Water Marks And Forming Leather

[rjdankert]

Hi, this is my first post. I am retired and my main hobby is woodworking. I've lately had a desire to try a little leather working. I am starting with sheaths. So far just for hatchets - simple and utilitarian. On my latest sheath I decided it would be better to form it to this particular hatchet. I used 8-9 oz veg leather from the local Tandy. I glued a welt in with non water resistant contact cement. I dampened the leather just where I wanted to form it (didn't want the glue part to get wet). I held it under a facuet (cold water) just long enough so it felt plyable. I put the hatchet in it and held it in place for a couple of hours. Took it out and let it dry. I was very happy with the shape BUT... I ended up with water marks between where the leather was wet and dry. So my questions are how to avoid these stains and how can they be removed?

thanks, Bob

[bison]

Hi Bob and welcome to the site! There are some real experts here so you'll probably get some good answers to your question. I'll take a shot at it for what it's worth. I think you are on the right track for forming the leather, but my experience is that you have to wet the whole piece in order to form it properly and avoid the water stains. I wrap my knives in plastic wrap...several layers...then form the dampened leather to it. Once it dries, you'll get a good shape and fewer water stains. i say fewer, because if your water is hard like mine, the minerals seem to leave a bit of themselves behind. I think you could clear it up in your case by wiping the leather with oxalyc acid diluted in water (it's wood bleach, butr you probably already knew that). I do that anyway before I stain to ensure a clean, consistent piece of leather.

I'd suggest looking for tutorials on the site about casing leather, wet forming, sheath making, holster making, that sort of thing. And good luck. I used to do a lot of woodworking before the leather bug bit me...now, not so much!

Dave

[rjdankert]

Hi Bob and welcome to the site! There are some real experts here so you'll probably get some good answers to your question. I'll take a shot at it for what it's worth. I think you are on the right track for forming the leather, but my experience is that you have to wet the whole piece in order to form it properly and avoid the water stains. I wrap my knives in plastic wrap...several layers...then form the dampened leather to it. Once it dries, you'll get a good shape and fewer water stains. i say fewer, because if your water is hard like mine, the minerals seem to leave a bit of themselves behind. I think you could clear it up in your case by wiping the leather with oxalyc acid diluted in water (it's wood bleach, butr you probably already knew that). I do that anyway before I stain to ensure a clean, consistent piece of leather.

I'd suggest looking for tutorials on the site about casing leather, wet forming, sheath making, holster making, that sort of thing. And good luck. I used to do a lot of woodworking before the leather bug bit me...now, not so much!

Dave

Dave, thanks for replying. I have a well and the water is VERY hard. However, I have one tap with soft water only. I'll try this on some scrap for the heck of it. I've also got some wood bleach on hand to experiment with. I have read a few posts on casing. It seemed to me that they dampened the whole piece of leather. I'll do some more searching.

thanks again, Bob