darkening leather

[okiecountryboy]

Hey fellas
Need some help. Recently made a new hunting knife. The sheath is rawhide that I wet, laid over the the blade, let dry, and cut to fit.
I covered that in the only leather that I had, which is very light in color. I want to give it a tan to light brown look.
It is fringed on one side and I don't want it (the fringe) to stiffen.
Stain, smoke, any Ideas?
Your input would be appreciated.

Thanks

Ron

[Adam]

I darkened some light leather by using the same beeswax/deer fat mix I use on my bows.  I found it worked best to warm the leather in the oven (when my wife wasn't home) then rub the melted mixture over the leather.  It took about 3 coats to make it uniform.  It was splotchy at first because the hot wax penetrates more than when it cools down as you rub it on.  I put the leather back in the oven when I was done and then rubbed it down by hand.  It actually made the leather a little more supple, probably because of the fat in the mixture.  I've also tried paste wax and tung oil, but they didn't darken the leather enough for my liking.  Hope that helps.

[Pat B]

I usually use Montana Pitch Blend on leather although home made treatment like Adam suggests works well too. It will darken the leather some but not too much. Over time it will darken more. I hand rub the treatment into the leather and let the friction heat help the treatment sink into the leather.

[okiecountryboy]

I usually use Montana Pitch Blend on leather although home made treatment like Adam suggests works well too. It will darken the leather some but not too much. Over time it will darken more. I hand rub the treatment into the leather and let the friction heat help the treatment sink into the leather.

Pat
That would be pitch and lard/grease,etc...?

[Cameroo]

You can also use the wife's hair dryer to help any oil/wax mixture penetrate the leather.  I found out the hard way once that it doesn't take long to overdo it in the oven, even on low heat.

Any oil can darken the leather quite a bit, so you may want to try it on a small sample piece first.  Linseed oil on veg-tanned leather (which is almost white) will make it a fairly dark brown once it saturates the leather evenly.  If you want something lighter, you might be better off picking up some lighter colored leather stain.

[RBLusthaus]

I use neetsfoot oil to darken and condition leather.  Just like they do in the big leagues (baseball gloves). 

Russ

[bowtarist]

Walnut hulls will darken it too.  Either straight or made into a liquid. dp

[Pat B]

Okie, Montana Pitch Blend is a commercial product that is made from bees wax, mink oil and pine pitch I think. I have started playing with pitch and bear grease for leather treatment but don't have it to the consistancy I want. I may have to add bees wax to give it more body. Rich, Halfeye, uses a similar concoction on his bows.

[Adam]

For what it's worth, here's a before and after picture using 50/50 beeswax/deer fat.  The darkened piece was done over a year ago.  I was concerned when I first did it that it would fade, but so far, so good.

[okiecountryboy]

Thanks for the help y'all.
All is appreciated.

Ron