back at the photo of the pattern after it had been sealed, before I put the antique finish over it, you will notice only a slight change in the color of the leather. This is what most people are after. They seal the leather so that it will not absorb the colors from the antique finish or any other product that might be used for a similar result. I am impressed with the overall results of how the acrylic finish worked and I have no problems in recommending it to you for use on your leather projects.

If you do go back to the previous post you might also want to look at the photo of the sample project after it was antiqued. I purposely brushed over the edge of the pattern when using the acrylic sealer to show you how it would look. I do not know if I can properly explain to you how difficult it was for me to do that because it goes against every fiber of how I want my work to look. Please remember, I did these three spots on purpose.

The photo below is the same one that was on the last post after the antique finish had been applied. I buffed it again with a piece of sheepskin and with a rag before the photo was taken. The difference between the photo then and now is that this version has the spots numbered. There are two coats of acrylic sealer on the pattern. The spots on the outside of the tooled area that are numbered have only a single coat. If you happen to find some others please let me know so that I can fire the brush man who worked on this job.

Miscues with acrylic sealer - numbered

The number 1 and 2 spots are not nearly as bad as the one for number three. All of these spots do stick out like a sore thumb to me but may not be as obvious or as terrible looking to some. After the antique finish has been applied to the leather there is very little that can be done to undo the spots of acrylic finish on the outlying areas. This is because the finish penetrates the surface of the leather to a bit. The sealer did its job perfectly on these spots without needing a second coat to make sure they were sealed. This is usually the way it works, the spots you do not want sealed are the ones that are the best.

If one were to try to use a solvent, water, or some kind of paint remover I am afraid that it would spell disaster for your project. A solvent or a paint remover might sound like a good idea because it might remove acrylic paint from wood or metal, but it will penetrate the grain of the leather and stain it badly. This can be demonstrated by placing a drop of water on a piece of leather which has been antiqued and not finished with a seal coat. The antique finish will become spotted where the water came in contact with it.

For very small spots of sealer it might be best to leave them alone and do nothing. I developed a method for removing the sealer where it is not supposed to be sealed. Please bear in mind that it is not particularly a great method but it does work fairly well. This method should be used only on very small, obvious spots. On accidental sealer spots I used the tip of the knife shown below to carefully scrape it off the surface. This method was performed using the tip of the knife and very lightly scraping the sealer off the leather. I would then touch up the spot with some more antique finish.

 

Skiving knife

The knife shown above came in one of the first tool kits that I ordered from Tandy Leather Company. It is not a particularly special knife or a great quality knife, but it has come in handy for a lot of tasks that I had to perform over the years. This is a skiving knife that is used in skiving leather. Skiving is done to take off some of the bulk from the flesh side of the leather. I will be honest, I never really mastered the use of this knife to skive leather. Probably the most that I ever skived was the end of a piece of leather lacing so that it would fit better into the two-pronged needle.

Please note that one of the side effects of using the tip of the skiving knife to scrape off the spots of sealer is that it can cause the scraped area to darken much more than intended when touched up. I would recommend that you experiment on a piece of scrap leather before you do something like this that you have spent a lot of time tooling.

Below is a photo of the sample project after it has been sealed with the Tan Kote from Fiebing. You will not see a lot of shine coming off the leather because because of the lighting I chose, plus the photo was taken before the Tan Kote had dried completely. Looking at the area that matches the number three shown above you will notice a bit of a dark ring around the area where I purposely brushed past the edge of the pattern. I believe that this is because I did not have the antique finish properly mixed which caused the solvents to add more stain to the leather.

Sample project sealed with Tan Kote

If you were to dip a brush into the dark brown liquid in your antique finish it would look darker than the paste when applied to the leather. To confirm, open your jar of antique finish and look at the top of the paste. You will see a little bit of this liquid on the top of the antiquing. Just remember, if you use a good brush to perform this experiment that you will need to spend some extra time cleaning it!

Below is a photo of the piece of sheepskin that I used to apply the acrylic sealer. Notice the color that it has picked up from applying the sealer on to the leather. This is a normal happening, at least in my experience. Some of the color would come off with the application of the sealer because there will be some excess antique finish in the carved lines and the stamped impressions.

Sheepskin after applying Tan Kote

Remember, if you have any questions comments, please let me know. If you have a good idea to share I would like to hear about it and share it with others. Let me hear from you!

Have fun!