Okay!
I promised a further report on this stuff, so here it is.
Short version: It's got some quirks, but it's much easier to work with than straight walnut dye and if you like the look, it's fantastic.
The key with this stuff is that part of the magic is there's vinegaroon in the mix to darken it up, so it only really works on real vegtan. I've tried it on imported goat "vegtan" and the results were terrible. You need the real stuff. I know Hermann Oak works, I assume other brands do as well but I don't know what they are. So all I can recommend from experience is Hermann Oak.
NOW - here's how it looks on Hermann Oak calfskin. Right pieces ~1 application, left piece ~3-4 - then both treated with mink oil.
I LOVE LOVE LOVE the look. Once it's oiled, this is positively LUXURIOUS material to work with. I've got at least one belt pouch I absolutely HAVE to remake with this material, and maybe some other pieces as well.
- merf-wallet-pieces.jpg (80.87 KiB) Viewed 2819 times
And here we see it on Iodo's pack: note how the dye still lets all the natural variations of the hide itself show through (even highlights them, actually). I quite like the look, but it certainly won't fit all contexts:
- merf-iodo-pack.jpg (194.26 KiB) Viewed 2819 times
And her purse: the color evens out a little with enough applications/darkness. There's still some mottling (which again, I like)
- merf-iodo-pouch.jpg (77.83 KiB) Viewed 2819 times
The one catch: I think "in period" calfskin was a comparatively upper class material, so I don't know how well it works for more ragamuffin rangers or Bree-men. At some point I need to get a goat hide from Springfield Leather (thank you again Elwindil!) and see if their tanning is any better than the old rolipel hides I had.
Anyhow, here's where things get interesting. This is some straps I've got going. They're about ~3 applications in, no sunlight, all Hermann Oak straps (unoiled) -
- merf-strap-unoiled.jpg (191.81 KiB) Viewed 2819 times
Note that kinda grainy/speckly appearance. I ASSUME what's going on is that perhaps there's some tiny tiny iron particulates in the dye that settle into the cracks.
Here's what that looks like after oiling:
- merf-strap-oiled.jpg (187.08 KiB) Viewed 2819 times
From top to bottom:
1. Hermann Oak vegtan + purchased walnut/vinegaroon dye, oiled. Early on I then did a wash of baking soda water to neutralize any remaining acid in my earlier attempts. (Iodo's pack straps are done this way). I have STOPPED this process since, as I felt it also washed too much of the color away. We'll see in a few years whether my darker straps start falling apart - I can't report yet on longevity.
2. Hermann Oak "drum dyed" commercial strap, just oiled. Meh. It's okay.
3. Hermann Oak vegtan + purchased walnut/vinegaroon dye, oiled. NOT washed. It's a little darker in person than under the camera lights. Again - we'll see how it holds up.
4. Plain walnut + sun, no oil yet.
Summary:
I really like the "rustic" look of this stuff on straps - within certain contexts. I think it absolutely works for more woodsy/rangery/frontier pieces - less so for "upper crust" applications of any sort. I do prefer the deep rich browns of just walnut+sun, but that's a much more season-limited, time consuming, and finiky process. I've one strap done that way that got *too* much sun in the suntanning process and while with enough oil is usable, it's never been quite the same since.
This stuff is much easier to work with, can be used any time of the year, and has an interesting look all of its own.
Within its limitations, I now really like it.