SUP
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Everything posted by SUP
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My question is more of "Is it possible..." rather than "How...?' I know it is possible to stiffen leather but can it be softened permanently? I have a rather stiff split that I am thinking of using to make tool bags, IF I can soften it a little. I will only use small parts of the side. I will probably skive it too. But I will do all that only if there is a chance I can soften it a bit. I had thought skiving might soften it a bit but I read that thickness has nothing to do with temper.
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@Wepster they also sell on Amazon and it's worth the extra paid at times like this. I find that Owden tools are good, I like them better than Wuta although Wuta seems to have a wider range. I have the Owden punches and they are sharp out of the box and retain that edge. Also via Amazon though.
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Thank you @bruce johnson . I wanted to hear from someone who has actually used it. I don't think I will be buying it anytime soon. At this point, I am using ordinary whetstones in different grits and then the strop to sharpen my knives.. or the friendly neighbourhood cutler, who is knowledgeable and also has great knives for sale at reasonable prices. No leather knives though. Did get a great Damascus chef's knife - the blade remains sharp for so long; its months now and its not dulled even a little and that is all that I use. Just ordered some diamond sharpening stones. Can't wait to try them.
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@dikman, true dat!
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@NatesLeatherGds, No idea how it is. Maybe someone who has actually used one will talk about it here.
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@Mablung, I've not seen a jig to sharpen swivel knives, but I don't think this is it. I mean this one. I believe it can hold the knife so that the blade can be sharpened at 15 degrees or 20 degrees. @fredk I think you are talking about the same one. I agree, Only 15 degrees or 20 degrees and the knife held at one particular angle will not be of much use for our leather working tools but since I saw it for the first time today, I wondered if it has any use at all. Like @bruce johnson says, for straight blades used in kitchens, maybe. It would be a bit awkward to use too, I thought. Good to know about anything new anyway. Thank you all.
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Sorry all, was away for a few hours so could not answer your questions. Will post a pic shortly.
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I just saw a rolling knife sharpener on Amazon for the first time. I wonder how effective they are. Has anyone here used one?
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@fredk That is nice and a thoughtful thing to make.
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The Tandy site says it can be used as a resist. Not sure about the dilution needed though. They do not say it needs to be diluted when they describe the method to use it as a resist. Maybe you could test it on some scrap? https://tandyleather.com/products/eco-flo-super-shene -
Does anyone like this type of belt buckle?
SUP replied to chingyoung's topic in Hardware and Accessories
No. I'm afraid not. -
Ohh. I forgot about the resources section. Stupid of me. Will check that now. Thank you for reminding me. A little later - Looked up resources - a rich source, but every thing is found mixed in together. Maybe we need to have subsections? I know that when I search for something using the search engine, I don't always find it easily. Maybe I do something wrong.
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I know exactly what everyone here means! I see my poor attempts and then the absolutely beautiful work posted on this forum and wonder at the patience and effort that was needed to reach that level of expertise. Awe-inspiring. And something to aspire for, isn't it?
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Maybe we should have a thread dedicated to good books for leatherworking! There are so many books out there available on the net, not all necessarily good or worth the price. It's difficult to separate the chaff from the grain. But once one of us actually goes through a book and knows how it is, a comment here means less searching for the rest of us.
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This is just an FYI for anyone who might be wanting to get into leather work or even leatherworkers whose knowledge has some blank areas - mine does.. The book titled "Leather Crafting starter Book" available at Tandy Leather gives a lot of useful information and plenty of tips. I just saw it today. Along with describing basic tools needed, It also teaches basics like saddle stitching, lacing, how to glue leather together, which glue to use when and so on. It also has nifty little projects for the beginner. The cute little dinosaurs are my favourite. Other projects include simple wallets, making a whip, flowers and a simple bag. I put this here because I did not know where else to put it. @Northmount, if it should be in a different place, could you please move it?
