Leather Finished On Both Sides

[Caratworx]

I have bought some leather tools and am working on some knife sheaths. At the same time I have been reading furiously on leatherworking. I have a question though.

Looking at some of my belts and leashes, I have noticed some of them are solid pieces of leather that is finished (Smooth) on both sides (top and botto) rather than two pieces of leather sewn together, or a single piece of leather that is finished on one side only. The leather I have bought so far is just finished on one side (which is fine for the sheaths). What is the leather or technique used to finish leather on both sides and when purchasing a leather belt blank how would you know it is finished (smooth) on both sides.

Thanks in advance!

[terrymac]

I don't believe I have ever seen leather that is smooth on both sides. Leather normally has two sides, the grain side which is smooth, and the flesh side which is rough. Probably what you are seeing are two pieces joined together and the edge is then finished. If an edge is finished properly, it is almost impossible to tell it is two pieces. To see how to finish edges, go to the the tutorial by Hidepounder on finishing edges. It is in this section of the Forum. As you look at his edge, you would swear it is one piece. Hope this helps,

Terry

Edited February 14, 2011 by terrymac

[Chief31794]

I have bought some leather tools and am working on some knife sheaths. At the same time I have been reading furiously on leatherworking. I have a question though.

Looking at some of my belts and leashes, I have noticed some of them are solid pieces of leather that is finished (Smooth) on both sides (top and botto) rather than two pieces of leather sewn together, or a single piece of leather that is finished on one side only. The leather I have bought so far is just finished on one side (which is fine for the sheaths). What is the leather or technique used to finish leather on both sides and when purchasing a leather belt blank how would you know it is finished (smooth) on both sides.

Thanks in advance!

I use this technique quite a bit on holsters and some gun belts when I want finished on the inside and out. If I want say 4OZ leather then I buy 2OZ cut it in half and gule it together flesh to flesh with contact cement, there are plenty of articles out here on how to use contact cement but you basically cover both sides, let it dry till tacky, then put them together. I sometimes do a whole side of 2 or 3 oz to make a half side of 4 or 6 oz, when I do that much I have someone help because once the pieces touch they are stuck, if you are way off from one piece to the other you can waste a lot of leather. I use an old rolling pin to insure the leather is seated well. I then trim the edge (normally to a flat edge on one side) then start cutting straps and pieces just like I would from a normal flesh/grain piece of leather. Once set and cut, you can't tell that there is a line between the leathers and once you finish the edges, there is absolutely no way to tell that it isn't just one piece of leather.

Hope this helps.

Ken

[TwinOaks]

Ditto. If you use a good glue/cement, then once the pieces are bonded you'll literally pull the leather fibers apart before the glue bond.

[Caratworx]

Thanks All! I went back and looked closely at those belts and leashes, and saw they were in fact two pieces of leather bonded together.

Hope to have my first sheat done soon!

Thanks

JT

[Glock21]

I f i contact cement the two layers together can I then wet form the leather or will that mess up the glue?

Thanks

Jeff

I use this technique quite a bit on holsters and some gun belts when I want finished on the inside and out. If I want say 4OZ leather then I buy 2OZ cut it in half and gule it together flesh to flesh with contact cement, there are plenty of articles out here on how to use contact cement but you basically cover both sides, let it dry till tacky, then put them together. I sometimes do a whole side of 2 or 3 oz to make a half side of 4 or 6 oz, when I do that much I have someone help because once the pieces touch they are stuck, if you are way off from one piece to the other you can waste a lot of leather. I use an old rolling pin to insure the leather is seated well. I then trim the edge (normally to a flat edge on one side) then start cutting straps and pieces just like I would from a normal flesh/grain piece of leather. Once set and cut, you can't tell that there is a line between the leathers and once you finish the edges, there is absolutely no way to tell that it isn't just one piece of leather.

Hope this helps.

Ken

[RWP]

shouldnt have any issues with it i just like to make sure the glue is dried long enough ( usually over night or half the day) then form atleast thats how i do it with holsters and the like