Old time dyes: a How_to

[Ten Wolves Fiveshooter]

   Excellent tutorial John, after this has been posted for a while, I'm going to add it to our FAX/HOW TOO'S thread, thanks for taking the time to do this, I know it will be and is appreciated by all.

           tEN wOLVES 

[Marshal Will Wingam]

That's a fine rig, Johnny. The slide show is really well done. I love the natural dyes. Nice work.

Good idea, TW. It'll be a nice addition.

[KidTerico]

Johnny M. Thats a nice rig.  The color is great. I can see where you put a lot of work into it to come up with that finish.  He should be more than happy with it. I,m glad you and TW got me started with the Skidmores , especially you for your kind donation to me of it. Thanks John...Terry

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[Dr. Bob]

Mighty fine looking rig there Johnny!

[Boothill Bob]

Soon I´m going crazy, I cant get black walnut hulls here in Sweden

[Mogorilla]

BHB, try an herbal shop.   Apparently they make a tea out of them (could not pay me to drink it!).   Anyway, I found mine at an herbal healing store.  Did not tell them I was using it to dye leather to hold a firearm, probably would not have gone with their sensibilities.

[Django]

Chuck recomends using distilled water with walnut dye but because of evaporation when "stewing" the walnut hulls this is proving to be expensive.
Can tap water be used,if not why?
I have well water, would this be ok?

Is it me or does the walnut dye smell a bit fishy??!!!!

"Skidmores" has been mentioned  a couple of times as a finish but what product in their range does it refer to?
Is there an alternative as it is elusive in the UK
Thanks
Django

[Cliff Fendley]

I use the water out of my dehumidifier since it's plentiful with the humidity we have. Our tap and well water is very hard here "Kentucky Limestone" so I would not use it.

I gather the Walnut's in the fall and brew up enough to last me a year. Can you go gather the Walnuts without buying them. The green husks actually work better anyway.

It does have a certain smell but I wouldn't call it fishy. You sure your not using pond water Just kidding

[Ten Wolves Fiveshooter]

Chuck recomends using distilled water with walnut dye but because of evaporation when "stewing" the walnut hulls this is proving to be expensive.
Can tap water be used,if not why?
I have well water, would this be ok?

Is it me or does the walnut dye smell a bit fishy??!!!!

"Skidmores" has been mentioned  a couple of times as a finish but what product in their range does it refer to?
Is there an alternative as it is elusive in the UK
Thanks
Django

    Django, I found the same thing when using distilled water, I switched to tap water, and it works just fine, so go ahead use it, I stopped using distilled water several years ago, all my natural dyes are made with tap water now.


                 tEN wOLVES 

[Ten Wolves Fiveshooter]

I use the water out of my dehumidifier since it's plentiful with the humidity we have. Our tap and well water is very hard here "Kentucky Limestone" so I would not use it.

I gather the Walnut's in the fall and brew up enough to last me a year. Can you go gather the Walnuts without buying them. The green husks actually work better anyway.

It does have a certain smell but I wouldn't call it fishy. You sure your not using pond water Just kidding

  Your right Cliff, the green hulls work the best, I have a black walnut three that's my neighbors, it hangs over in my yard, so when the green hulls start falling off the tree, I gather them up and freeze them, then I will have a week that I'll do my natural dye cooking, and add the new to the old dye, this has been working well for me, and I prefer the natural dye over any of the others, that includes walnut, coffee, vinegaroon, and peacan. Cliff is also right about bad water, if you have really bad water, then another source might be better to use.

                 tEN wOLVES 

[Django]

Thanks guys, any thoughts on the Skidmores though?
Django

[Johnny McCrae]

Howdy Django,

Sent you a PM regarding Skidmore's.

[Ragged Earl]

Can the rest of us get the info on Skidmore's?

[Johnny McCrae]

Here is a link to Skidmore's website.
http://www.skidmores.com/index.htm

The product used and talked about is Skidmore's Leather Cream. It is described on their website under the leather product section.

After dyeing a holster and applying 2-4 coats of Neet's Foot Oil, I finish the piece with 2-3 coats of Skidmore's Leather Cream. I let the Skidmores dry thoroughly between coats and then buff with a soft cloth or shoe brush.

This product is also very good for rejuvenating leather apparel such as motorcycle jackets, chaps etc. It also works well on furniture.

[Django]

Thanks Johnny, i found a UK supplier.
Django

[Boothill Bob]

I give up. Cant get  black walnut hulls 

[Mogorilla]

Hey BHB,
Have you tried looking for English Walnut hulls?   It is possible if you can get a european nut hull, you might be able to find it.  In this day and age, the transportation of certain plant material can be difficult if not impossible, all very understandable.   In my recollection, the english walnut has a similar hull to the black walnut and starts green switching to black.   If there is a colour difference, I am guessing it would be subtle.

[Marshal Will Wingam]

I made some English walnut dye and it works fine, but it is significantly lighter than I would have expected. It does make a good finish. Here's one done with English walnut hulls.

[Ten Wolves Fiveshooter]

  I think you got nice color Will, but there is a big difference in the two type walnuts for sure, and I think it also makes a difference in where they come from, I mean what part of the country, the most color I've gotten out of walnuts have been the black walnuts that fall off my neighbors black walnut three, when they still have their green hulls, the color is just stronger when the hulls are cooked when green, I make it a practice to pick the green hulls up off the ground as they fall and freeze them right away, so far this has kept me in walnut dye year after year, and all I do is cook up a fresh batch, and add it to the old, when the color starts to get weak I know it's time to add some fresh cook to it.


                  tEN wOLVES   

[Boothill Bob]

Were can I bye the black hulls? Is there someone or some
store that sends them over the big sea?