Question about casing leather multiple times

[Gezzer]

If you case a piece of leather and THEN let it return to completely dry then case it again ( day ,week ect. later ) , does it burnish better or make any difference in the way it tools ? 

Edited October 20, 2022 by Northmount
Expanded the title from "question"

[Dwight]

I'm not an expert either in the burnishing department or in the tooling . . . but for what I do . . . I have not really found any big difference.

TTFWIW

May God bless,

Dwight

[fredk]

Yes it does alter

After your first casing when the leather dries you'll find it stiffens up and also shrinks a bit

After each subsequent casing the leather will get ever so slightly more stiff but won't shrink by very much, if at all

To counteract this stiffening you should feed it with nfo as it dries after casing

Upon the initial casing it will tool nicely and easily. Upon subsequent casing it will need more effort to tool well. But we are talking of it'll just need a greater whack on the tool with the mallet, not having to use a 15lb sledgehammer. The difference is there but not too noticeable

If you are going to tool over a period you can do a first casing, keep the leather damp with a sponge as you work.  At the end of a session wrap it in ceran food wrap and put it in the fridge until the next session. It will keep for days like this. When I do this I put just a little bit of bleach in the casing water to prevent mould from growing

[Gezzer]

1 hour ago, Dwight said:

I'm not an expert either in the burnishing department or in the tooling . . . but for what I do . . . I have not really found any big difference.

TTFWIW

May God bless,

Dwight

Thank you Sir .

19 minutes ago, fredk said:

Yes it does alter

After your first casing when the leather dries you'll find it stiffens up and also shrinks a bit

After each subsequent casing the leather will get ever so slightly more stiff but won't shrink by very much, if at all

To counteract this stiffening you should feed it with nfo as it dries after casing

Upon the initial casing it will tool nicely and easily. Upon subsequent casing it will need more effort to tool well. But we are talking of it'll just need a greater whack on the tool with the mallet, not having to use a 15lb sledgehammer. The difference is there but not too noticeable

If you are going to tool over a period you can do a first casing, keep the leather damp with a sponge as you work.  At the end of a session wrap it in ceran food wrap and put it in the fridge until the next session. It will keep for days like this. When I do this I put just a little bit of bleach in the casing water to prevent mould from growing

Thank you Fred .

 

Yes I know it is going to stiffen up , My question is more will it burnish and or stamp better or worse , I am not really talking about a big project where you would need to keep it cased . I guess I am trying to get corvette performance out of a rambler  ( HO performance out of import leather ) .

[fredk]

3 hours ago, Gezzer said:

. . . 

. . . My question is more will it burnish and or stamp better or worse , I am not really talking about a big project where you would need to keep it cased  . . .

It will stamp worse,. Even on a small project its best to case only once and keep it damp, even in just a sealable plastic bag

Are you speaking of top surface burnishing or edge? The edges will burnish up real nice and easily, it will take a lot of effort, and I mean a lot, to burnish the top surface

[Gezzer]

OK, I see and I should have been clearer in that I was asking about surface burnishing . Well as Dad use to love saying " don't hurt to ask " .  Thanks Fred