Lost my Walnut Dye

[Johnny McCrae]

My bride of 52 years inadvertently dumped out my entire batch of home brewed Walnut Dye which I’ve been using since 2009. It was like losing a case of eight year old vintage wine.

I had some work in progress that I needed to finish. No Green Walnut Hulls available but with the help of Ten wolves I found some Black Walnut Hull Powder on line and ordered three pounds. In order to finish my work in progress I decided to brew some Coffee Dye rather than wait for the Walnut Powder.

I used the following method to brew a batch of Coffee Dye. I put a pound of Dark Roast Coffee in ten quarts of water. I brought the Coffee to a boil and then let it simmer for three hours. I added small pieces of steel to the solution. I boiled the solution twice. The Shotgun Belt, Holster Rig and Sheath were all immersed in the Coffee dye for 24 hours. After thoroughly drying, I applied three to four coats of Neet’s Foot Oil followed by two coats of Skidmore’s. Ten Wolves cautioned me to go easy with the Neet’s Foot Oil and he was right on the money. The Shotgun Belt got a little darker in areas.

Just after dyeing all of my work in progress with Coffee Dye I received the Black Walnut Hull Powder. I proceeded to brew up a new batch of Walnut Dye. My procedure for brewing Walnut Dye with powder is to add one pound of Black Walnut Hull Powder along with some small pieces of steel to ten quarts of water, bring it to a boil and then simmer the solution for three hours. Let cool overnight and then repeat twice for a total of three boilings.  

Attached are pictures of a pieces of Leather that were dyed in my new batch of Walnut Dye.. These various samples were immersed in the Dye for 10-12 hours followed by 2-4 coats of Neet’s and 2 coats of Skidmore’s. So far I’m pleased with the results. I can’t wait to try this dye on a Holster. I’m leaving for the NCOWS Convention today so I’ll have to wait to continue this project.

The source for the Black Walnut Hull Powder is a company in Brunswick, Maine called “Baskets of Joy”:    http://www.basketsofjoy.com/

I consider the using of Coffee Dye as a temporary measure. It worked and gave me a decent color but I prefer the home brewed Walnut Dye as it is more forgiving when doing the final finishing. I also think brewing Walnut Dye with Powder is easier to brew than with actual Walnut Hulls.

I told my Bride that if she dumps anymore of my Walnut Dye out, I’ll dump out her vat of Spaghetti Sauce.

[santee]

AAAARRRGH!! You'll overcome this bump in the road.

[Ben Beam]

Looks great! I love that color.

Might want to clean your camera lens. Looks like you have a ghost problem.

[Advertising]

[Marshal Will Wingam]

Looks great. I really love the natural brown finishes.

[Ten Wolves Fiveshooter]

Real Italian Spaghetti Sauce. , you wouldn't dare dump something that wonderful, what would your stomach think of you if you did that big guy, any way the color looks good, so you don't have anything to worry about, I bet She even serves garlic toast too, some things are just sacred Johnny McCrae, both in dye and sauce, and have to be treated with the utmost of care...

[Professor Marvel]

Why, Johnny , you rascal -

did you leave your vat of dye anywhere in the occupied house where your Lovely Spousal Unit could actually see it?

that breaks on of the cardinal rules of domestic tranquility ! Never leave your precious stuff anywhere outside of your lockable Man Cave Workshop.

BTW thanks for the write-up & photos, looking good.
have you any photos of the coffee stain?
have you evertried Tea?

yhs
prof marvel

[Johnny McCrae]

Many thanks for the kind words Gents. I'm at  the NCOWS Convention this weekend and when I get back I'll be making a few Holsters to try in this new batch of dye.

You are correct  Professor. After 52 years I ought to know better. By the way, I enjoy reading your  posts.

[1961MJS]

Hi

That looks great, if I ever manage to get another house, I'm making Walnut dye and Vigaroon.  Have you considered soaking say a small knife sheath in the Spaghetti Sauce to see what that looks like?  Not the whole vat though, you'd be the late Johnny McCrae.

Later

[Johnny McCrae]

  Have you considered soaking say a small knife sheath in the Spaghetti Sauce to see what that looks like?  Not the whole vat though, you'd be the late Johnny McCrae

That's true enough. I did think about tapping into her wine supply.

[Doc Jackson]

Have you ever heard of anyone using pecan hulls to make dye? I have alot of pecan trees at my house so hulls are plentiful.

[Johnny McCrae]

I don't know if Pecans will work but maybe some of the other Leather Workers on this forum will
 have an answer.

[Marshal Will Wingam]

I've made dye from both walnut and pecan hulls. They both worked equally with a slight difference in color. In my opinion, my hull dyes aren't dark enough. I haven't figured out how to get them darker. That said, here are two holsters, one from pecan and one from walnut dye. I think pecan would be a good color if made right. One of these days, I'll try it again. It's been a while since I made these but I believe the one on the right is the walnut.

[Doc Jackson]

They look pretty good to me

[Marshal Will Wingam]

They do look OK but I wanted a darker shade on them. No amount of soaking in the dye would net any richer color. I think in another 50 years they'll be just right. 

[Ten Wolves Fiveshooter]

So many tricks of the trade, pecan to me is just too light in color, as for walnut, the more you condense the dye by cooking, the darker it will be, I take three days for my dye, and using green hulls will also give greater dark tones, but this is a test as you go thing, I just keep fooling around with it until I get what I want in color, after you dye and let your leather dry throughly, it's important not to use too much oil on your finish, or it will make it all look like mud, if this happens there isn't much you can do to correct it, so use lightly, then let the oil dry before doing a finish if that's your taste, but finishes are another thing and there are several ways to go on that...

tEN wOLVES

[Doc Jackson]

I wanted to do something out of pecan because Im moving in the fall and I want to have something from home before I leave for good.

[Ten Wolves Fiveshooter]

Give it a try Doc, if it isn't dark enough for you, you can add some iron, maybe three iron nails, this will help darken your dye, start with one nail and work up if needed, test it on a leather piece to see if you're happy, pecan isn't a bad color, it just isn't a shade that is that popular, by darkening it you might be happier with the color...use the pecans in their hulls/shell and green if possible..

tEN wOLVES

[Johnny McCrae]

Howdy Marshall,

The colors on your Holsters look pretty good to me. I love the the design and stamping on them.

I'm back from the NCOWS Convention and have a few Holsters to do. I can't wait to try out my new batch of dye. I  will document my procedures and post the results.

[Marshal Will Wingam]

Howdy Marshall,

The colors on your Holsters look pretty good to me. I love the the design and stamping on them.

I'm back from the NCOWS Convention and have a few Holsters to do. I can't wait to try out my new batch of dye. I  will document my procedures and post the results.

Thanks, I loosely copied the holsters on pages 95 (left holster) and 91 (right holster) of Packing Iron. They are actually the same holster pattern with the top lines and toes modified. I wanted a pair for CAS that felt the same in use but looked like they were picked up at different times.

Looking forward to seeing how your new batch of dye comes out.

[Johnny McCrae]

Thanks, I loosely copied the holsters on pages 95 (left holster) and 91 (right holster) of Packing Iron

I was going to mention that these Holsters looked right out of "Packing Iron". They are beautiful.