Flatten leather

[Davm]

I buy my leather at a local Tandy outlet. I make holsters.  I want to start carving floral designs, etc. and the Tandy leather is sold "rolled up" and sometimes there are wrinkles. The rolled up part I can lay out and it will flatten but on the wrinkles- not sure if I can do anything. If I wet the leather and put boards on it, etc.- that will flatten it but can I then go back and carve/stamp it?

[PastorBob]

The answer is "sometimes".  If they are real wrinkles, not just folds created in the rolling process, it was probably created during the tanning process.  I have bought several rolls of leather where there were wrinkles.  I have never tried to flatten them for carving / stamping purposes.  My thought is that it may not be fully tanned. I normally look for imperfections in the leather when I select it at the store.  This, to me, is considered an imperfection.  When they are small enough, I will buy the roll, then the wrinkled part ends up in my scrap bin.  I have noticed it more on the imports than after I started buying Hermann Oak.  Although it can still occur on HO.

[fredk]

1 hour ago, Davm said:

. . . If I wet the leather and put boards on it, etc.- that will flatten it but can I then go back and carve/stamp it?

Usually yes. But give it very light feed of NFO before you case it again Feed it (before mid-nite     ), leave it for a day or two, then use it

1 hour ago, Davm said:

. . . but on the wrinkles- not sure if I can do anything. . . 

Case the leather, lay it out, put a weight on it, after a while, well before its starting to dry try running a brayer or domestic rolling pin over the wrinkles. Work from the centre outwards, then put the weight back on. Try this a few times