Prestretching Roo Lace

[bullwhips]

For what it's worth, I use the word grease for a lot of things: Plaiting soap, dressing, or anything that's remotely grease-like.

If I have a dry hide I give it a coat of dubbin (http://www.pappysdubbin.com/) and let it soak in, then buff it out. Repeat if necessary.

[8thsinner]

I tried using fiebings saddle soap on my last roo project, Now, perhaps I am biased towards home made stuff perhaps not, but I found saddle soap absolutely horrible, It dries up funny and sits on your hands and gets all sticky.

Also the belly I used it with creaks a little when flexing it...I went back to using home made stuff with plain soap, water and lard...

Just my opinion

[Aggiebraider]

The thing I have noticed about using saddle soap is that you need to use the white version rather than the yellow, not really sure why, I saw an explanation somewhere and cant remember what it said was the reason. Also, you need to get a good amount of water into the soap and a pretty good lather to get it to really penetrate. I kind of like the tackyness that you sometimes get on your hands, it makes it easier to pull tighter.

Not sure what the creaking noise is, I havent seen that in anything I have made.

Bullwhips, I wasnt able to find anywhere online to get that Dubbin, there arent any dealers within 1000 miles of me either.

Thanks for the info,

CW

[roo4u]

i havent used anything yet but getting ready to do some braiding and am going to try davidmorgans' recipe which is: Braiding Soap The use of braiding soap, an emulsion of fat in a soap-and-water solution, allows the leather strands to slip into place during braiding. The water in the solution conditions the lace to allow greater stretch and to permit the finished braid to be rolled to a smoother surface.

The following recipe for braiding soap has been used here at David Morgan for years. We usually make the braiding soap in a recycled 2 pound coffee can where the mixture can be prepared and stored in the same can.

Ingredients

1 3.5 ounce bar of Ivory soap

12 ounces (1-1/2 cups) water

1 pound (2 cups) lard

Directions

1. Coarsely grate soap into a coffee can or pot suitable for stovetop use.

2. Add water and mix.

3. Heat the mixture almost to boiling, stirring occasionally. Take care not to overheat causing the mixture to boil over.

4. Add the lard to the hot soap mixture, continuing to heat until the lard is melted. Again, take care not to overheat causing the mixture to boil over.

5. Remove the mixture from the heat. Beat at high speed with an electric hand mixer to emulsify the fat. Take care not to splatter or spill the hot mixture.

6. Allow the mixture to cool, then mix thoroughly once more with the mixer. Transfer the mixture to a storage container at this time if you are not storing in the container used during preparation.

7. Cool completely. Store, covered, at room temperature.

Makes about 2 pounds. The braiding soap will have a light, creamy consistency.

Note: Ivory soap is recommended as a commonly available pure soap. Do not use a facial soap or detergent.

This braiding soap recipe has been adapted from the recipe in David W. Morgan's book Braiding Fine Leather. We recommend this book to anyone interested in learning how to braid with leather, or to improve their leather braiding techniques.

i took this directly from davidmorgan.com.

[Aggiebraider]

That seems pretty easy, I will have to give that a try. Not sure what I will do about the mixer though i really dont want to use my Kitchenaid stand mixer for this, but it might not be bad since its just soap and lard.

Thanks for posting this,

CW

[roo4u]

well walmart has elcheapo hand mixers for about $5.00

[8thsinner]

The use of a mixer I find kinda pointless, I have never had troubles with mine, I just keep stirring it with a fork during the heating stage. comes out smooth.

But I also stir mine as I pour it into the new container.

I use collected pasta sauce jars, the lid is nice and tight and stops it drying out well.

[bullwhips]

You can get the dubbin from these places: http://www.pappysdub...om/dealers.html

I used to be a dealer, but I personally used more than I sold, so now I just buy it by the gallon for me.

Also with plaiting soap, personally I back off a bit on the lard (I used Morgan's recipe as a starting point). You'll notice if you plait tight when you get to the 2nd half of the whip it will end up darker than the first half. Ever since I started using hardly any lard I get a more even color. I've got a theory why the last half will get darker, and part of it is too much lard. My plaiting soap is mostly soap and water.

Another thing when I cook my plaiting soap I hit it with my cheap-o mixer a couple of times. Then I mix it while it's cooling off. The reason you mix it is to keep it from seperating while it's cooling off. It doesn't always do that, but when it does you have to recook the whole batch. I find that if I spend a minute mixing it saves me doing it over.

Louie

Edited September 1, 2010 by bullwhips

[scotth]

I agree with Louie regarding the amount of fat used as I too have cut back on the amount added to the soap. I like to keep the natural

color of the hide and found that too much fat discolored the strands. The downside to using less fat is the consistency of the soap will

be a bit harder but will still do the job.

One tip to help cool the mixture once you're done heating and mixing everything, pour it into a plastic container(look at Lowes/Home Depot)

and place the container in a sink that's filled with cold water. Just keep stirring the soap and move the container around a bit to keep the cooler

water around the container. Once it starts thickening, you can then use a stick blender which will bring everything to a nice consistency.

Scott

[bullwhips]

And by using a less lard I've noticed that my plaiting soap at then end of a month started getting really dried out and sometimes I need to rehydrate it by cooking it up again with some water.