Smoothing flesh side?

[zbean]

Howdy,

I'm making a sheath and am stumped on how to go about smoothing out the flesh side of the leather I'm using. I have several production sheaths where the flesh side is a velvety smooth suede-like finish. Should I be sanding it, burnishing it, or otherwise to make its fibrous appearance smoother? I considered slicking it with gum trag, but it seems to act as a sort of resist when dyeing.

Apologies if this has been covered and my searches have missed it.

Thanks!

-Beans

[MADMAX22]

I dont know about for holsters but I like to take mine after I dye it and use some tan kote and right after I apply it while its still wet I take my slicker/bone folder and run over it to smooth it out. Makes a very slick appearance once its dried.

I know that some people order there leather with the flesh side having been sanded and pasted or something like that. I cant remember who does it.

[wildrose]

I have a slicker. It is a chunk of glass with a wood handle, and part of the glass is smoothed/rounded. It works great for smoothing the rough side. Mine was custom made but I can't for the life of me remember by who!

[ShirleyT]

Barry King makes a TERRIFIC glass slicker! http://www.barrykingtools.com/handtools.htm

[zbean]

Thank you all for your responses!

I'll have to check out the Tan Kote and the Glass Slicker. It's sounding like the Slicker is more the avenue I'm looking for on this project. Do you case the leather before using it? I may have jumped ahead in the steps of the process... I've already applied Fiebing's oil dye, would that impede the action of a slicker?

That Barry King model is beautiful. It would make the rest of my tool collection envious!

-Beans

[Leerwerker]

I have a small tutorial at

http://sites.google.com/site/leatherlearn/Home/fuzzies

[pino]

I'm not expert but what I do is to apply some mink oil either liquid or creamy on the flesh side, rub it thouroughly and let it dry. The outcome ain't bad at all.

[D.A. Kabatoff]

Beans,

if the other posts don't help create the look you want, you could sand the leather. I usually order sanded flesh side hides from Hermann Oak if I have a roughout saddle to make, but once in a while I'll have extra leather from another side that needs to be sanded to match... the are my observations when I need to do this: It can be messy and time consuming depending on how big a piece of leather and how stringy it is. Firmer leather from the top of a hide near the spine will sand nicer than belly leather.

Start with about 200 grit and work your way to something very fine. Sand lightly back and forth to get rid of the stringy stuff and then in a single direction with the grain of the leather as the surface gets smoother. Don't use much pressure as this can keep pulling up new strings instead of sanding off the existing ones.

hope it helps,

Darc

[rickybobby]

I have had good luck sanding some pretty "ratty" leather with "crocus cloth" sand paper. I buy it at the hardware store so it must be a common product. It seems to work well because it has a cloth backing. It is brown in color and does not stain the leather.

Like Darc said in prev. post, I start with #180 or #200 grit. I use 1/2 a sheet wrapped around a sanding block. The 3m brand block work best for me but I think you can use any.

Sand with straight lines with the #180 or #200 grit, when finish looks even on whole hide (side) change to finer grit #240 or #320 grit and use "cross sanding " technique. Cross sanding is done by sanding back and forth 2 or 3 strokes then 2 or 3 at a 45 degree angle. This helps keep the surface "flat" and helps "loose" any sanding lines. Do this across the whole side and everything should look even.

Keep your shop vac handy, it gets pretty messy!!! Good luck, post some pictures!!

Rick Jorgenson

[zbean]

Again thank you everyone for the responses, I'm really liking the knowledgeable, helpful attitudes here. Sorry for the delayed response on my part, I work a 3x12 schedule at present.

Leerwerker and Pino, I went with an approach similar to yours; I used a damp sponge and the round bit of my bone folder and tried to slick it down as best I could. It came out pretty well I think. It's got a still semi-rugged appearance, but feels mostly slick, albeit porous, to the touch. For this application I think it will do quite well. It's a sheath for a Ka-Bar USMC knife that belongs to my father. (Also did a stacked leather washer re-handle on the knife.) My grandfather was in the Navy in WWII and traded a marine for it as I'm told.

I don't have any pics yet, but will be certain to post some once it's completed! I'm quite excited about it.

Darc and Rick, thank you so much. I think this was the look I was initially thinking of, but I got impatient because the fam and I are headed to the coast to see my father in less than a week. I'm hoping to have it ready to hand over by then. I must remember this method in the future, it can give items a really nice touch.

-Beans

[zbean]

It's been a good while, but I wanted to post the resolution of this one.

I finally got the thing stitched up and sent off (months later). I was in such a hurry to send it off I didn't take any pics, so I only have the one my father sent me. He seemed happy enough with it, so that was good. I know I've a long, long way to go, but I'm pretty happy with it for my third sheath.

Thanks to everyone for your advice,

-Bean

[thecapgunkid]

Funny how you trip over this stuff by pure accident. Many of the Cowboy Action Shooters I sell to ask for unlined holsters because they are working a persona from the 19th century rather than a 21st century competition rig. Many of these holsters were unlined, and the gunsight and metal rubbing on the inside of the leather yields a dust all over the gun.

The best way I have found to smooth the flesh side is as follows;

1. Pick a chunk of leather to work weith that is not already shredded ( rocket science...huh???)

2.Slick it once while it is still wet and before any carving. Make sure the flower side in on a smooth lap or marble stone so you don't get unintended impressions

3. You do that voo doo that you do so well on the leather through tooling and dying, and let it dry.

4.Dampen the flesh side but don't soak it.

5. Consume the contents of a no-sugar added glass jar of apple butter common to any grocery store and wash out the jar, leaving the paper label in place. The reason for the apple butter or no sugar added label is because they use jars that don't have a rim around the base, so the entire outside of the jar is one round, smooth surface.

6. Grasping the label ( which helps traction ) lay the piece rough side up on your marble or lapstone, and work toward you in smooth, long, even strokes with a measure of elbow grease. This is an eye-ball thing and you'll know you're done when you see that you have really compressed the grain. By keeping the decorated, flower side of the leather dry (step 4) you won't butcher your work.

7. Let it dry. Now get on the treadmill because all that apple butter you just ate is headed right for your beltline

8. Now comes it the tan-coat. I like brushes where I have cut the bristle length by about half...usually a one inch trim brush that my wife is gonna yell at me over because I did not paint the room but made some cowboy the John Wayne Rig he always wanted as a kid instead.

9. I like to run a shoe brush over the surface. It probably doesn't do anything but it is a nice and pastoral feeling like I fit in with the ecology or something by not using a machine.

Hope this helps, and, don't shoot yore eye out, kid

The Capgun Kid

[Des804]

I use a Little bit of Gum Tragacanth and then rub my bone Folder up and down it it makes it really smooth then I seal it with satin Shean once it dries.

[pepeunidos]

Thanks for the info! This is all super helpful. I have a question: if the flesh side was to be dyed, where in the sequence would that happen?

PepeUnidos