Is The Leather I Am Using, Right?

[Natalie O]

Did she say she has plastic and rubber on TOP of the rock?

Throw the plastic off to the side, put the rubber UNDER the rock, should be easier tooling AND quiet times.

Steppin' out the way now ...

Well i realise it may be wrong but i read that in a leather crafting book so i thought i would give it a try.....

And i dont have a rock surface unfortunatelly. Just a wooden working table.

[mikesmith648]

Great a piece of granite or marble. It will make a BIG difference!

[Natalie O]

ok that may solve the noise issue but i still don't get why my tools dont imprint on the leather, even though i ve tried getting my leather cased with a sponge, spray bottle, wet cloth....everything

[mikesmith648]

The tools will not imprint as well on a soft backing. Also putting up a pic of the leather will help us see what kind of leather you are working with. Some leathers are not good for stamping on.

[Natalie O]

[DHauser]

Are you letting the leather dry a bit before tooling? I've never had tooling imprint properly with freshly wet leather. I wet the tooling leather, let it soak in completely. Wet it again and give it 5 minutes or so before I start.

[mikesmith648]

That looks like oil tan or upholstery leather

[REDTAILHAWK]

I DIDN'T SEE A MENTION OF WHAT TYPE OF MALLET YOU ARE USING. IF YOU ARE USING ONE OF THE LIGHTWEIGHT WOOD MALLETS THAT COME IN MOST BEGINNER KITS, IT WOULD TAKE A LOT OF HAMMERING. A HEAVIER MALLET MIGHT BE NEEDED IF THE LEATHER ISN'T THE PROBLEM.

[Natalie O]

I DIDN'T SEE A MENTION OF WHAT TYPE OF MALLET YOU ARE USING. IF YOU ARE USING ONE OF THE LIGHTWEIGHT WOOD MALLETS THAT COME IN MOST BEGINNER KITS, IT WOULD TAKE A LOT OF HAMMERING. A HEAVIER MALLET MIGHT BE NEEDED IF THE LEATHER ISN'T THE PROBLEM.

Now i use a heavy mallet. Its not wooden. However maybe i am not letting my leather dry as much as i should.

Mike, what does that mean? If it is what you say, is it still possible to use it for tooling?

[REDTAILHAWK]

YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO SEE WHAT SORT OF LEATHER IT IS BY WHAT THE LEATHER DOES WHEN YOU WET IT. WHEN YOU APPLY THE WATER, DOES IT SOAK RIGHT INTO THE LEATHER OR DOES THE WATER MORE OR LESS BEAD UP AND STAY ON THE LEATHER SURFACE?