How old is too old.

[anester05]

I have a bunch of old Veg Tanned leather. What are some characteristics of leather that is just too old to tool? I want to practice with this leather so I can save the new stuff for projects. Also how many times can you re-wet leather before the leather actually starts to degrade? Are there problems with wetting a piece of leather then letting dry then wetting it again? Should I just keep it in a air tight case to keep it moist?

Thanks in advance

Adam

[ClayB]

With your old leather, I'd suggest just trying to tool it and see if it works. If it's dried out, it might be hard to cut, or not take impressions well. If you bend it and it cracks, it's probably not going to be good for much.

There are some leathers that will get harder to work with each time they are wet and let dry. Some leather doesn't seem to be affected by this as much. Once I wet my leather, I try to keep it damp and not let it dry out. If I cant finish working on it when I start, I will put it in a plastic bag until I have a chance to work on it again. If it's going to be some time before I can get back at it, I'll put the bag with the leather in it in the refrigerator. I have had some leather in the refrigerator for a couple weeks or longer and it hasn't seemed to hurt it.

[whinewine]

I have a bunch of old Veg Tanned leather. What are some characteristics of leather that is just too old to tool? I want to practice with this leather so I can save the new stuff for projects. Also how many times can you re-wet leather before the leather actually starts to degrade? Are there problems with wetting a piece of leather then letting dry then wetting it again? Should I just keep it in a air tight case to keep it moist?

Thanks in advance

Adam

Assuming that the leather doesn't crack & is still toolable, you may find that it is better than a lot of the new stuff available today. I recently carved a fishing scene on a wallet back from a piece of 3-4 oz leather that dates back to the early 1970s... butter smooth, great burnishing, easy carving, great definition... The leather was 'old Tandy'. The 'new Tandy' stuff doesn't even remotely compare!

russ

[krauter]

I have veg tanned leather that is over 20 yrs. old. I just wet it down and tool it after letting it come back up to a natural looking case. Haven't had a problem with it. A bit of neat's-foot oil after tooling and prior to any dye, or antique seems to work well for me. I am still using old calf and goat lace from that era as well. Lexol on the lace seems to do as well.