swivelsphinx Report post Posted December 30, 2008 New leather just arrived today. Veg bellies- natural and black. I was wondering if I could, or *should* soak/case the black ones before working them. I am trying the veg tan bellies in black because the 6-8 oz latigo I got from Tandy last time 'round was so dang hard and stiff it *tore* blades on my wooden strap cutter *and* the steel one! I had to beat the hell out of it with mallets and soak it in conditioner to get it to cut safely. It was an awful lot of effort to get small strips! I'm trying pre-dyed black bellies because solid black is a popular color, but I'd like to save time & money... the black bellies are the same price as the natural ones! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
badger Report post Posted December 30, 2008 Hi, If you want a solid black colour in veg-tan, why not try vinegaroon? If you use the search feature you'll find the information you need. Cheers, Karl Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
UKRay Report post Posted December 30, 2008 New leather just arrived today. Veg bellies- natural and black. I was wondering if I could, or *should* soak/case the black ones before working them. I am trying the veg tan bellies in black because the 6-8 oz latigo I got from Tandy last time 'round was so dang hard and stiff it *tore* blades on my wooden strap cutter *and* the steel one! I had to beat the hell out of it with mallets and soak it in conditioner to get it to cut safely. It was an awful lot of effort to get small strips! I'm trying pre-dyed black bellies because solid black is a popular color, but I'd like to save time & money... the black bellies are the same price as the natural ones! I just use my drum dyed black veg tan 'straight out of the box' but I guess it depends on what you want to do with it and how thick it is. I have never experienced the sort of problems you describe with any 6-8oz leather (especially not bellies which are naturally inclined to be soft) so I wonder if you may need to look again at how you are cutting the stuff. Can you describe the process you use and what you plan to do with the black leather so we can understand exactly what the problem is? Talking about casing - are you planning on tooling the black leather or just cutting it? Ray Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
swivelsphinx Report post Posted December 30, 2008 I have never experienced the sort of problems you describe with any 6-8oz leather (especially not bellies which are naturally inclined to be soft)Hey! Thanks for replying to my post. I think I was not as clear as I should have been. The black latigo was not belly stuff- it was wax/dye impregnated shoulders or sides. That's why I am trying veg tan black bellies the second go around. Due to the fact that my hands are small I have an eye out for "the path of least resistance" when cutting leather. I tend to prefer cutting with strap cutters for strips, and good steel sheers (10 inch Ginghers) for irregular or round shapes. I am planning on tooling some of it. Thanks, Tannin S.Hi,If you want a solid black colour in veg-tan, why not try vinegaroon? If you use the search feature you'll find the information you need.Cheers,KarlOh! I've never heard that word before- "vinegaroon" eh? I will look it up straight away. Thanks Karl! Tannin S. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
UKRay Report post Posted December 30, 2008 Hey! Thanks for replying to my post. I think I was not as clear as I should have been. The black latigo was not belly stuff- it was wax/dye impregnated shoulders or sides. That's why I am trying veg tan black bellies the second go around. Due to the fact that my hands are small I have an eye out for "the path of least resistance" when cutting leather. I tend to prefer cutting with strap cutters for strips, and good steel sheers (10 inch Ginghers) for irregular or round shapes. I am planning on tooling some of it. Thanks, Tannin S. Personally, I would start out with a brand new knife blade in the strap cutter and go on from there. I also have small hands but can happily cut out 3.5 to 4mm thick veg tan leather without a struggle as long as the blade is really sharp. Which bit gives you most trouble - the initial cut into the leather or the long cut down the line of the strap? Even thinking about needing to find the 'path of least resistance' kinda sounds like you are doing something wrong here. When did you last put a new blade in that cutter? The shears ought to do a reasonable job but I feel you would be better off learning how to use a very sharp craft knife of some kind. i'm not sure what is available to you in the US but I'm sure somebody 'local' will gladly make a few suggestions. I tool belts and guitar straps cut from black drum dyed veg tan shoulders and find that a 'quick case' with some warm water and a shot of Lexol works best for me. IMHO you probably ought to check out the threads on casing to get a good overview before throwing too much water around! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
swivelsphinx Report post Posted January 5, 2009 Oi!Thanks for the comments and advice. I was breaking new blades on my wood and steel strap cutters on wax-impregnated latigo. It could be that the blades were not as good as I thought, or that the wood strap cutter is wearing out so the blade has too much flex. I would like to learn how to make better use of the different leather knives- I need to improve my sharpening skills first! I will try your casing suggestions- thank you very much!Talking about casing - are you planning on tooling the black leather or just cutting it?I'm doing both at different times. Thanks for asking! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
