First stab at it!

[Chris623]

I'm making a sheath to replace the one on my Buck 119 hunting knife.  Cut the front piece and the welt.  Got the front wet and in a Ziplock baggie last night.  Pulled it out of the bag at noon today.  Sat down at about 4:30 to tool it because it was almost the color of un-cased veg-tan leather.  Just finished stamping it.  I didn't get that dark brown burnished look under my stamps.  Does that mean I didn't let it dry enough?  The impressions look deep enough........just no burnishing.  Figured I'd let it dry and look at it tomorrow to see if it was too wet and the impressions wash out overnight.  Comments for a newbie???

[tsunkasapa]

That would be my first guess, but pictures would be a huge help.

[Chris623]

Sorry, I know better.  I'll let it dry and post one in the morning after my "inspection".

I kept reading how I'm supposed to attach the leather to a piece of cardboard so it won't stretch.  I didn't, and it did!  It's an inch longer than originally cut.  I don't understand how you can case it if it's stuck to a piece of paper..............or how you can glue it to paper if it's already cased. 

[tsunkasapa]

24 minutes ago, Chris623 said:

Sorry, I know better.  I'll let it dry and post one in the morning after my "inspection".

I kept reading how I'm supposed to attach the leather to a piece of cardboard so it won't stretch.  I didn't, and it did!  It's an inch longer than originally cut.  I don't understand how you can case it if it's stuck to a piece of paper..............or how you can glue it to paper if it's already cased. 

I back with masking tape, a couple of layers. Back your project before wetting.

[Chris623]

Okay, I'll try that next time.  I just figured the adhesive on the tape would give way when the water hit it.

[garypl]

I use either clear packing tape on the back or I use rubber cement to attach the piece to an old plastic placemat - either work ok.

[Chris623]

Okay, thanks.  Guess this is one of those times I should have just done what I was reading about even if it made no sense to me.  DUH!!!  (we need a "head smack" emoji!)

[Retswerb]

All part of the process. A year from now you’ll look back on this and it will show you how much you’ve learned.

An inch is a lot of stretch, I’ve never had anything stretch that much. Post those pics when you get a chance, let’s have a look.

[Chris623]

Okay, don't laugh...............this is my first stab at stamping leather.

I cut the welt and front of the sheath the same length!!!  Might not have stretched a full inch as I claimed, but at least 3/4" on the longest stretched part.  Wierd!  I just bought some 2" wide Blue tape to put on the back of my future pieces.  Should have paid attention to what I was reading even if it didn't make sense.

So, as you can see from the picture, I didn't get any burnishing.  But it looks to my beginner's eye as if the stamps are of a good depth.  I still think the leather was too wet.  I'm asking advice on how to case my sheaths to stamp properly.  That piece of leather is still very cool, so still has a lot of moisture in it.

[Hildebrand]

I usually just use a stain applicator to wet the leather.  I tend to get it pretty wet then let it come back to natural color then tool.  I have only used the overnight in plastic method for wet forming and I have since found that just getting it soaking wet and letting it dry slightly works fine for that as well.  I have been watching a lot Don Gonzales videos lately and have started using tape on my tooling projects, he has a lot of good information on tooling.

Todd