I made the pouch from new veg. tanned leather. After completing the bag, I got all the oils out of it, soaked it in walnut hull stain for a week, dried it out real good and stressed it by bending and twisting which cracked the surface. Next I applied some Neats Foot oil to preserve and soften the leather back up and finished the job by burying it in leaves and dirt to get the grimy look and scuffed it on concrete and with sand paper to get the worn look. You can get the oils out of the leather by using alcohol or lye (careful with the lye!). I used the methods described in Mr. T. C. Albert's book "Recreating the 18th Century Hunting Pouch" and recommend it highly, being some what new at leather work, his book was a great help!
James
