Random questions to which you seek an answer

[madmonday]

thinking about starting an advice column, kind of like dear abby but with a mad twist.

thoughts?

[Mild7]

^ Do it!  Some tough love is what I need

[madmonday]

you live in a former prison colony so i'm sure you are used to tough love, hahahahahahaha

thanks for your input & humor mild 

[seanocono]

^Hilarious

[Mild7]

cheers Mad.  Now get back to shovelling snow

[madmonday]

it's the best workout i've had in weeks 

[Seul]

Mate of mine wonders how he can protect his Chippewa service boots against salt used in his streets…

[jdl1279]

Add a bit of lemon or citrus oil to your compound. The minor bits of citric acid are dormant in the oil but still neutralize the salt base. A trick I learned from my grandma

[mclaincausey]

I don't understand why an acid would be necessary in neutralizing something that's soluble in water. It seems like a non-pH-neutral agent in leather would be corrosive.

[jdl1279]

Partially right in that salt is water soluable, however salt when it dilutes can get in the pourous leather and strip natural oils. In a oil compound a small amount (about half a cap to 16oz of oil compound) of citric acid has no real noticeable effect on the leather. I oil a $2000 slab of wood (which is far more pourous) with straight lemon oil, and I have used same mix on winter footwear for years. You will notice the leather darkens a bit more, but otherwise no difference. I know a couple guys who even use it on saddles, and swear it prevents splitting.

[Arabit]

Any way to tell apart IHSH 20 Red and IHSH 72 Red visually?

[madmonday]

the snaps on the 72 say ironheart on them, the snaps on the 20 are just black.

that is of course if you are talking about just a visual check.

hope that info helps

[natehate]

color is different too
72 is deeper i suppose you could say

[jdl1279]

All right, someone point me in the right direction. I am looking for a hatter, more specifically I am looking for a hat to be made. The style I am looking for is a Homburg with a kettle curl brim. Looking for a quality fur, not wool. I know of a few hatters, but this style is a bit out of the norm for them, any suggestions?

[seawolf]

I will be of no use for your search for a hatter, but I'm curious what kind of fur you have in mind?

[jdl1279]

Beaver or hare. I would prefer hare, just due to the hats origins and the historical use of rabbit fur in hats across Europe.

[seawolf]

Do we even have hares in the States, or is that just in Europe?

[jdl1279]

I honestly don't know if we have any in the states. We have a lot of different species of rabbit, and I know there are Snowshoe Hare in Canada. I don't know of any US hatters that use it though, as the bodies tend to be a bit lighter than beaver. Hence my polling of the forum, someone else on here has to be into quality hats.

[seawolf]

Have you ever been to the Fedora Lounge? http://thefedoralounge.com Those guys might be your best resource.

[jdl1279]

Thanks, I will pose the question over there. A little leary of advice I might get though, I see some hats being held as examples of quality from companies whose bodies I think are horrible. Looks like I may have to weed through a bunch of garbage to find what I want