hunting bag sheen

[lasmail]

Anybody have good ideas or knowledge as to how to remove a sheen from a hunting bag to give it a good "used" look rather quickly?

 

[Swampman]

I use flat black paint and steel wool. It looks great to me. I just finished a new belt that looks about 30 years old.

 

[Halftail]

Was that Rust paint?Did they have flat Black paint in the 18th C?How about steel wool? :youcrazy:

 

[Swampman]

Try it, you'll like it I promise.

 

[TANSTAAFL]

And your point was?

 

[Stumpkiller]

Anybody have good ideas or knowledge as to how to remove a sheen from a hunting bag to give it a good "used" look rather quickly?

Place it in the driveway and . . .

Paste or bowling alley wax applied and not buffed. You can also rub it with sand or other mild grit.

Flat black paint and steel wool (or bronze wool) has also "aged" a lot of firearms and furniture.

 

[Eric/WV]

"Dark Walnut" wood stain adds a nice patina to leather.

 

[George Kevil]

oven cleaner

 

[Legionair]

Try dry, dusty dirt. Should take the shine off instantly, and if you change your mind, just wipe it down and oil again.

Just a suggestion....

Legion

 

[Claude Mathis]

Was that Rust paint?Did they have flat Black paint in the 18th C?How about steel wool? :youcrazy:

I doubt that they had those things, but that's really academic. We often use modern tools to create our replicas.

The end result is what's important, unless of course, you are reenacting the persona of a craftsman and are "required" to use period correct tools (like Colonial Williamsburg). Now, that would be a different venture.

 

[musketman]

Anybody have good ideas or knowledge as to how to remove a sheen from a hunting bag to give it a good "used" look rather quickly?

The best way I found is to give it to the kids to play with outside for a few hours...

• Dragging it through the gravel
  Banging it against trees
  Tug-o-war
  Filling the compartments with rocks and mud
  Hitting it against the swing set
  Using it like a sled
  Forgetting the 2 hour time limit and they leave it outside in the rain for a week

Yep, kids have been taking the sheen off of my things for years at the Muskethouse... :haha:

 

[Swampman]

I could be wrong, but the lye in oven cleaner might not be good for your pouch.

 

[Brasilikilt]

I have to go with the Musket method!

What I've done in the past is to make a mix of dirt, rocks, campfire ashes, grease, water etc etc
throw it on a sheet of plastic with whatever leather you want aged, wrap it up and start dancing on it......leave it in there for a few days or weeks even.....use it for exercize or a way to relieve stress!
kick it punch it, stomp on it, beat it with a baseball bat, set it on fire......add more water as needed..when you're satisfied that it looks old enough, wring it out and hang it up to dry

I guarantee that your pouch, belt or whatever will look old

 

[Ridge]

I've always wanted to "degrease" mine and just hang it on a fence post for the summer.

I figure 3 months of the sun and rain would age it nicely.

Problem is, I need my bag. Hard to just let it sit for 3 months.

 

[BLAHMAN]

I could be wrong, but the lye in oven cleaner might not be good for your pouch.

Correct, don't use oven cleaner.

Send whatever you want aged to Musketman's house! :haha: :haha: :haha:

 

[hawk]

It's a huntin' bag ...seams like a good excuse to go out huntin'!
age it the "old fashion" way by usin' it.
You'll find this method very P.C.and the most fun!
:thumbsup:

 

[Swampman]

I have tremdous fun making my gear look old, and I really enjoy getting compliments on it everywhere I go. One of the most fun aspects of the hobby IMO.

 

[kentucky bucky]

Let my kids play with it for a week! :haha:


On second thought, make that two days, I doubt if it would last a week and still be usable!!!!

 

[talbert]

vegetable tan ages well
with lye...(easy off oven cleaner)
you gotta rinse well after application
to neutralize...better practise on
scraps first...but this way
works very well...

Talbert

 

Here's an article on Aging Leather by Wyne Zurl

To just cut the shene on finished leather without agng and without damage to leather use alcohol or acetone, these are what leather crafters use for deglazing. Caustics can be used but if not properly neutralized they can cause major problems down the road.

Like Mark (and others) making stuff look old before its time is very enjoyable and not unauthentic - there is documentation for this - even in the "old" days newbies didn't like to look like newbies and tried to emulate the "look" of the vets.

Even commercial tanned elk can be aged.........

This 1830's style shooting pouch was made out of commercial chrome (nope not PC :shake: ) tanned elk hide, with a rattler skin inlay, and lined with brain tan, was an experiment in how well I could age the elk so it would look like old, well "aged" bark tan. The horn is covered with elk rawhide and has a bark tan and brain tan strap..