Intentional Surface Cracking

[PirateSteve]

the first handmade leather item I ever purchased was this cuff I bought in '08 from a street vendor in the old part of Quebec City. There was once a Maker's mark on it, but over the years it has all but vanished.

What intially drew me to the cuff was its cracked surface texture and shape, and I was often asked when I first started producing my own works in leather if I had made this as well which I've always had to deny. Because I wore this so often, I have been asked on numerous occasions if I would be able to make something with the same surface patterns.

The cracking doesn't seem to just be a tooled effect, as the leather fibres are visible in the cracks, and it's not uniform in cracking pattern.

I've heard it referrred to as mudcrack leather, but I'm wondering if anyone would be able to let me know if/how I could reproduce this effect. Would this work on Veg Tan, or would I be limited to using a chrome dyed leather?

I wore this cuff for many years and its finally starting to break down and crack on the inside, as I didn't know how to care for leather when I first got it.

Any direction would be hugely appreciated.

[TwinOaks]

That's as simple as severely drying the leather out with a chemical stripper...acetone is a good one...then flexing it, a LOT. Although you like it, it is commonly AVOIDED by most people. It may look pretty cool, but it's a result of the leather being improperly cared for. For a bracelet, I can see that the fiber integrity isn't a big deal, but the overall life of the product would suffer because of it.

[Troy Burch]

Looks like dry rot and thats never a good thing.

[taintedelephant]

Just brainstorming out of left field, but what if you rough up the grain, then add an acrilic finish with a crackle additive and then a second coat without the additive. it wouldn't be the same, but it might be cool.