A Couple Newbie Questions

[Anonnymouse]

I'm new here... Just got started in leatherworking! I have a couple questions; thanks in advance for answering!

1. On designs that cut deep into the leather, how do you dy/highlight it? It gets into the deep grooves and I can't get it out; it makes a miss-matched look. I've tried cotton balls, towel, and paper towels to try and get the excess dy/highlighter out but not very good. This happens a lot with the basketweave design. Is it possible to just highlight the design before tooling?

2. Can you run a leather article through water to tool it? I've been told to just get it damp, but it doesn't seem to soften it enough to tool it. I saw someone, a tutorial here, just run a belt through a bowl. Will this damage the leather?

[Tree Reaper]

If I want to clean excess dye out of the impressions I'll use a shoe brush.

I sometimes run the leather under warm tap water, let it sit till it looks like it's starting to dry then tool it.

I also do the same thing, bag it and put it in the refrigerator over night then tool it.

Thicker leather I'll wet both sides.

Search for casing leather.

Kevin

[TwinOaks]

First things first.....Welcome to Leatherworker.net, best site on the entire internet!

+1 on reading the article(s) on casing leather. vegetable tanned Leather needs to have a certain moisture content to carve and tool it. If it is too wet, it will mush around; too dry and your impressions won't take.

Highlighting is almost a misnomer, because the solution/paste darkens things. When using it,It really helps if you can think in terms of negative space because you are darkening everything you DON'T want to stand out. It is supposed to get down in the cracks and cuts. It works by making the background and tooling darker than the rest of the piece, visually making the 'highlighted' sections "pop" out from the rest of the leather. Steps for Highlighting: Have design, case leather, stamp/cut/tool design, apply conditioner if needed, apply resist (and let dry), apply highlighter and let dry, use damp cloth to remove highlighter from 'raised' (meaning not pressed/stamped/tooled down) areas, repeat as necessary, apply top coat and finish.

On some things, like floral carvings, it is not unusual for the maker to actually dye the backgrounded/matted areas that are visually behind the floral components.

.

[Ferg]

If I want to clean excess dye out of the impressions I'll use a shoe brush.

I sometimes run the leather under warm tap water, let it sit till it looks like it's starting to dry then tool it.

I also do the same thing, bag it and put it in the refrigerator over night then tool it.

Thicker leather I'll wet both sides.

Search for casing leather.

Kevin

Begore we get someone into a real mess here, let's start over.

You need to "Case" the leather before you can tool. That means you emerse the leather in warm water plus some other concoctions that folks use, for your purposes just use plain warm water in a pan.

Hold the leather under water until you see no bubbles rising from it. Remove and place between two old T shirts. If the room you have it in isn't extrememly dry and warm you can leave it over night.

The leather shoudl begin to look almost the same color it did before placing in the water. Trace the design and use your swivel knife to cut the lines followed by tooling and stamping.

That is an over simplification but it will give you the idea. There are as many ways to case leather as there are folks doing leather work. Try a simple way as I have outlined then get carried away:)

Personally, I have never put a piece of leather in a fridge and I do not like to place it under glass. I have done the T shirt method for many years, it works for me

ferg

[Anonnymouse]

First things first.....Welcome to Leatherworker.net, best site on the entire internet!

+1 on reading the article(s) on casing leather. vegetable tanned Leather needs to have a certain moisture content to carve and tool it. If it is too wet, it will mush around; too dry and your impressions won't take.

Highlighting is almost a misnomer, because the solution/paste darkens things. When using it,It really helps if you can think in terms of negative space because you are darkening everything you DON'T want to stand out. It is supposed to get down in the cracks and cuts. It works by making the background and tooling darker than the rest of the piece, visually making the 'highlighted' sections "pop" out from the rest of the leather. Steps for Highlighting: Have design, case leather, stamp/cut/tool design, apply conditioner if needed, apply resist (and let dry), apply highlighter and let dry, use damp cloth to remove highlighter from 'raised' (meaning not pressed/stamped/tooled down) areas, repeat as necessary, apply top coat and finish.

On some things, like floral carvings, it is not unusual for the maker to actually dye the backgrounded/matted areas that are visually behind the floral components.

.

Hi everyone, thanks for the replies!

So, I take it you're saying to just let the highlighter get into the cracks? It causes the color to be uneven and it darkens the depressed regions.

[wolvenstien]

Hi everyone, thanks for the replies!

So, I take it you're saying to just let the highlighter get into the cracks? It causes the color to be uneven and it darkens the depressed regions.

Yes, a HIGHLIGHTER is just that a highlighter of the cracks and crevices in your tooling. If you are looking for the same color in the cuts and on the non tooled areas, use a dye.

There is stuff called RESIST as mentioned above. you use this and apply it to the leather in the areas you do NOT want the dye or highlight to penetrate, you apply it, allow it to dry, then use the dye or highlight, then use a damp cloth or other to remove the dye or highlight over the resisted area. Now you can do as suggested above and use a shoe/boot brush to get the highlight out of the deep areas.

As for wetting the leather, this is called "casing" and is the most important step you will take in prepping your leather for tooling. You will not get it right the first time you do it, nor the second or third either. I remember when I bought my first tandy kit, and followed the instructions, I did not case it cause I did not know what it was, and was very put off by the fact that the leather would not take my tooling... I had to beat on the tools to make any type of impression....

As someone above said there are as many techniques for casing leather as there are members to this site.... there are over 14,000 members here. It is something you have to find what is right for you. The basics everyone does is wet the leather, the allow it to "dry" back to its original color, then start tooling. Some people put it in plastic bags, some put it in the refrigerator, some put under glass, some do this some do that. You have to read everything everything you can about how everyone does it, and find your one way you like. For me, it depends on the thickness of the leather and how long I am giving myself to start tooling it. 3/4 oz leather, I like to use a casing agent I buy at Tandy.... I will wet the leather down on the top side, allow it to color back, and I will put it to my cheek to feel the dampness, if I cant feel the dampness I allowed it to dry too much, if I feel too much I allow it to dry longer. If it is thicker leather like 8/9 oz, I will fill the sink or other with hot water and submerge the leather until the bubbles stop coming out of the leather. This is telling me that it is completely filled with water and then I pull it out and set it aside and keep an eye on it to make sure she doesnt over dry. Will take several hours, and usually I will do this before I go to bed to allow it to dry over night. then I do the cheek test. You do not want it to be too dry, she will not take the tooling like she should/could, and you do not want her too wet because she will be mushy and not give the tooling she could/should either.

Hope this helps out some.