[Bryn-gwlad] Leather Crafting

[Eric W. Brown]

Cool tip...

I find that I can case the leather in a few minutes with the spray
bottles of the casing solution (ProCarve?) that they sell at Tandy...

It's great for shaping and stretching too(like making flasks), you can
get armor thickness leather it so soft it's crazy in about 5 min, just
spray it on each side, wait till it soaks in flip and repeat until the
center is wet.

You can thank Dennis the manager at Tandy, he talked me into trying it
and he was right...

Caladin-

-----Original Message-----
From: bryn-gwlad-bounces at lists.ansteorra.org
[mailto:bryn-gwlad-bounces at lists.ansteorra.org] On Behalf Of
kcmarsh at suddenlink.net
Sent: Tuesday, June 12, 2007 11:52 AM
To: Barony of Bryn Gwlad
Subject: Re: [Bryn-gwlad] Leather Crafting

If you are coming to the workshop tomorrow (6-13-07) to work on the
leather tumbler project or to learn some basic leatherworking
techniques, please reply to this message so I know how many to expect.
The workshop will be at the Wells Branch Rec. Center from 7-9 PM in room
#1.

Preparation for tooling:

Before you can decorate your leather with tooling you will need to get
the leather wet.  This is called "casing" and it is definitely a matter
of art rather than science.  The leather needs to be wet enough to
respond well to the tooling without being too wet.  For heavy,
armour-weight leather some craftsmen like to soak the leather for 24
hours followed by setting it out for 24 hours so that it is evenly wet
throughout the leather.  For lighter leather this time can be reduced
dramatically. Thin leather can be cased by wiping the front and back
with a wet washcloth and letting it sit for a few minutes.  For the
tumbler project I'd suggest soaking the leather under water for about
half an hour or until bubbles stop forming, setting it out for an hour
or so to let any excess water evaporate, then sealing it in a plastic
bag and bringing it to the workshop.

Tools:

For tooling you will want a backing board, a stylus, and perhaps a
wooden or rawhide mallet and some stamping tools.  Expert leather
toolers often use a stone backing like a piece of marble countertop.  A
swivel knife is used in "Western" and modern tooling but does not appear
to have been used in medieval leatherwork to the best of my knowledge.
I will bring a few of these tools to the workshop but if you have your
own please bring them.  These tools are available at Tandy and the
stylus is available from most art or craft stores.  Some examples:

http://www.misterart.com/store/view/003/group_id/3711/Tandy-Leather-Basi
c-7-Tool-Set.htm
http://www.tandyleatherfactory.com/products.asp?number=8032-00
http://www.tandyleatherfactory.com/products.asp?number=8036-00
http://www.tandyleatherfactory.com/products.asp?number=3446-00
http://www.tandyleatherfactory.com/products.asp?number=6060-00
http://www.tandyleatherfactory.com/products.asp?number=6206-00
http://www.tandyleatherfactory.com/products.asp?number=6212-00
http://www.tandyleatherfactory.com/products.asp?number=6706-00

I would tend to avoid stamps in the shape of letters or flowers or
animals, generally prefering to trace and tool such shapes.  On the
other hand if you are stamping 1,000 roses onto a pouch or a piece of
armour then a specialized rose stramp might be practical.  Note that the
artistic style of these stamps tends to be modern rather than medieval.
Some examples:
http://www.tandyleatherfactory.com/products.asp?number=8537-00
http://www.tandyleatherfactory.com/products.asp?number=69015-00
http://www.tandyleatherfactory.com/products.asp?number=88493-00

Some other tools that will come in handy for finishing edges:
http://www.tandyleatherfactory.com/products.asp?number=8076-04
http://www.tandyleatherfactory.com/products.asp?number=8122-00
http://www.tandyleatherfactory.com/products.asp?number=8074-00

Also bring any line art you may want to use from books or computer
printouts.  The artistic style of the surviving bits of medieval
leatherwork tends to be similar to illumination, where vines and lattice
and textured backgrounds are used along with primary figures to fill the
available space on the piece being decorated.  Some examples include:

http://www.thebritishmuseum.ac.uk/explore/highlights/highlight_objects/p
e_mla/a/archers_bracer.aspx
http://www.maryrose.org/lcity/cook/men3.htm
http://www.kbr.be/collections/manu/nouveautes/iv1278/iv1278_fr.html
http://forums.armourarchive.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=935038&highlight=
#935038
http://forums.armourarchive.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=700489&highlight=
#700489
http://forums.armourarchive.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=686946&highlight=
#686946

I find the laserjet transparency film and sharpie pens available from
office supply stores to be excellent for tracing and transfering designs
onto leather.  I will bring some of these to the workshop as well.

I should be in the park for a while this evening if anyone has questions
about casing or about the tumbler project.  Otherwise, I'll see you at
the workshop tomorrow!

Maelgwyn


---- Daniel White <danieltwhite at sbcglobal.net> wrote: 
> Greetings,
>    
>   You are now booked into Rm # 1, at the rec center, on every second
Wed for the next six months, from 7 to 9. I will be there on the 13th to
get you going. There is a exercise class, in the room, that ends at 7.
>    
>   Thomas
> 
> kcmarsh at suddenlink.net wrote:
>   There is an effort afoot to plan a leatherworking session on the
evening of June 13th at Wells Branch...stay tuned for more details.
> 
...
> 
> Maelgwyn

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