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@fredk, that's interesting! And that process should be easier to do now and the preservation as well. Do you have a pic of the piece that you have and is with your daughter now?

I warmed and mixed tallow and oil, equal quantities, to make a lotion for dry weather. They did not mix. When I checked the next day, the tallow and oil stood in 2 layers. So I warmed both again with a little beeswax and now I have a nice, homogenous lotion. I wonder if that is one of the uses of beeswax in everything.

@Handstitched LOL. NO it is real leather, apparently. Some store called DistrictLeathers.com sells it in the US. They say it is horse hide or Kangaroo leather. Introduced in 2017, developed and introduced in his fashion collection by someone called Shruli Recht - in the Netherlands. It looks a bit like vinyl. In fact the majority of the search results show vinyl.

Transparent/translucent leather is a thing! Has anyone used it?

If its a coin, you could make 2-4 holes placed symmetrically,, sew them in place between 2 layers of leather and make that a part of the design. Stick it everywhere else with contact cement though.

Yes. I like to use embossed leather because it is a little stiff anyway and it adds a touch of class as well! I too use chrome-tanned leather for the colors and variety available. Love working with veg-tanned leather but there is just so much you can do with it. Chrome tanned adds variety.

I don't do silk lining because it looks nice but is not very practical. We women tend to dump any and everything inside our bags. Silk gets dirty pretty fast and is difficult to clean. I made a bag recently with soft leather on the outside and a lovely ostrich embossed on the inside. It give support and looks unusual. Cuts down the weight too, which is always an important consideration.

@Handstitched, That is nice. I'm not surprised it sold fast. I like that slight dip at the base. @Dwight Good to know that not much conditioner is needed. I have use a little neatsfoot oil and some conditioner but to me, the neatsfoot oil has an unpleasant odor. Even the conditioner with its own fragrance cannot seem to mask it. But it will disappear. Meanwhile, I am whacking the leather often and bending and folding it and my husband is helping me with that too. It seems to be softening.

Oh wow! @Handstitched got a pic of that bag? That's called making a silk purse out of a sow's ear! I oiled a piece of the leather and bent it and bashed it a bit - it was slightly softer this morning, so rolled it up and held it in place for a while with rubber bands. I will keep it aside for about half an hour and then bash it some more. Great for when I am in a bit of a temper. @chuck123wapati, where are you? Sorry no. Just joking. No offense intended Chuck.

Oh. Okay. I will try that. I'm in no hurry to soften that leather anyway. Thank you.

@Garyak You made this bag? It is gorgeous! I hope you made more and charged a mint for them. The beauty of this is that it doesn't look like it's made from scraps. It looks deliberate.

@fredk, Could you please tell me how to soften stiff leather splits? Pretty please? See? I'm asking so nicely!

@toxo That's true but they should be unique AND beautiful. To me. I'm finicky. Not everyone has the eye and talent to design really beautiful things or to get the colors just right. No idea who designed this bag but that person has both.

I actually really like this the most. It is unusual and one of a kind. No offense @toxo but the others are nice but repeatable and sometime seen. This one? Nope.

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.

@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.

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.

@dikman, true dat!

@NatesLeatherGds, No idea how it is. Maybe someone who has actually used one will talk about it here.

@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.

Sorry all, was away for a few hours so could not answer your questions. Will post a pic shortly.

I just saw a rolling knife sharpener on Amazon for the first time. I wonder how effective they are. Has anyone here used one?

@fredk That is nice and a thoughtful thing to make.

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

No. I'm afraid not.