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Stepping forward in time - mid 2nd century shoes
#16
Quote: Is there a brand name for the leather grease you use?

The one I'm using is Effax ( http://www.effax.de/ ), but I'm sure there's others just as good in the US as well.
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#17
Quote:
Gaius Julius Caesar:3t8abwdf Wrote:Is it soldiers footwear tho?, seems light in the leather thickness. And hobnails?

As for whether this is a soldier's shoe, well, we can't be absolutely sure, but since it is well into the male sizes and was found at Bar Hill (and similar finds occur at the Saalburg and one more military site which I don't remember at the moment, chances are good they were.

With the Bar Hill example, only the upper is left, but the almost identical shoe from the Saalburg shows nailing over practically all the sole area, another indicator of military use normally.

Thanks Martin, I have just recieved a goatskin hide today, so it is a bit mind boggling to me that it was used for these shoes! Confusedhock: 8)

Hobnailed soles are a good sign anyway.....
Visne partem mei capere? Comminus agamus! * Me semper rogo, Quid faceret Iulius Caesar? * Confidence is a good thing! Overconfidence is too much of a good thing.
[b]Legio XIIII GMV. (Q. Magivs)RMRS Remember Atuatuca! Vengence will be ours!
Titus Flavius Germanus
Batavian Coh I
Byron Angel
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#18
Martin,

As the current owner of the above Vindolanda fishnet shoes (above) I thought I'd comment on the condition of the dye you used.

The iron dye looks great and its "mellowing" to a blackish - brown in spots as I wear and use the shoes. I've lightly oiled the shoes a few times and the dye has not faded or worn from the shoe leather.

The "heart" designs on the Commacio bag have started to do the same, being they have become a blackish - brown.

I do wonder though if this "browning" is part of the oxidization process of the iron in the dye, much like a rust? There is no problem with this since this is the effect I was after, having seen this dye used in many of the US Civil War (Confederate) leather items I have used. Using that dye really brings out the character in the leather!

Iron - Vinegar is a great dye and I hope to see you use it more in the future. What other dyes have you considered using other than iron or madder. Do you think Woad would work for a blue on leather?
Roman Name: Gaius Marcius Gracilis

AKA: Mark Headlee
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#19
Hi Mark,

thanks for your feedback on how the color is behaving over time!

Quote:The "heart" designs on the Commacio bag have started to do the same, being they have become a blackish - brown.

Interesting, since with my bag, which is exactly the same, the color is a very dark grey, almost black, but no brown in it.

Quote:I do wonder though if this "browning" is part of the oxidization process of the iron in the dye, much like a rust?

That might well be possible, at least it would make sense to my far-from-any-chemistry-education-brain ;-) )

Quote:What other dyes have you considered using other than iron or madder. Do you think Woad would work for a blue on leather?

Actually now that we have received back a bunch of goat skins (alum tanned) from the tanner this is what I'm thinking about trying next :-) ) . Since alum tanned leather seems to be a good choice for dyeing I would also like to try greens and yellows some day....
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#20
Oak galls and nut (walnut, pecan, hickory, for example) husks make easy to do brown dye. If you've ever handled green pecans or walnuts, you know already that they dye your fingers brown quite readily. Oak galls have to be smashed and steeped like strong tea to get the color out of them. Same would be true for the nut husks. Some say a little alcohol will quicken the extraction of the dye, and it boils off before the water in a pot. I've not tried the alcohol tincture, so I can't say first hand.

(*Don't use your wife's favorite soup pot, though, as you'll likely stain it and will certainly flavor it very unpleasantly. Use an empty gallon-sized can or something like that.*)

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/IN022
http://insects.tamu.edu/extension/bulletins/L-1299.html
http://www.basketmakers.org/topics/tuto ... nutdye.htm
M. Demetrius Abicio
(David Wills)

Saepe veritas est dura.
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