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?

[bruce johnson]

The Lexol is the conditioner, I am not sure what all substitutes there are. I have been told that Bick 4 conditioner is the same or close. The baby shampoo helps break down the surface tension of the water and penetrates faster. I double that up on hard leather. The Listerine I use is the old tried and true brown formula. It is the antifungal. Contrary to what some think, it is not the alcohol in the Listerine that is the active ingredient here. It evaporates off pretty fast. Listerine contains thymol and will prevent mold growth. I use tap water here. Some people with iron flecks from the pipes will be better off with distilled water.

I slather it on my leather and depending on thickness may let it sit for a few minutes and add more. I bag my leather in ziplocks with enough air to keep the plastic off the surface of the leather. Ziplock makes some huge storage that will hold anything up to saddle skirts. I case overnight usually and may go a few days at times. If my leather is drying while I tool, I spray more of the mix on with a hand sprayer and set to a fine mist.

[rcsaddles]

Plese tell me the difference of the bag being off the leather while casing as opposed to the plastic touching the bag. I've not heard this before.

Thanks.

[WinterBear]

Jax, you might check any local Feed&Seed shops, or where people buy ranch equipment, horse tack, or horse feed. I buy Lexol at Murdoch's, which is a ranch supply, but it is also sold around here at one of our hardware stores that also happens to sell tubular fence section and a small selection of horse halters. It could be that somewhere local to you and that caters to horse folks carries it there in the UK.

[Jax]

Thanks Winter Bear but our feed merchants etc dont sell stuff like that Im in the UK so Im restricted mainly to Tandy or a couple of saddlery makers suppliers but they dont normally do stuff for tooling

[bruce johnson]

Plese tell me the difference of the bag being off the leather while casing as opposed to the plastic touching the bag. I've not heard this before.

Thanks.

Joe,

It is kind of a humidity and terrarium effect. I used to suck all the air out and if I had more water than I needed I'd have to wait. With the air in, if I come out and first thing see a bag that is foggy, thenI know I have too much moisture and will open that one and lay the piece out to evaporate some while I work on another.

[WinterBear]

How about Amazon UK?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/lexol-leather-cleaner-onditioner/s?ie=UTF8&page=1&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3ALexol%20Leather%20Cleaner%2FConditioner

Looks like maybe automotive places carry it too:

http://www.motorgeek.co.uk/cgi-bin/ecom.cgi?Command=ShowProduct&db_pid=606

[Jax]

Thanks will take a look, never thought of Amazon for supplies

[hornm]

The auto aisle is where I got my lexol from. Normally the same section as the car soaps, turtle waxes etc.

Horn

[Jax]

yes I can get it from Amazon thanks folks

[wyomingcowboy]

Question on the casing formula - Do you wet it first with plain water, or just spray it with the solution?

[Harag]

Thanks will take a look, never thought of Amazon for supplies

Amazon - that famous book shop

[oltoot]

The more the merrier; my practice has evolved from 'old days' when we would cut out an entire saddle and throw it in a tub of hot water til there were no more air bubbles, then drip dry, then put in between sheepskins to keep and take it out a piece at a time to work but I digress. I put a piece that is fit and ready to be stamped in a tub of hot water til all the air bubbles cease, drip dry, lay it out flat on my cutting table, apply pro-carve solution 5-1 mix or Murphy's oil soap liberally to surface then let that soak in til surface is again free of puddles, place in plastic overnight to plump fibers, then lay out flat til it dries back to almost natural color then tool. If I need to add moisture- plain water from the back then cover with exposed x-ray films I got from my vet clinic till it soaks through then, if necessary, let it dry back to tool.