Hunting pouch leather question

[Artificer]

The climate in Missouri isn't exactly wet, and contrary to popular belief, I do actually have sense enough to come in out of the rain. I have been known to stay out through the occaissional storm though. That being said, are there any real pros or cons between vegetable or oil tanned leather that I should take into consideration or be concerned with?

Because of where Brown Bear lives and hunts, he certainly has more experience than I in hunting in wet conditions and I really appreciated his answer above.

I have reenacted with the oiled leather pouch I made when it rained and twice when it snowed on us during reenactments. That pouch kept my paper cartridges plenty dry to use long after it got so wet that we started having ignition problems with our flint muskets when the rain came down hard enough. (Keep in mind that in reenactments, we fire a LOT more blank rounds than they ever did with live rounds in most of the real/original battles - so our priming pans were open to the rain for a lot more shots.) Afterwards, I wiped the pouch as dry as I could with paper towels and propped the bag part open and upside down to dry. I did not place it close to a heat source of any kind. Never took more than a couple of days to dry, if that long.

The only thing I can think of where SOME oiled leather may be a "problem" is when the hide does not have the "temper" to be stiff enough and that would allow the bag to fold in on itself. However, when I bought the oiled leather for my pouch, I wanted a semi hard pouch and the oiled leather I bought had the right temper for that. Even after it got wet from rain or snow, it still retained the kind of semi hard stiffness I wanted.

Of course, you also have to choose Veg tanned leather to get the kind of temper you are after, depending on what stiffness you want.

Gus

 

[Artificer]

Brown Bear, I have only used oiled leather for one shooting pouch and it has worked out well for me.

However, it was already dyed a chocolate brown, so I have never tried to dye oiled leather. So I guess my question is can you dye the lighter color oiled leather to get a bit darker colour, if you want it?

Gus

 

[BrownBear]

However, it was already dyed a chocolate brown, so I have never tried to dye oiled leather. So I guess my question is can you dye the lighter color oiled leather to get a bit darker colour, if you want it?

I've never tried it myself, and as I think about it, I haven't heard of anyone doing it. But I'm as curious as you are. I always assumed that the dye was applied before the oils and waxes.

Maybe someone with lots more experience than me has tried it and can comment.

 

[htredneck]

The oiled leather i have to use (as soon as I pick it up) is already dyed a nice 'vintage' brown. It is described as 5 to 6 ounce leather which tells me it shoukd be on the thicker side. What i am not sure of, or even really understand, is what is referred to as temper. I am guessing that relates to basically how stiff the leather is? To my newby way of thinking, wouldn't the weight rating and temper kind of go hand in hand?

 

[Artificer]

However, it was already dyed a chocolate brown, so I have never tried to dye oiled leather. So I guess my question is can you dye the lighter color oiled leather to get a bit darker colour, if you want it?

I've never tried it myself, and as I think about it, I haven't heard of anyone doing it. But I'm as curious as you are. I always assumed that the dye was applied before the oils and waxes.

Maybe someone with lots more experience than me has tried it and can comment.

When I cut the chocolate coloured oil tanned leather for my pouch, the sides of the cut leather were a sort of a light tan. I tried Fiebings leather dye to darken the edges, but that didn't seem to stick well. So I cheated and used a light coat of Brown Edge dressing. That stuck a lot better and though it was not a perfect blend of colour, it darkened the edges enough that it was acceptable.

Gus

 

[BrownBear]

...a light coat of Brown Edge dressing....

Hmmm. Got about half a bottle on the shelf. Thanks! :hatsoff:

 

[Artificer]

The oiled leather i have to use (as soon as I pick it up) is already dyed a nice 'vintage' brown. It is described as 5 to 6 ounce leather which tells me it shoukd be on the thicker side. What i am not sure of, or even really understand, is what is referred to as temper. I am guessing that relates to basically how stiff the leather is? To my newby way of thinking, wouldn't the weight rating and temper kind of go hand in hand?

Temper is not just by thickness, but by how easily it bends and possibly stretches. The temper will vary from hide to hide. Also, as mentioned before, temper will be slightly different (softer/bends easier) the closer the leather is to the center of the belly. A 5 to 6 oz. thickness MAY be softer than what you want, but it may also be good for you.

Now I realize the description above may be "as clear as mud" to someone new to working leather. I personally never bought leather that I did not physically inspect to see if it was the right thickness and temper for what I wanted to do. However, I also realize some people just don't live close enough to a leather outlet to do that.

If you live close enough to pick it up, you can see how easily it bends before you buy it. Then if it is not too soft, go for it. If you have to order it without examining it, I would ask them to describe how soft it is. For example, I would tell them I don't want to make a leather apron or chaps out of it, but something like the stiffness for a set of saddle bags.

Gus

 

[BrownBear]

To my newby way of thinking, wouldn't the weight rating and temper kind of go hand in hand?

Actually they're pretty separate, as a general statement about leather. You can get thick, soft temper leather and thin hard temper. When you get thick, hard temper it can feel almost like heavy poster board. For example, I'm using 8 oz hard temper veg tanned to make some 4" x 5" square boxes with lids right now. Jeezopete, it's almost like working with plywood on such small pieces. I made the same boxes out of 4-5 oz version of the same leather, and they just turned out too soft. But that's the neat thing about swapping back and forth between tempers, thickness and tanning type- You can adjust for the project size and function.

Tandy's Stoned Oil sides feel like pretty hard temper when you first handle them, but that's due mostly to the treatment, especially the wax. It actually works like a lots softer temper.

Their Kodiak Oil Tanned is really different, with a pebbly surface rather than smooth and feels a lot softer- probably because there's no wax. It feels and works like most soft tempers. I like it a lot for some uses (fishing bags), but not so much for shooting bags. It seems to be just as waterproof in use as the Stoned Oiled, but it sure doesn't feel to the hand like it would be.

Their Utility Sides remind me a little of softer Stoned Oiled, but I don't think they're oiled or waxed. They might be a possibility if you wanted a general "feel" like a smooth Kodiak, but without the wax. I've only used it a little, because I'm dealing so much with wet uses.

Other brands are quite a bit different than Tandy's. Some dyed I've bought from The Leather Guy is surface-dyed only, so when you cut it you get white edges. The edges dyed fine, so not a problem, but an extra step.

BTW- If you're getting a whole side, kinda feel your way around the hide to spot differences in thickness. I scooch down into the thinner bellies for smaller projects and up toward the back for larger projects, and especially for straps.

Sorry for writing a book, but I think it's good stuff for the back of your noggin when ordering leather and can't fondle it in a shop before buying.