Packing Down The Shearling

[Blake]

I would like to know more about this soap in your casing water. I have found some advantage to "soft" water, but do not know about using soap in the water. Would you elaborate please?

Thanks,

Keith

Its pretty much as Hide Pounder stated. It breaks the surface tension of the water and makes it "Wetter" or better able to flow through the natural oils and fiber of the leather.

The same principles are used in spraying herbicides. Some people use a product called "Photo flow" which is used in dark room processing of photographs but I noticed light corrosion around the bottle caps which make s me think that it may be acidic.

The unscented soaps work best for me. Another old trick learned years ago is to use a lathered up sponge Using Ivory bar soap and spread it over the surface of the leather to be tooled. It lubricates it somewhat and reduces drag on the knife when you sometimes get those hides that we all try to avoid. It doesn't stain the leather or have any effect on how it oils up after tooling.

Blake

[kseidel]

Its pretty much as Hide Pounder stated. It breaks the surface tension of the water and makes it "Wetter" or better able to flow through the natural oils and fiber of the leather.

The same principles are used in spraying herbicides. Some people use a product called "Photo flow" which is used in dark room processing of photographs but I noticed light corrosion around the bottle caps which make s me think that it may be acidic.

The unscented soaps work best for me. Another old trick learned years ago is to use a lathered up sponge Using Ivory bar soap and spread it over the surface of the leather to be tooled. It lubricates it somewhat and reduces drag on the knife when you sometimes get those hides that we all try to avoid. It doesn't stain the leather or have any effect on how it oils up after tooling.

Blake

Thanks Blake,

How do you use it? Spray bottle? Soak tank? How much? I have used Calgon to make hard water softer and that works well for lubricating the leather. May have similar properties... I will try the soap trick.

Keith

[hidepounder]

I would like to know more about this soap in your casing water. I have found some advantage to "soft" water, but do not know about using soap in the water. Would you elaborate please?

Thanks,Keith

Keith....I've tried all kinds of casing solutions which contain a variety of products like Lexol, Listerine, glycerine, liquid dish soap, and a variety of others products in various recipies. Some worked okay, some didn't work at all and some were just too much trouble or expensive for the outcome. So I've found myself reverting back to what I was taught years ago which is to add a few drops of Joy to the water on my bench. I will add a few squirts to my water in the sink when I'm casing my leather. The other thing that I have been adding is a few drops of liquid glycerine to my bench water (both the bowl and my spray bottle). The first time I added glycerine to my water, the piece I was tooling seemed to really cut like butter, so glycerine became a permanent thing for me. I suspect that the side I was using was just one of those really nice tooling sides, but I don't care....the liquid glycerine is cheap and easy to add so I'm sticking with it. When I used the Lexol, I felt like I was getting more color in my tooling, the formula called for a lot of Lexol which is expensive and it was kind of a pain to pour it all into a pan, dip my leather, then pour it all back into plastic bottles. And of course after a while it got dirty and so.....it just seemed like more trouble that it was worth. As a result of using those solutions, however, I have learned to keep some Listerine in a spray bottle to use on leather which I have cased and then for what ever reason didn't get to for a couple of days. I can mist the leather lightly and then return it to my bag or casing box and I know it won't mold for a few days until I can get to it.

Another old trick learned years ago is to use a lathered up sponge Using Ivory bar soap and spread it over the surface of the leather to be tooled. It lubricates it somewhat and reduces drag on the knife when you sometimes get those hides that we all try to avoid. It doesn't stain the leather or have any effect on how it oils up after tooling.

Blake

I use Ivory bar soap too Blake. I keep a cake of it in one of those plastic travel containers and when ever I get one of those acidic hides, I will use a trimmed piece of wool skin to make some lather and work it into the leather.

Edited August 23, 2011 by hidepounder

[Blake]

Hi Keith

I think Hidepounder pretty much covered it in his last post.

I will add one more thing. This of course depends on your water source. I always get my water for casing from the hot water tap. Minerals tend to settle when water is heated and of course accumulate in the bottom of the water heater . You will get less minerals in the casing water from this source. This is especially true if you are in an area with high limestone content in the water.

I also agree with Hidepounder about some things being more trouble than their worth so I keep it as simple as possible so I can spend my time at the bench.

Blake