Vegetable Tanned Leather Wavyness?

[rpfkov]

Will you be carving or stamping this leather?

No, I will be just stitching it together as a journal cover. I may dye it or leave it natural, that is the part I have not decided on.

What I am concerned about most is that the leather will be supple enough to fold well into the journal shape yet have enough stiffness to hold it's shape. I don't want to have any wavyness or buckling after the pieces are sewn together. And if I do dye it, that I have prepared it for both the sewing and the dyeing the best way possible.

Thanks

Edited March 30, 2014 by rpfkov

[Tree Reaper]

You don't wet it then.

A light coat of denatured alcohol will clean it then you will be bending it so I would apply one or two light coats of neatsfoot oil to help that.

Then dye or what ever other finish you want.

You may want to use a sealer to protect it.

The only time you would use water is prior to bending the leather or folding it.

Wet the joint where the leather bends, let it sit for a few minutes then bend the halves together and hold them in that position until it dries.

[rpfkov]

Thank you for the suggestions. Should I oil the back as well as the front?

If I apply a sealer, will the leather (if I don't dye it), still darken and pick up the oils from being handled? I am hoping for it to get a nice patina (over time) like this wallet:

[Tree Reaper]

The sealer is used to protect it, aging will still darken it and the neatsfoot will darken it some.

The best thing to do is try your finish on some scrap to get the desired effect.

Let it dry well between coats, the neatsfoot should only be applied to the finished side and let it dry a day or two before adding anything else.

Someone else may offer other options but this is what I do.

[rpfkov]

Sorry for the continued questions, but I have one other issue. My leather was stored in a roll in the store and unpon unrolling, it does not lay completely flat. There is some curl, which I assume will go away with time, but also a bit of wavyness throughout the entire hide. Will that relax when my pieces are cut out or is there a trick to getting rid of that?

Thanks

[Tree Reaper]

I use rubber cement and glue it down to cereal box cardboard, there are other options like cutting the leather large and taping it down then cutting it later depending on what you're doing to the flesh side of the leather.

Double face tape would be another option.

Once the leather has been oiled and dyed it should remain flat, just tape the edges of the cardboard to something flat so it stays that way until it's completely dry.

[rpfkov]

Hi,

That sounds exactly like what I do to water colour paper before I paint on it. I have a board that I attach the water colour paper to (there is a special paper tape for this), paint the painting, let it dry and then cut it to size.

Thanks

[Tree Reaper]

OK; Have a blast!