To Case......or Not (?)

[ToddB 68]

Dear friends,

I'm a leatherwork newbie.

Regarding casing the leather (wetting), could someone please explain to me why this process is used, in what circumstances, etc.. ?

Thanks much !

Todd

[Tkleather1]

Dear friends,

I'm a leatherwork newbie.

Regarding casing the leather (wetting), could someone please explain to me why this process is used, in what circumstances, etc.. ?

Thanks much !

Todd

Well Casing leather has to do with tooling. You wet your leather but not soak it, I wet once with a spray bottle pretty wet and let that soak in and then I wet again and this time it will take alot longer for the water to soak in then I let the peice sit until it is almost dry in color then I seal in a plastic bag and let set overnight. the reason for all of this is so the water content is consistant throughout the leather. When you start carving a piece your knife will carve better and your stamp impressions will be alot crisper and give you a nice burnish.

More will pipe up and go into more detail but this is my condensed crash course version.

I hope it shed a little bit of light anyway

Tim Worley

TK-Leather

[JRedding]

Some people swear by the old casing methods, some don't. I don't case anything anymore, it was a nescesary method a long time ago when skirting leather came from the tannery harder than the hinges on hells door, but tanning methods are much different nowadays and the leathers are a lot softer than they were fifty years ago. Casing isn't an absolute nescesaty with todays materials, most of the best toolers I know have given it up but a lot of great toolers still swear by it. My suggestion is try everything and do what works best for you. Different people get different results with all kinds of things, you just have to experiment for yourself, you don't have to case everything if it's not working try something else, don't fight it.

[Hilly]

I haven't cased anything in a looooong time. I just use a spray bottle. I spray on a bunch of water, let it soak in, wait a few minutes till the leather starts returning to a dry color, then tool away. There's been times where after tooling a piece that I find a very small spot that I'd like to work on further. I'll often take a small paint brush to moisten the leather in a really small spot. It works for me because I rarely have time to finish a whole project before my leather dries out. In the winter time with the furnace drying the house out, even heavy weight leather tends to dry out in no time. This is only what works for me. Do what works for you.

Edited December 19, 2009 by Hilly

[wood]

I've done it both ways. Recently I have gone back to fully casing it overnight. On Wickett & Craig leather my knife seems to do better with it fully cased so I've stuck with it. The guy I watched tool alot when I was learning didn't bag it and wait, his stuff always looked really good so it worked for him but I think my stuff looks crisper and more burnished when I case it overnight. I believe Mr. Bob Park cases his 24 hours and you sure can't argue with the results of his work. I do agree though that leather tanning has come along way and that it may not be absolutely necessary anymore, I just know what works for me. RW

[ToddB 68]

ToddB68, on 18 December 2009 - 01:35 PM, said:

Dear friends,

I'm a leatherwork newbie.

Regarding casing the leather (wetting), could someone please explain to me why this process is used, in what circumstances, etc.. ?

Thanks much !

Todd

Thanks much Hilly, JRedding, TkLeather1, and Wood for y'alls replies !

Todd