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The reason that we wait until the leather has appeared to return to the original color while still being damp is to get the deep burnishing that you see around your beveled edges, where any shading is done, and it also helps to give you a more consistent result when doing any background work. Mushy/overly wet leather will not give you the contrasts that you are looking for and it also allows the leather to stretch excessively which can ultimately lead to your finished piece now being the wrong size or looking "out of shape/distorted".

Very rarely should your leather be soaked or, the more common method of dipping it in water until all of the bubbles quit rising, unless you are either working with moulded items as indicated by juxtaposed2 or you are working with thick saddle skirting that needs to be heavily formed and shaped into place.

The best way to case your leather for common stamping/tooling use is to wet it well with a sponge, allow it to sit for a bit until the leather appears to return to the original color, and then check it for a cool feel. It should feel cool to the touch but not wet. During your stamping/tooling, if the leather starts to dry out too much just run some more water over it with the sponge (just enough to moisten the leather) and allow it to return to color again.

Patience is the biggest thing that everyone, regardless of experience level, tends to fight with but it is a necessity in this trade and probably one of the things that you will forever be working on nailing down. I have been doing this for over 40 years and still find myself wanting to accelerate a process only to slap myself down and get a grip on the reality that I can't rush something. Clients pay good money for a quality piece and I would be doing them a serious injustice if I were to shortcut in any way.

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Posted (edited)

The reason for casing is for a good burnish when tooling and a crisper and better 3d effect. The drying time will depend on the temperature, humidity and thickness of the leather but it's not uncommon for me to wait 6 to 8 hrs before putting 6/7oz in the fridge. If you put it in the fridge before it's ready then your stopping the drying process. I always case the day before I intend to start carving. If I'm doing a project I can complete in a couple of hours I do NVLeatherWorx method, If it's a large project I do the long casing version because if the moisture is consistant thru out the leather there is less rewetting and the less rewetting the better for the carving.

Edited by Troy Burch
  • 2 weeks later...
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Posted

Holy cow! I have so much to learn! It may sound stupid, but my mind was blown reading this...I had absolutely no idea. Thank you so much for sharing.

Y'all be safe!!!

www.firegroundleather.com

Posted

Holy cow! I have so much to learn! It may sound stupid, but my mind was blown reading this...I had absolutely no idea. Thank you so much for sharing.

You're welcome, Doubletap and thanks for the feedback.

Hope it helps and Happy New Year!

Bobby

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Thank you Bob for the information. I have been trying this method out and even though I am still not 100% on how much moisture this system seams to be working better than what I used to do ie just wetting the leather while i am working it. this combined with increased attention to swivel knife sharpness has made a big difference.

Bri

  • 3 weeks later...
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Posted

Wanted to say I've starting casing my leather using this method and have been very impressed with the way the leather tools and works. I was wondering if anyone has any issues with mold forming on the leather though. I have a couple very tiny green spots forming and want to keep this from happening. Any tips? I keep the temp where i store the leather between 65 and 68.

  • 2 weeks later...
Posted

My question is on the "Wetting the Sides of the leather" when it's covered with the glass. How is this done? Do you wet with a sponge or do you dip the edges in the bath? The glass method makes sense to me, just confused on the method of applying water?

Posted

Wanted to say I've starting casing my leather using this method and have been very impressed with the way the leather tools and works. I was wondering if anyone has any issues with mold forming on the leather though. I have a couple very tiny green spots forming and want to keep this from happening. Any tips? I keep the temp where i store the leather between 65 and 68.

The glass is used to preserve the cased leather. You case your leather first and then to preserve it, you place a sheet of glass on the leather which inhibits the drying process. To case, you first dip the leather in a water bath and then let it begin the dtying process. When the leather is "ripe", place the glass sheet over the top to hold moisture in. Using glass is something you use when you're tooling and need to stop and want to presrve the moisture content of the leather.

Hope this helps....

Bobby

Leqatherworkerthumbnail2La.jpg LongLiveCowboys-1.jpgWFDPhoto2a.jpg

Posted

Wanted to say I've starting casing my leather using this method and have been very impressed with the way the leather tools and works. I was wondering if anyone has any issues with mold forming on the leather though. I have a couple very tiny green spots forming and want to keep this from happening. Any tips? I keep the temp where i store the leather between 65 and 68.

Put some Listerine in your casing solution. There are a number of posts about preventing mold. Do a search for them.

Tom

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Posted

Thank you Mr Pounder, a perfect primer and may have saved me a good bit of time not oversaturating my leather in the future.

Thank you for taking the time to advise those of us who can definitely use it.

Michael

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