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@deboardp, that is sad. I hope a day comes when you will value yourself more. When one is not puffed up with self importance, when one thinks one is no different from anyone else, that is humility and a virtue. Denigrating oneself? I don't think so. And before you say that I don't know what I am talking about, please remember you are a veteran and to the rest of us in the country, veterans are people whom we respect. Whatever happened afterwards are circumstances which you might or might not have contributed towards but that will not change the fact that you re a veteran. As my husband says and I agree wholeheartedly, when there is danger and we laymen run away, the armed forces, the police force, the fire service, all of you run towards it, so that the rest of us are safe. That is why, all of you are worthy of respect.
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LOL @deboardp me? Not so much. If I can get something done well on the cheap, I do not like to spend more. But i like lanolin in my conditioner for the fragrance as well - if petroleum jelly smelt as good, I would use it. And hey! it is not just our Western culture that produces and uses cheap stuff... think of where it comes from first! The rest of the world does it as well, produces and uses cheap stuff. Think of Balistol as @dikman said. It is only us who beat ourselves about it. No, my friend. Let's not do that. We have to respect ourselves first before we can expect others to respect us, and there is plenty to respect in us..
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@deboardp Just a word of caution. Beeswax hardens quite a bit and when I tried it first, my conditioner ended up hard. I had to add more and more lanolin and oil to get it to a paste. Since you are not planning to use oils which make the mixture more fluid, may I suggest you start with a small quantity of beeswax and add more until you get the texture you want? Else, like me, you might end up with a large hard block from which I hacked off pieces and added lanolin and oil to get a paste. A bit of a pain. Also if you want it to smell nice, maybe you should decide what you mean by 'nice'. Lanolin smells great to me - is that what you mean? Or do you plan to add something for fragrance? You can add any essential oil or fragrance oil but is that what you want? If so, maybe you could look up fragrance oils to find what will please you?
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@dikman Yep but you see, it is a personal thing, so to each his own. @deboardp if you are most comfortable with using greases on your leather, you also now know that they are fine on leather. As @chuck123wapati said, people have been doing it for 100s of years. So whether you do what they did or adapt something like petroleum products, ether way there is plenty of proof about all the ingredients and that they do not harm leather, never mind what the companies selling different products say. Good luck in your endeavour!
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Been there, done that. @deboardp
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There are only so many waxes and greases suitable for the purpose. Over the centuries, all the combinations will have already been tried, isn't it? Finally, it is just hydration, lubrication and water proofing, whatever the products used. If Aussies, with over 94% petroleum products is considered wonderful - people wax eloquent about it - as much as tallow and lanolin and beeswax and other animal products, it shows leather is hardy and not really fussy, is it not? And @deboardp if you are concerned about the vegans and vegetarians, why not emulate Aussies? There's proof for you that petroleum products do not actually harm leather and do not need animal products or indeed, labor-intensive procedures like hot-stuffing with grease to remain in good condition.
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I'll take your word for it.
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One of the uses of a still, I guess. Or just keep a handful of tobacco along with the leather maybe. After all, cigar boxes smell wonderful too - used to get them from my uncle who smoked cigars.
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Maybe, if you want to use this pretty patterned leather, if you used a thick glue, applied it only on the wallet and not on the lining and then placed this on and rolled, it might not bleed through .
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@dikman I use a D-limonene cleaner to clean my pots after I make leather conditioners in it, which contain beeswax. I spray it in and leave it fora while. Then I wipe it off. Sometimes I need to do it twice. After that, a quick scrub with soap, more for my satisfaction, and it's clean. My cleaner is a 16 oz bottle filled nearly to the top with tap water, 1-2 Tbsp of D-Limonene, 1 Tbsp of alcohol and a few drops of Dawn dishwashing soap as surfactant, in case you were wondering. Found this recipe online, tried it and am delighted with it. I suspect the alcohol evaporates fast enough though. I can understand D-Limonene being so expensive in Australia. Maybe you need to find a local manufacturer there?