Furniture, Wood and Cabinetry Finishing - Stain Questions on mixing and wiping

Can I mix two stains together? I have a stain from Sherwin Williams and a stain that came from the manufacturer of my cabinets. I'm trying to match the stain on my cabinets and I believe that the manufacturer used some kind of tinted poly so their stain doesn't have the orange in it that shows up on the cabinets. I'm finding that mixing stains comes closer to the look I want, but should I be worried about anything in doing this?

Sherwin Williams did a stain match for me with some samples of their stain on a board that I supplied. Their stain was quite dark and rich looking. I have been unable to mimic the richness of their sample using their stain. I am wondering if it is because I am being too diligent in wiping off the excess stain. Could someone give me some tips on wiping off the excess...can I just softly wipe off any obvious excess or do I need to rub relatively hard to get off all excess stain (which lightens it)? Can you leave some stain on the surface to dry?

Thanks.

You can inter mix stains as long as they have the same base - oil/oil yes, oil/latex/laquer = no.

Generally the longer the stain sets the more color it will leave behind. You don't want any unobsorbed stain to dry on the wood. The main thing with wiping stain is to be consistent. I usually apply however much I feel confident on applying at one time and then lightly wipe. No need to vigorously wipe off the stain unless you need the exercise :D

Not all boards [even from the same tree] will stain identical. The softer pieces will stain darker while the harder ones will be lighter. If the sample piece of wood isn't consistent with the rest of the wood, the sample will be different.