Creating That Natural, Raw, Jagged-Edge On A Hide (Lambskin)

[odynrose]

Hi there!

I'm having a little trouble figuring out how the layers of lambskin leather in the photos have natural-looking raw and asymmetrical, distressed-looking edges.

I can only assume that the designer only used the edges of the hides for that natural, jagged look. On the other hand, if you were to "cut out your own" jagged edge, it would look silly and very obvious, so that is an automatic no.

I couldn't find any techniques online on how to create these organic-looking distressed edges by hand... I thought about a dremel but I feel like it may not give the same successful effect as it would on something like denim.

Then, I heard of burning/singing the lambskin edges. I like this idea and it sounds like it will work, but haven't tried yet. Although, the leather in the photos doesn't look singed, and I don't exactly want charred edges, either.

You can also tell how both photos have long, stringy-looking tattered leather sections. I would THINK that is done by a dremel but again, don't know if feasible.

ANY tips on how to achieve or experiement with this effect would be super appreciated! Seems so easy but it's not! :-P

Thank you!!

Edited August 20, 2014 by odynrose

[electrathon]

I would use a 4" angle grinder with a very course sandpaper wheel. Lay the leather flat and grind the leather away till it is tattered looking.

[odynrose]

I would use a 4" angle grinder with a very course sandpaper wheel. Lay the leather flat and grind the leather away till it is tattered looking.

Thank you! That sounds like it could work, but I have no way of accessing one of those and am on a bit of a budget... any backup tips?

[DavidL]

Tie the ends onto the back of your car and drag it across a parking lot with gravel. Do it slowly so that it doesnt become overworked.

Alternatively a box filled with gravel will give a more subtle look.

[dirtclod]

Take a fist sized rock and beat it and kinda drag the rock all at the same time along the edge. Something hard under it would help i would think. Might work.

[electrathon]

Thank you! That sounds like it could work, but I have no way of accessing one of those and am on a bit of a budget... any backup tips?

http://t.harborfreight.com/4-12-in-angle-grinder-60625.html

The tool is $15 and use a 20% off coupon. Not many tools available for so little money out there.

[odynrose]

Nice, thank you! Will have to look into that for distressing

Still wondering if anyone's got any idea for my main question, though, regarding the ability to recreate that natural jagged edge that comes on a hide, other than burning it!

[DavidL]

you could cut with a dull pair of scissors and throw the hides into a small backpack to get them wrinkled. Suppliers sell distressed leather, probably distressed by hand or through a machine like the one that stone washes jeans.

[shtoink]

Considering that it's lamb skin and will probably be thin and easily torn, have you considered just getting it wet and controlling your tears? From the pictures, it does look like pieces have distortion from being stretched and pulled. It would certainly create the randomness.

Having it wet will prevent the fuzzy effect of the fibers when torn dry, should make it easier to tear and control it as it tears. It'll likely be slippery and feel a lot like snot, but might be able to get the look you're going for. If you have a small piece you could give it a test run and see if it works for your needs.

If you do wet and tear it, you'll need to lay it out flat and let it air dry to prevent any shrinking. After it's dry, there is also a chance that you'll need to scrunch it a bunch to get it back to being soft again. Depending on how it was tanned can also have an effect. I have experienced both snot and non-snot like conditions when cleaning sheep fleece.

P.S.

While writing this, it occurred to me that the hides are scraped and stretched during the process of tanning and that you might be able to recreate the effect with chefs knife and some scraping. It'd still need to be gotten wet, but you can lay it out in the kitchen and crudely drag a nice and sharp chefs knife in a scraping motion to cut your bigger pieces into smaller ones. Just focus on irregularity and not slicing the skin.

It's feels a bit difficult to explain with words alone, so bear with me.

1. After getting the skin whetted and laid out, decide where you are going to divide the skin.

2. Grasp the knife like this and hold it so the blade is mostly vertical.

3. With a scraping motion, drag the knife back and forth in 0.75 to 1.25 in strokes until is breaks through to divide your pieces. It'll almost look like you're wiggling your knife.

4. Continue this method along your "cut" line you decided upon at the very beginning.

This will give you a rough and messy looking edge, but will likely take a bit of practice to get the look you want. It'll also require a bit of testing to even tell if it's gives the look you want.

I have a tenancy to brainstorm and into-dump, so I may have gotten a bit carried away with the ideas. If you feel that anything needs a bit of clearing up, let me know ad I'll do my best to elaborate on it.