Beginner question

A wile back I bought some pieces of leather that have a shiny finish on one side. Are these finishied with wax, is there any way to remove it so I can get a satin finish?

Thanks,
Rick

If it has a shiny finish, chances are good that the leather is chrome tanned. You really need to start with vegetable tanned leather if you want it to have good molding and tooling properties. Even if that is not an issue for you, chome tanned leather has some properties that make it non knife-friendly.

Chromium salts are very corrosive to knife blades. But to answer your question laquer thinner will remove most of the wax finish. Not all finished leather is chrome-tanned. Slice a piece & look at the center is it white looking. If so it is chrome-tan. This shows up better on dark leather. But on lighter leathers is will show just not as easy to see. Seems dye does not penetrate chrome-tan as well as veg-tan. Too bad it is corrosive to steel because it is very water resistant. With a little oiling & waxing it is almost waterproof.

There are a few pieces that are very dark and don't have a white look in the center, same color all the way through. Also I've had a knife made of O1 in one of these sheeths for a few months now with no corrosion problem. Is it safe to say it's veg tanned?

Once I remove the wax with thinner can I go ahed make the sheeth and dip in oil for the finish I'm looking for?

Thanks,
Rick

Rick, without actually seeing the material, the only answer I can give you is, "I don't know." It does seem to me that leather of known quality is inexpensive enough that risking damaging a good knife is unnecessary.

I will have to concur with Don. On occasion i have used chrome-tan on a sheath however these sheaths were rawhide or wood lined.

I called the guy I bought it from and he confirmed it is veg tanned. He makes belts and sold me some of his scraps.

Thanks for all the advice. For some reason it's hard to find anyone in my area for advice on leatherwork.

Rick

Rick, I work full-time as a leather trunk & case maker. Feel free to contact me anytime.