Casing Question

[David]

As a solution to having the tooling become fainter when you re-wet; try glassing the leather first. This compacting of the leather will prevent the tooling from raising back up.

I don't use refrigeration because I don't like it at all. I can re-wet leather a dozen times in tooling a complex piece and it doesn't become harder or more difficult to tool.

Just a suggestion, this is what I do.

David Theobald

Edited May 13, 2009 by David

[MADMAX22]

That sounds alot easier then trying to put the stuff in the fridge David. I case with water and a few drops of dawn and it works great but I can hardly ever get a project finished in one day. I have been wrapping them in saran wrap and throwing them in the fridge.

Ill try letting them dry between goes at the leather. Great info all.

Also Redbeard thats pretty interesting way of doing it. Have to try that out one day.

[Hilly]

I'm a big fan of using a spray bottle with plain water, and a drop or two of detergent. Just spray the area I want to work on till it looks good and wet, let it sit a couple minutes till the color starts to look dry again, and tool away. This way I can work on a small area at a time, and not worry about having a big piece of leather wet for days, and risk mold growth. I also don't need to find a spot in the fridge for it.

Try experimenting on scrap, and find the method that works best for you. Most of all, enjoy learning!

[hidepounder]

I think my definition of casing seems to be different from other's definitions. I was taught that casing a piece of leather was not wetting it and letting it dry back to the point where it is ready to tool....that's just wetting the leather. Casing is where a piece of leather is wet and just before it is ready to tool it is placed in a casing box and allowed to sit overnight. The casing box was a wood box that was lined with sheet metal, to hold in the moisture. Now days we use plastic bags/boxes. The point of casing is to allow the leather to cure in a moist environment. You're trying to achieve a consistant moisture content throughout the piece of leather. When leather is dipped and allow to return to color, it is wetter in the center because the moisture has evaporated from the surface. It is very toolable at this point, but the moisture is not consistant throughtout. As a result, it may be a little more difficult to cut and less burnishing occurs from tooling. Properly cased leather cuts like butter and a lot more burnishing will occur when it is tooled.

Why the refrigerator? To prevent mold! If you are working on a large piece that may take a couple of days to complete, placing it a plastic bag helps maintain the moisture content....the refrigerator helps to prevent mold form forming. The need to use the refrigerator depends on you're particular environement.

It is most desirable to not let the leather dry completely out. When moisture is re-introduced after the leather is dry, the areas that are compressed from tooliing, primarily the beveled and shaded areas, absorb the moisture and begin to de-compress...similar to a sponge absorbing water. When re-tooled, the compression doesn't hold as well as it did initially.

Hope this makes sense...

Bob

Edited May 13, 2009 by hidepounder

[HarleyChef]

Ok, have to ask, why the baby shampoo or detergent? I re-wet all the time and don't notice any fading or problems with the burnishing...that being said, if I can get it to burnish a bit more, then I'm all for it.

[hidepounder]

Ok, have to ask, why the baby shampoo or detergent? I re-wet all the time and don't notice any fading or problems with the burnishing...that being said, if I can get it to burnish a bit more, then I'm all for it.

Using soaps in the water you use to initially wet the leather, helps the leather to cut a little better. I would guess that two things happen...one is that the soap may help lubricate the knife when cutting and secondly, it may reduce the rate that the steel blade reacts with the chemicals in the leather with causes a crystaline build-up on the blade, which creates drag.

Re-wetting is not a problem if the leather is not dried out. If you allow the leather to dry and then re-wet, that's when you will begin to notice it affecting the tooled areas. I re-wet all the time, I just try to be sure not to let the surface get too dry before using my spray bottle or sponge. On the other hand, if you over-wet the leather, that will affect the tooled areas, also.

One of the tricks to maintaining the optimum moisture content is to not try to tool too large an area at one time. On large pieces, I segment the areas to be tooled by covering them with plastic wrap. That way I can finish one area, taking advantage of the moisture in the leather, before uncovering the next area to tool.

Bob

[whinewine]

Ok, have to ask, why the baby shampoo or detergent? I re-wet all the time and don't notice any fading or problems with the burnishing...that being said, if I can get it to burnish a bit more, then I'm all for it.

Baby shampoo, or detergent, is a "surfactant'... It cuts the water tension & allows the water to run off (or, in the case of leather,) penetrate the leather more evenly than without it. Years ago, when we printed photos in darkrooms, we would use a Kodak product called 'photoflo' (or 'photo-flo' or 'photo flo'- I don't remember anymore- but you can still probably get it). It was a detergent (i.e., surfactant), and as such, allowed water to run off the freshly washed prints, negatives or slides in sheets, rather than in beads, thereby allowing them to air dry without water spots. The same thing goes for using surfactants in casing solution: they allow better penetration. By itself, it, I believe, has less to do with reducing drag than does the NFO or lexol. But it permits greater & more uniform penetration & this is a definite advantage when trying to case less than ideal carving leather.

Soap, btw is NOT a detergent.

russ

[hidepounder]

Russ,

Good explanation! You also pointed out a distinction that may be important...I don't know. I've always wondered if using a detergent or soap makes a difference. I wasn't taught to use a casing solution....I have only started using one in the last few years. I use Joy dishsoap in my solution.... it's not a detergent (I think). Why? Because someone suggested I try it and I liked it! I have not tried Lexol, yet, but I understand that is works very well. I also use Ivory bar soap on the surface before I cut. I wonder if the use of a detergent would have any negative or different effect on leather, or effect the final finish, which the soap does not seem to do.

The thing that I think is important that your explanation points to, is achieving a uniform absorbtion of moisture in the leather...which makes for optimal tooling! Casing as oppossed to wetting, helps to accomplish that. Your explanation of the effects of the soap (which I didn't know, BTW) makes sense! Adding soap seems to take this saturation level a step farther than just casing with water. Now, knowing the effects of soap, I am inclined to try the Lexol also (which is mostly soap, I believe).

Good stuff, thanks!

Bob

Russ...I edited this because when I re-read your post I realized that your explanation of a sufuctant was really referring to detergents. Does that mean we should be using detergents instead of soap, or do they both accomplish the same thing?

Edited May 13, 2009 by hidepounder

[HarleyChef]

Thanks for the explainations, you guys rock! I will be adding a drop or 2 of detergent to my spray bottle from now on. Thanks again!

[azrider]

Great thread! Thanks for explaining the why. I had heard or read some of these methods before, but didn't really know the reasons why they were used.