Making a Leather Bottle

[cem]

Thankyou for showing your process Mike, I had been interested in making leather bottles after seeing an article in an old leather working magazine unfortunately though it was missing a page so your tutorial has throughly filled in the gaps.

Cheers,

Clair

[MikeDB]

MIKE THE WOODEN STOPPER , WILL IT CAUSE A LOT OF WEAR ON THE BEES WAX LINING, THE NECK OF THE BOTTELL ?

It will eventually cause some erosion of the wax lining but nothing that cannot be field repaired with a lighted taper.

I've seen a few examples of rolled leather being used as a stopper but I think the wear would be similar.

Ultimately these pieces are not as tight as say a modern screw-cap so would have need to have been carried upright.

That is beautiful, and I loved reading how you made it. I met Frank Zigon at shows and he does leather bottles too. I think it's such a fascinating topic. What really made me laugh though was when you said about using spit/saliva. I actaully "discovered" that when edging a project recently - it works great! Better than plain water, that's for sure!

Saliva works really well, a mix of enzyme and sugars I guess. On other items such as belts etc I'd use gum trag but I couldn't find any empirical evidence for this on the period pieces, hence the spit

I'm happy you all found it an interesting read. Thankyo to everyone for the kind comments to a new member.

Cheers

Mike

[tazzmann]

Wow! that is soooooooo cool! I take it the bottle can be scaled down somewhat? Maybe even do away with the handles and make it more the size of a beer bottle

Also, when you put it in the beeswax, I take it you take the stopper out of it, so why do you need to re-put beeswax in it again? Shouldn't the inside already be sealed from the dip?

Edited May 23, 2008 by tazzmann

[walletman]

hi mike welcome nice bottle but were did you get so much bees wax ? i am looking for so local and no look were in uk you from? walletman (bob)

[MikeDB]

Wow! that is soooooooo cool! I take it the bottle can be scaled down somewhat? Maybe even do away with the handles and make it more the size of a beer bottle

Also, when you put it in the beeswax, I take it you take the stopper out of it, so why do you need to re-put beeswax in it again? Shouldn't the inside already be sealed from the dip?

Thanks. Yes, scaling down is no problem, neither is altering the shape. It's only when things get too big for the dip tank you have issues.

Yes, the stopper is not there when the vessel is dipped. When cuir is taken out of the wax it is not only hot but also pliable. When it cools it's then very tough stuff. The wax is impregnated into the leather so it doesnt really need a secondary inner coat, other than to add additional sealing to any seams however most cuir vessels were given a second, inner coat. It adds to any integrity and, looking at the historical record it aids any field repair as the wax can crack (gertainly in very cold conditions) and can then be re-sealed with a lighted taper.

hi mike welcome nice bottle but were did you get so much bees wax ? i am looking for so local and no look were in uk you from? walletman (bob)

Hi Bob,

It's not always easy to find beeswax in that quantity and it's expensive too. I buy mine 25kgs at a time.

I'll dig out the supplier and PM you a link.

UK wise I'm from sunny Hampshire but now live on a farm in East Yorkshire.

Mike

[tazzmann]

Kewl. Thanks for the info. I may have to try and make one of these. I have a supplier of beeswax about a mile from my house and it is not really all that expensive for a three pound block from them, so I may have to play with this some. Looks fascinating!

[Jordan]

better stock up, as they (scientific community) are saying all the cell phone use is decimating the bee population. I also heard they are going to release another report saying after years of study breathing is bad for you, eggs are good for you and coffee is the nectar of the gods, sheesh what will they spend our money on next?

[tazzmann]

Apparently all the cell phone use has pushed them to my neighborhood. I have seen more honey bees in my neck of the woods this year than any other year since living in the Northwest. They are almost a nuisance.

There are several bee farms about five miles north of my house. In talking to them, they are mainly paid for their use in pollination for greenhouses and gardeners. The honey and beeswax are a natural bi-product, which they almost give away to those that know how to process it. One of these "Processors" is where I get my supply of beeswax, honey, bee pollen and any other "bee" made items. She is a very nice old lady that has her store on her property. She has everything from beeswax to honey to special honey marinades which range in flavor from "Sweet Teriyaki" to "Smokey Honey Habenero". If it can be made from bees, she probably has it.

[DJole]

Oh, bravo! That's beautiful! That's the best illustrated tutorial I've seen. It makes me want to go out and try one right away!

[Peter Ellis]

Welcome aboard Mike. I think I've seen your work before on a British Blades, site, yes ?

I make a few of these as well, and enjoy seeing other people's approach. I've found a food grade silicone product that I use for lining some of my pieces. It's rated for temperatures well above boiling water, so it's unlikely anyone would put any drink in it that it can't handle. Plus the silicone can handle strong spirits.

Of course, it's wildly inauthentic

I do a little 12 ounce size that makes a great flask. Historically these things had a huge size range.

When you're making these, I assume you've got a bunch of them ready to go into the wax before you go spending all that time and energy melting that big pot of beeswax

I need to find myself a large double boiler like yours. Right now what I've got really isn't quite up to my needs.

Thanks for sharing your tutorial, you do a great job of presenting the process.