casing leather

[Balloonman]

Soapy & water is also a popular woodturning trick for keeping green wood wet a few extra days. On the website I used to run, we had a member who was an amatuer scientist that conducted a few tests to find out if it was valid or just 'snake oil'. What he found was that the soap raises the evaporation point of the water just enough to keep the moisture content up a bit longer than the water by itself. An easy experiment folks can do is to simply wash your hands...first without soap and then with soap but don't rinse it off. You'll notice the soapy water on your hands takes much longer to dry. Ivory in particular does a better job of this because in the early 1990s they started to leave the glycerol in their soap (most companies remove it to eliminate the 'oily' feeling). Some little known facts about Glycerol that explain why soaps with glycerol are great lubricants:

In motion-picture production, glycerol is used as a non-evaporating substitute for perspiration or tears on actors.

For tincture extraction and preservation of essential oils and chemicals from herbs

Glycerine is used as an anti-drying agent in watercolor paints.

Glycerine is used as a preservative to keep tobacco mixture for use in hookahs moist.

Probably more than you wanted to know, but I thought I would answer the why it lubricates/stays moist part.

Loved your answer and thanks

[horsewreck]

Thank you sir, You answered questions I had not thought to ask. Not sure I know what "slicking leather" means.

Bruce Johnson did a decent job of explaining slicking leather, the tools involved, etc, in his post above. I slick almost all the leather I use...... Jeff