Members billybopp Posted December 10, 2014 Members Report Posted December 10, 2014 You MIGHT have a little luck if you "super case" this leather. If you are doing as papaw suggested, I call that "surface casing" .. and it works perfectly fine for most leathers, whether carving or stamping. Occasionally, however, when I want my cuts to be deeper than normal, or work with difficult leather I soak the leather pretty thoroughly, or "super case" as I call it. Roll up the belt blank, and put it in a container of water for a few minutes until the leather is saturated. Hang the leather up to partially dry. When it has dried, but is still perhaps a little wetter than normal make your cuts. After the cuts are made, let it dry further to more "normal" cased state to make any stamped impressions. It might work for you. It might not. But I think it may be worth a try. Hope that works! Bill Quote
Members papaw Posted December 10, 2014 Members Report Posted December 10, 2014 If you want here is home made Casing Solution Lexol 1/2 cup --- 1-1/2 cups distilled water --- 1 tablespoon baby shampoo (no tears) --- 1 tablespoon of the old brown colored Listerine ( I think any would work as long as there is no color to stain) Just if you wish to try something. Quote Papaw Indiana Calumet Area Leather Guild Happy to be old enough to know better, but young enough to still do it !!
Members BDAZ Posted December 10, 2014 Members Report Posted December 10, 2014 (edited) Listerine = Dettol. Another way of casing is to thoroughly wet the surface, then roll up the belt and place in a plastic bag overnight in the fridge to prevent mold. BTW what part of London are you in? Cya! Bob Edited December 10, 2014 by BDAZ Quote
Contributing Member Bob Blea Posted December 10, 2014 Contributing Member Report Posted December 10, 2014 You could also modify pawpaw's recipe a bit by substituting Glycerin for the Lexol which might be hard for you to find in London. Glycerin acts a bit like a moisturizer (it's used in soaps and lotions) and at least here in the states you can get it at any drug store. I wouldn't add more than a tablespoon to the water. The Glycerin might help the leather to be softer and at least in my experience it seems to help the leather retain moisture and not dry out as quickly. Just my 2 pence. Bob Quote There are always possibilities.... Bob Blea C and B Leathercrafts Fort Collins, CO Visit my shop at http://www.etsy.com/shop/CandBLeather?ref=si_shop Instagram @bobbleacandbleather
Members Krystian Posted December 10, 2014 Author Members Report Posted December 10, 2014 Thank you all for your advice, you are all great! I managed to finish cutting it with swivel knife before I could see your responses and I have to say that the more I wet it and with stropping the knife more than often it did get slightly easier by the end. But not as deep as I would wish it to be. Oh well. I will definitely try out your recipes for the second belt (too much hustle to return them). I have a side question: does any of the chemicals that you add to your mixtures affect dyeing ? Quote
Contributing Member TwinOaks Posted December 11, 2014 Contributing Member Report Posted December 11, 2014 They **shouldn't** effect dyeing, but this leather appears to be problematic. If you haven't already done so, I suggest wiping down the surface with rubbing alcohol or some other cleaner (acetone, denatured alcohol, etc.) as it's possible that the surface of the leather has a finish on it. Even if it doesn't, wiping down will help clean off all the fingerprint oils, smudges, etc....which WILL affect the dyeing. A quick question: If you put a drop of water on the surface of the leather, does it immediately soak in, or does it sit there for a short while? If it doesn't soak in right away, it's either: 1. not correctly tanned 2. not vegtan (bridle leather maybe?) 3. it has some sort of finish on the grain side.......or some combination of these. If the water does soak in quickly, it IS likely vegtan, and you will need to go with the full casing procedure, and bag it overnight. Quote Mike DeLoach Esse Quam Videri (Be rather than Seem) "Don't learn the tricks of the trade.....Learn the trade." "Teach what you know......Learn what you don't." LEATHER ARTISAN'S DIGITAL GUILD on Facebook.
Members Krystian Posted February 10, 2015 Author Members Report Posted February 10, 2015 Hi all, Thank you for all the responses and apologies for disappearing from the forum for a while. I have had a very busy begging of the year at my day job and weather in London was so cold that my garage was not a very pleasant environment to work with leather anyway. The belt in question has been finished. It came out nice, not perfect but nice - girlfriend was pleased! I will try out your ceasing agents recipes for the next belt. Many thanks! https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/36379698/2014-12-14%2017.39.50.jpg https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/36379698/2014-12-14%2014.22.56.jpg https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/36379698/2014-12-27%2022.21.11.jpg https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/36379698/2014-12-27%2022.22.42.jpg Quote
Members papaw Posted February 10, 2015 Members Report Posted February 10, 2015 For all the issues you had I think the belt came out fine Good Job Quote Papaw Indiana Calumet Area Leather Guild Happy to be old enough to know better, but young enough to still do it !!
Members Eccho Posted February 10, 2015 Members Report Posted February 10, 2015 Well it looks like the struggle was worth the while, very nice belt ! Quote leatherart3.com
Members Krystian Posted February 11, 2015 Author Members Report Posted February 11, 2015 Thank you for a good word!She is wearing it and all of her friends are asking where did she get it - so I guess that she likes it as well Quote
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