Casing

[Jax]

Ok, I bet this has been asked many times before but those who know me in chat know I can be a little dense at times..

When chatting last night we were talking about sharpening swivel knives & I commented that I struggle which lead to the question of casing. Basically I was only taught to use plain water, put it on the leather with a sponge, leave it for a while then off you go.

So I was advised to use a "casing solution" containing baby shampoo, Listerene & something else I can't remember, off I went seaching the forums & found Bob Parks tutorial about wetting the leather & putting it away in a bag overnight, excellent reading, but he only uses plain water, couldn't find a recipe for a solution.

So more questions, here in the UK we have hard or soft water (dont know if the same applies in the US) depending on where we live, hard water leaves limescale in kettles etc, would the quaility of the water affect the casing?

Is there a recipe anywhere for a casing solution, I might give that a try too?

Im sure there are a few different ideas out there on this.

Many thanks

Jax

[mikesmith648]

I use the Bee Natural Easy Carve solution...it helps me.

but just plain water works too. the secret..lol...is to allow the leather to absorb the water into the fibers. too wet is bad..as too dry is bad

Bob's tutorial is the best instruction I can recommend

[David8386]

A lot of people put a few drops of dish washing soap in the water. I have a spray bottle I use that stays on the bench that has a few drops of soap in it. If I am tooling I will get the leather wet and then store it overnight in a plastic bag. Before I work on it I take it out and make sure it is not too wet. If stamping I will spray it let it set for a few minutes then start, if it starts to dry out i spray a little more on it. People say that the soap in the water helps the tools and knife slide easier. Mineral content in water can stain leather but I think it would have to be pretty extreme.

David

[Jax]

Thank you for the advice, Mike the only ready made carving solution I can get here is the 1 Tandy do, but if water is adequate I ll probably just stick with that only do it properly from now on or maybe as David suggests put a little dish wash soap in it

[mikesmith648]

the one from tandy....easy carve....is not a bad product if that is all you can get...I have never done the dishsoap thing so I can't comment on it. The easy carve does work though but the Bee's Natural product is more economical here and works a little better.

[shotgunwilllie]

OFFLINE bruce johnson

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Posted 03 February 2008 - 11:20 AM

Grunt, on Feb 3 2008, 06:51 AM, said:

Can someone please post the formula/ratio for these ingerdients?

Thanks,

Nick

Nick,

Thanks for the nudge, it will be a lot more searchable to have it here for the future. Ben (gtwister09) listed this in the other other thread.

No More Tears Quick Casing Formula

1/2 cup Lexol

1-1/2 Cups distilled or filtered water

1 tablespoon Johnson's No More Tears Baby Shampoo

1 tablespoon Listerine

Bruce Johnson

Malachi 4:2

"the windshield's bigger than the mirror, somewhere west of Laramie" - Dave Stamey

Leather Work and Leather Tools - www.brucejohnsonleather.com

[shotgunwilllie]

oh wow! that didn't post the way I wanted it to, Anyway this is the formula for casing solution I use and it works well for me many thanks to Mr. Johnson for sharing this information

Merry Christmas to all

Bill

[SooperJake]

oh wow! that didn't post the way I wanted it to, Anyway this is the formula for casing solution I use and it works well for me many thanks to Mr. Johnson for sharing this information

Merry Christmas to all

Bill

Lexol conditioner I assume, not the cleaner?

[DoubleC]

Hi Jax. I just use the parks method when I take the time Other times I just get the leather really wet (not soping though) with a sponge and let it get back to an almost natural color before I start anything with it. You can tell if it's ready usually because the leather will be really cold where as plain dry leather isn't. I don't use all the other things in mine but I don't carve a lot so might want to try some of those ideas.

When you put it in the fridge overnight that just allows for the water to soak throughout the leather more evenly. Cheryl

[Jax]

Thanks again folks for the input, I have checked my Tandy catalogue & guess what they dont do Lexol, another supplier I use has a large range of Fiebings do they do something I could substitute?