Smooth Like Buttah

[Zacharyc]

I recently just bought a 2lb mix bag of vegetable tanned leather from amazon to toy around with. HOWEVER! Both sides are pretty rough and are unburnished. I have aquired saddle soap and some gulf wax (things I am pretty sure I need). I was just curious as to the proper procedure to obtain a nice smooth surface to begin my stamping. Apologies in advance if this question has already been answered, but all I have really found is how to burnish the edges. Any help on this matter would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[DoubleC]

If both sides are rough you probably got splits and you won't be able to tool them I don't think. Because when they 'split' a thicker piece of leather one piece ends up without a grain side. It's still technically veg tanned but the seller wasn't exactly being honest about the purpose. You can still use it and dye for projects, kinda like you would use a suede. I'm sorry but that's the only thing I can think of that would make it rough on both side. Cheryl

[Cyberthrasher]

It sounds like maybe you got some split scraps or something. As if they kept the good side for themselves and sold off the flesh that was cut from the back. Do you have a picture of what it looks like to verify?

A couple of good places to buy scrap leather bundles are Zack White and Springfield Leather. All the stuff I've purchased from Zack White were pretty heavy, where Springfield's remnant bags are usually a pretty standard mix of light to heavy weight.

[Zacharyc]

[Zacharyc]

Pretty thin pieces. One side actually feels like little hairy bristles. Other side has rough patches along with some smooth areas.

[DoubleC]

These are splits off a thicker piece of leather. I hope you give the guy negative feedback. Cheryl

[Zacharyc]

They were pretty cheap. I guess I can use them to make a little pouch for my girlfriend or something. Hopefully they will find some use in my workshop. Thanks a lot Cheryl! I'll leave him a nasty feedback to make myself feel a little better about wasting 15 bucks.

[DoubleC]

Oh of course don't waste them. You can still use it, just not for tooling. They will make some nice small projects, and make them like you wanted a 'rough out' surface which is popular on a lot of projects. 15 bucks is a small price to pay for what you already learned about leather. I've paid a lot more than that for some of my mistakes along the way and expect to pay more in the future.

OH, oh, oh, I'm getting ready to make some mocs and you turn the rough side in toward your feet. I was going to do some tooling and carving on the grain side to help them with 'grip.' This leather would be perfect for that, rough on both sides. Why not make her a pair of moccasins? There's great youtube videos on how to make them and they aren't hard. Let me see if I can copy the link for the one I have. brb. Cheryl

[DoubleC]

Here, take a look at these Zachary

[particle]

Hi Zacharyc - sorry that happened to you. I just thought I'd mention in case you didn't realize it yet, but the outer layer (where the hair pores would be located) is referred to as the "grain" side. In your case (assuming you're showing the front & back of the same piece of leather), this is the side that is consistently rough looking - the bottom photo - though the grain has been completely removed so you no longer have grain on yours. The other side is the "flesh" side - the side attached to the icky stuff. This is your top photo.