Conditioning your leather pouch: 18th century? 21st century?

[Marc Adamchek]

Hey Guys - What do you all use? Who does it 18th century style, and who uses jet-age products?

 

[atki]

I use a product called Montana Pitch Blend. It's made up of pine pitch, beeswax and mink oil. It comes in a paste and an oil. Great stuff.
[url] www.montanapitchblend.com[/url]

wb

 

[charcloth]

Hey Marc,
I use a blend of beeswax and tallow.
Charcloth

 

[Swampman]

I use the same stuff I use to lube my patches. 1/3 hog lard or deer tallow, 1/3 bee's wax, 1/3 olive oil. This stuff is good for everything.

 

[Brian Rice]

I used neetsfoot oil, and then used a miture of 1 part beeswax/3 parts Olive oil to condition and waterproof the leather. Turned out REAL NICE!!!

 

[riarcher]

I send the wife shopping. Then heat her oven up to 165 deg.
Treat the leather (inside and out) with Cadilac's mink oil and place in oven for 20-30 minutes.
That stuff really soaks in and leaves a slightly waxy feel that dissapears after a week's use from the surface. But, stays water proof.
That's on new leather. After that it's Bee's wax and olive oil. (again, in the oven)

 

[Norskie]

Depends on the leather. A real limp leather like deer hide doesn't need neetsfoot oil to soften it, so I use beeswax and tallow. Oak tanned cow hide, which is stiff, I'll use neetsfoot oil, then saddle soap, then beeswax/tallow. I do that partly to darken the oak tan, which comes from the suppliers really light, but mostly to soften it.

 

[Bob J]

My 37 year old Gokey snakeboots are kept in like-new condition with an annual application of Pecard "never leak" leather dressing. This stuff is great! Recommended to my dad by a musuem curator who said he was tired of seeing antique leather turn to dust.

Pecard Chemical Co.
1836 Industrial Drive
Green Bay, WI 54302

 

[Marc Adamchek]

Weaselbreath - Do you prefer the dressing or the oil (or both)?

 

[dlemaster]

I'm getting ready to start making a copy of an original American Game Bag that came to my collection last summer. The leather I have I think is vegetable tanned and is a yellowish brown color, it is the same thickness as the leather on the original bag but the leather is stiffer. Would you guys recommend dying the leather and softening before making the bag or dying the leather making the bag then do the softening.
Attached are photos of the original I'm trying to duplicate. Since this is my first attempt at leather work any ideas on how to go about completing this job would be appreciated.
Maybe this project is too ambitious for a beginner?
[url] http://photobucket.com/albums/y122/dvlmstr/GameBag1.jpg http://photobucket.com/albums/y122/dvlmstr/GameBag2.jpg http://photobucket.com/albums/y122/dvlmstr/GameBag4.jpg http://photobucket.com/albums/y122/dvlmstr/GameBag7.jpg[/url]

Regards, Dave

 

[Norskie]

Is this a 2 pouch bag? Double bags are complex pieces to build on a first try. That being said, it's exactly what I took on for my first project. Lots of stitches!
Vegetable tan (oak tan) looks like the correct leather for your project. It will be stiff, but that is to your advantage when you're stitching. My practice is to build the bag, then dye it and oil it as a whole piece. Neatsfoot oil applied sparingly will soften the bag as you use it. The bag you're copying was never dyed IMHO, leather darkens as it ages.
Books! You need books!
Book of Buckskinning 4; The Traditional Hunting Pouch by Steven Lalioff
The Art of Handsewing Leather by Al Stohlman
Those should get you started. Keep us posted as ya go!

 

[dlemaster]

LeatherMoose
Actually it is a double pouch, but one of the pouches is of linnen, stiched to the front of the leather one. Then the back of the netted game bag is attached to the front of the linnen bag. So it's actually three bags one on top of the other The whole shebang is covered with the front flap which is made of pig skin.
Is that as clear as mud? LOL
I agree with your assessment about the original not being dyed.
Thanks for the recommended books, I'll check them out.

Thanks, Dave