How can you tell if you over tanned? What would the finished product be like? I wonder if the leather I was trying to make was too thin & I overdid it? I was making a leather pouch from a young buck scrotum and it turned out feeling and looking like a fake leather. Kind of almost crunchy. could this be over or under tanned?
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It's difficult to determine over-tanning. But typically if you are using EZ-100 or Lutan F - it will appear tanned, be white throughout the leather, may even be soft, but the tell-tale sign it\s that is will lack stretchiness.
Alum tans however do not over tan.
I would guess that it isnt a problem of over-tanning that has you upset over the results - but rather that the piece lacks Oil. This is sometimes caused by drying the leather too rapidly, tacking it out to the point of distortion as it dries - instead of its natural size, or you have simply used an Oil that isnt very compatible to the tanning agent you used - or not even a good leather oil.
Obviously all I can do is guess - but hopefully this info may give you some reference for future work.
Happy New Year!
Bruce Rittel