Randy Cornelius Report post Posted January 19, 2008 My wife, son Riley and myself went out to Denver last week end for the WESA Market. I learned a lot of things out there but the most informative was the outing Sunday afternoon. We ran into several members of the Columbine Leather Guild nd they were having a meeting that night and invited us. Tony Lair was there giving a demo on the new water based Eco dyes. I must say I came away with a new out look on them. I am skeptic when something new comes out. Where I see them having a big impact is in the coloring of figure carvings and such. Very easy to mix with water to get a differnet shade of the same color on leather. He started out by having a cup with full strength, another with 1/2 strength or less and a 3rd one very diluted. He started by using the weekest strength first and demostrated how to color an oak leave several differenet ways according to what season it was, with different colors. Very interesting demo. Tony and his wife are just great people, she is always right there helping him and playing gofer in the background. If you have a chance to take a class given by Tony you will not be disappointed. Pete Gorrell was also there, we had seen him at WESA as he was set up at the Wickett & Craig booth. A very nice man who is willing to share his knowledge with anyone. He has a new book out on drawing patterns, I had ordered mine before I left and had not gotten a chance to digest it. Pete was good enough to give me some pointers. We had a very good talk and I would have liked to stayed in the booth with him all day but my wife does not share the passion for leather as my son and I do. If you don't have Pete's book I would suggest it for thoes who have problems drawing patterns. Pete was also invited to the meeting and gave a carving demo. I picked up a few pointers on the swivel knife. One that I did not think would make much difference but I will use from now on everytime I carve with my swivel knife. It is this, case your leather then apply a lite coating of Lexol conditioner, rup it in reall good with your hands. Then apply a drop or two of baby shampoo! yes that's what I said, I have to admit that I was shaking my head at that time but after he passed the piece of leather around and let us carve with his knife I was hooked. I never felt a knife slide through leather that good before. I may have suspected it was his knife but after I got home I tried it and it worked with my knife just as well. David Reis from the Leather Crafters and Saddlers Journal was also there, I don't think he did much besides eat, boy he can eat. LOL. David is always fun to have around. I want to thank the fine folks of the Columbine Leather Guild for inviting us to the meeting and for the fine meal they provided. We did not go away hungery. I also learned that those 29.00 shirts are bough wholesale for about 12.00 but that is another story. Randy Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mike Craw Report post Posted January 23, 2008 Hey Randy! Regarding Pete's tip about casing, I got the part about rubbing in the Lexol, but how do you do the baby shampoo? Is it diluted or full strenght? Do you put it on a peice of wool, or just on your hands? Does it matter whether you do this all before you trace your design, say on a belt? Mike Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
howardb Report post Posted January 24, 2008 I took Tony's class at the IFOLG show in October. It was right after Linnell's beginners class. I was probably too green to really appreciate it, but I really dug it and learned a LOT! Felt like a wart on the bum though as everyone else was some kind of accomplished carver and I hadn't ever carved before that morning... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Randy Cornelius Report post Posted January 25, 2008 Hey Randy!Regarding Pete's tip about casing, I got the part about rubbing in the Lexol, but how do you do the baby shampoo? Is it diluted or full strenght? Do you put it on a peice of wool, or just on your hands? Does it matter whether you do this all before you trace your design, say on a belt? Mike He took the bottle of baby shampo and put a couple drops straight from the bottle on the piece of leather he was carving on and rubbed it in with his fingers. He stressed to use only baby shampo because of the neutral PH. Us the Lexol and the baby shampo right after you case the leather and before you transfer the design to the leather. It sure does make the carving a lot smoother. The knife just glides through the leather. RC Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gtwister09 Report post Posted January 25, 2008 He took the bottle of baby shampo and put a couple drops straight from the bottle on the piece of leather he was carving on and rubbed it in with his fingers. He stressed to use only baby shampo because of the neutral PH. Us the Lexol and the baby shampo right after you case the leather and before you transfer the design to the leather. It sure does make the carving a lot smoother. The knife just glides through the leather.RC I had to chuckle a little here as to the tricks that older saddlemakers/carvers used. The more things change the more they stay the same. Many of them used the exact same methods, techniques and formulas. They had already figured out what was working. I was given a "No More Tears" Quick Casing Formula many years ago (25 +) that I thought was very good for carving and cutting. I modified the formula some and also added some Listerine to it to keep mold away (or so the thought was). No More Tears Quick Casing Formula 1/2 Cup Lexol 1-1/2 Cups Distilled Water or Filtered Water 1 Tablespoon Johnson's No More Tears Baby Shampoo 1 Tablespoon Listerine Regards, Ben Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mike Craw Report post Posted January 25, 2008 Great, thanks for the tip! Mike Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
David Genadek Report post Posted January 25, 2008 I heard traffic was down this year but sales were good. This is what always seems to happen when things get tough the hard core horse people stick with it no matter what and those stores that focus on seriouse horse people survive. This would not be good time to focus on the entry level of the market but then few on this list would anyway. David Genadek Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Romey Report post Posted January 25, 2008 That is a heck of a tip one that i had never heard but as i read it it seemed to make sense, TY, Sounds like you had a great time in Denver! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Timbo Report post Posted January 26, 2008 I had to chuckle a little here as to the tricks that older saddlemakers/carvers used. The more things change the more they stay the same. Many of them used the exact same methods, techniques and formulas. They had already figured out what was working. I was given a "No More Tears" Quick Casing Formula many years ago (25 +) that I thought was very good for carving and cutting. I modified the formula some and also added some Listerine to it to keep mold away (or so the thought was).No More Tears Quick Casing Formula 1/2 Cup Lexol 1-1/2 Cups Distilled Water or Filtered Water 1 Tablespoon Johnson's No More Tears Baby Shampoo 1 Tablespoon Listerine Regards, Ben ...........so how do you apply this??? Tim Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gtwister09 Report post Posted January 26, 2008 ...........so how do you apply this???Tim Tim, It is a quick casing formula that you generally apply with a sponge to smaller projects. Regards, Ben Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Timbo Report post Posted January 26, 2008 So instead of soaking the leather you just sponge it on and I assume let it return to almost normal color before carving?? Like you would if casing with plain water?? Tim Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gtwister09 Report post Posted January 26, 2008 So instead of soaking the leather you just sponge it on and I assume let it return to almost normal color before carving?? Like you would if casing with plain water??Tim Tim, Exactly - you got it. Sorry that I didn't go into that level of detail but that is exactly what quick casing is. The only difference is that the "water" has been replaced by the No More Tears Formula. You still need for the leather to even out and return back to it's normal color before carving. Regards, Ben Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
