My "stinky" Belt...

It's 14oz, surface dyed with vinegroon solution. I left it unwaxed/unburnished, and it has a blue/grey/ashy look in person. It's hard to describe--it's almost like a flat black marble look.

The end is uncut--it's essentially the edge of the pelt as it came from the tannery. O26 is a big dude, so I needed every inch of leather available.

I, too, have been meaning to post pics of stinky's work. Paired with LD black 2×1 twill.

I found the buckle on ebay, stecksstore was the seller.

stinky, I come back to this thread, and all can think is I want another one, just like Old26 .
Consider me in, on the next run.

Done.  Merry Xmas

stinky, count me in on a vinegroon when you do another run. That thing is awesome. If I loose track of this thread and you don't hear from me when you post up, please PM me.

The key to avoiding runoff is to burnish the edge first with water only (do not use beeswax) and let it dry completely, being careful to burnish a minimal amount of the surface itself.  That creates a kind of seal that prevents the stain/dye from being absorbed into the edge.  I wouldn't recommend beveling after you dye, because the bevel will inherently be uneven in areas and it will not look good.

Regarding the second question, I don't know . . . frankly, with the belts that I have dyed brown, I've purposely wanted an uneven coat because it looks more handmade and weathered.  Actually, I cut my dye with vodka rather than water to further that effect (the alcohol dries off faster and allows you to layer the dye a little easier).  The vinegroon is different becasue it goes on clear and is a chemical reaction inside the leather--as long as the surface gets wet, it will react to a maximum level and then no matter how much more you put on, the reaction simply will not happen--in other words, it will always be an even coat assuming the surface gets wet to a reasonable level.

Below are pictures of my 2014-15 "Winter Weathered" Belt.  I hung this thing up in a cherry tree in my back yard from a piece of wire coat hanger on Nov. 22, and took it down on April 4th. 

14 oz. veg tan leather, no oil or other treatment, the only finishing I did to it was to burnish the edge with a bit of water before I hung it up.  It went through a lot of freeze/thaw cycles, rain, snow, etc., as well as the coldest February in recorded history in Chicago.  There were times where this thing was completely stiff from a hard freeze following a rain. 

Anyhow, it ended up with an interesting streaky patina--the color is more of a golden brown/honey than the pictures reflect.  I'm very happy with the way it turned out, and I'm thinking about putting one out all spring and summer to see what happens to it.

With G Japan Union Blues:


Compared to a newly cut belt from the same hide:

thanks ickes.  I'd like to figure out a way if I could do a black belt with a crackled look with vinegroon, sun and perhaps rubbing some mud/clay on the surface to dry it out.  I'd like it to look something like this:

I gave my stinky 14oz heavyweight a saddle soaping, and a neatsfoot rub down, after 8 months.....




I have affectionately nicknamed it "The Slab".