Newb With A Question - Where Did I Go Wrong?

[cbeatti2]

Hi

I am just starting out with leather working and therefore am not sure where I have gone wrong on one of my first projects. I am working on a small purse for my wife and while the first side of the purse turned out fine so far (to my eyes at least) the other side did not. I suspect I may have not cased it quite right, or perhaps I need to clean the leather before casing? I used the "no more tears" casing formula and bagged both pieces overnight, although at separate times. I have inserted an image of the good side and then the piece that doesn't look very healthy, despite a coating of neatsfoot oil which I thought would straighten it out. It just seems to dry out and has white areas so not sure where I went wrong, and whether I can fix it somehow. Thanks!

[Wishful]

What formula did you use for the casing?

[whinewine]

What formula did you use for the casing?

I don't think that matters, since BOTH pieces were cased with the same formulation. Most likely, the pieces were from 2 very different hides that absorbed the casing differently. Actually could have been a number of things (absorption rates of each piece, perhaps 1 piece allowed to dry too much, or too wet, different tannages, etc), but certainly NOT the formulation of the casing solution.

[King's X]

I have a couple of questions? How did your swivel knife work when cutting both pieces? Did one drag more than the other? Did it seem to cut into the leather or just scrape the top? This might go to Whinewine's suggestions.

[cbeatti2]

Hey there. Thanks for the replies.

Now that I think about it more the last piece of leather did behave differently, in that it didn't have the air bubbles coming out of it like the first piece while passing through the casing formula. I didn't think much of it at the time unfortunately and assumed the two pieces to be from the same section of hide. The next day it didn't feel quite as cool to the touch either but again figured it was fine since I had even gone to the trouble of bagging it. It seemed fine (to me) when pulling the knife through but this is a fairly thin piece of leather and i suspect I don't have the feel for what's right and what's not right yet. I guess I will just have to take a few tough lessons before I get this leather tooling craft down. Do you think this piece is garbage now or can it be saved? It looks alright when it has a coating of neetsfoot oil on it, just turns ugly and dry looking once it dries out.

For the casing formula I used:

1/2 cup Lexol conditioner

2 cups water

1 - 1 1/2 tablespoons "No More Tears" baby shampoo.

Thanks!

[King's X]

That piece for me is done. Your casing formula is just fine. I agree with Whinewine, many things case mess with your leather. Cut out another piece, as well as, a piece of scrap from the same hide. Case and practice with your swivel knife on the scrap before you begin to get a feel for your project piece. As for how the swivel knife behaves? Your knife if sharpen and polished correctly will cut the leather (if cased correctly) like butter. If you think about that process there shouldn't be any drag. Consider how ABS brakes work on a vehicle.......that kind of travel is not good. Also, if you closely inspect the swivel knife cuts, ripples will show where the dragging was occurring.

Finally, your cuts should go down about 1/2 way the thickness of your project leather even if your piece is thin.

Good luck, sorry to give you some bad news about your piece.

[cbeatti2]

Thanks again.

I guess I can use the practice, and this time will be more observant as to the subtle changes from one piece to the next. That's good info about the cutting of the leather...I'll be more careful and pay better attention to how it behaves.

Cheers!

Clark

[King's X]

I always cut my pattern a bit wider so I can use it for my swivel knife warm up or even to check out different tooling marks left by the initial tools I choose.

Happy carving!

[mmirob]

Before I would scrap the project since the hard work is already done, I would try to salvage the piece by dying it black with pro oil dye. Black hides a lot of deficiencies in leather. Then seal, then wax and polish. See how it looks then. It may not be perfect but for a first one it is really nice! Also, this is the way we learn...I know it is frustrating but your next one will be even nicer, I promise!

[Ladykahu]

I wouldn't throw it out. Go for a dark dye and hope it hides the blemishes.. and complete the purse, you will learn a LOT along the way just doing the process.. which might stop you goofing up something else on your second one.

I would try and dip dye, so you get really good soakage from the dye to cover the differences in leather.

Natalie

[BillB]

I use a lot of Tandy leather and their kits and over the years I have modified my casing process to include a complete soaking of the leather in a tub of warm water. I will completely submerge the leather until all bubbles stop appearing on the surface of the water or the surface of the leather when I remove it from the water. This process may take several hours. I will then let it dry and then case. What I have found is that since there is no documentation of where, when and how the leather of tanned, especially the leather in kits, this process allows the leather to swell back to its normal thickness. It also removes any residue from the tanning process. In the extreme case, I have seen the leather double in thickness and turn the water a medium brown color even though the leather was supposed to be natural in color. THis does add another day or two to my process, but the results, in my opinion are well worth it.

BillB