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cakesmith handyman
Jul 22, 2007

Pip-Pip old chap! Last one in is a rotten egg what what.

Progress! I ordered a cheap gouger/beveling tool and 2 thicknesses of proper veg tan leather (2 & 4.5mm, drat that's thick) picked something I often carry around at work (an 18650 torch) and made a holster. This time I did the 2 needles thing too:



It's too small for the torch despite measuring a couple of times, I want to try wet forming it tomorrow.

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VelociBacon
Dec 8, 2009

cakesmith handyman posted:

Progress! I ordered a cheap gouger/beveling tool and 2 thicknesses of proper veg tan leather (2 & 4.5mm, drat that's thick) picked something I often carry around at work (an 18650 torch) and made a holster. This time I did the 2 needles thing too:



It's too small for the torch despite measuring a couple of times, I want to try wet forming it tomorrow.

Looks good - make sure you wet form before you stitch (and before you cut the leather to final dimensions). Once dry, use Tan-kote on the inside of the leather where the tool will slide in and out - it will harden it up and let the tool egress from the holster more easily and without damaging/scoring the leather. If you're going to be attaching a belt clip make sure you do this before wet forming because you won't be able to get to it once the leather is hardened 'shut'.

cakesmith handyman
Jul 22, 2007

Pip-Pip old chap! Last one in is a rotten egg what what.

Thanks for the advice. I have a serious adversion to wasting material I'm trying to get over, so starting oversize wouldn't occur to me :v:. I'll slip a keyloop through the tab and call this done for a pen and start another.

I can get 1l of Tan Kote for £23, is this something I'll use a lot of or should I grab the 4oz bottle for £10?

VelociBacon
Dec 8, 2009

cakesmith handyman posted:

Thanks for the advice. I have a serious adversion to wasting material I'm trying to get over, so starting oversize wouldn't occur to me :v:. I'll slip a keyloop through the tab and call this done for a pen and start another.

I can get 1l of Tan Kote for £23, is this something I'll use a lot of or should I grab the 4oz bottle for £10?

4 oz sounds more reasonable.

cakesmith handyman
Jul 22, 2007

Pip-Pip old chap! Last one in is a rotten egg what what.

Ordered thanks. I'll play with wet forming while I wait 2 weeks for that to turn up.

VelociBacon
Dec 8, 2009

cakesmith handyman posted:

Ordered thanks. I'll play with wet forming while I wait 2 weeks for that to turn up.

What thread are you using for your stitching? It almost looks like it isn't waxed but it's hard to say.

cakesmith handyman
Jul 22, 2007

Pip-Pip old chap! Last one in is a rotten egg what what.

It is waxed, it's just what turned up in the cheap kit I bought, a reel of black, white and rainbow.

VelociBacon
Dec 8, 2009

cakesmith handyman posted:

It is waxed, it's just what turned up in the cheap kit I bought, a reel of black, white and rainbow.

Cool. You can use a flat hammer to tap the stitch down and flatten it out after you're done stitching - just an aesthetic thing.

Trabant
Nov 26, 2011

All systems nominal.

cakesmith handyman posted:

Progress! I ordered a cheap gouger/beveling tool and 2 thicknesses of proper veg tan leather (2 & 4.5mm, drat that's thick) picked something I often carry around at work (an 18650 torch) and made a holster. This time I did the 2 needles thing too:



It's too small for the torch despite measuring a couple of times, I want to try wet forming it tomorrow.

Nicely done! My first saddle stitch was a horror show by comparison. Also this:

VelociBacon posted:

Cool. You can use a flat hammer to tap the stitch down and flatten it out after you're done stitching - just an aesthetic thing.

is absolute truth. It probably depends on how delicate your item is, but I found it makes a big difference in making it look neater.

TerryLennox
Oct 12, 2009

There is nothing tougher than a tough Mexican, just as there is nothing gentler than a gentle Mexican, nothing more honest than an honest Mexican, and above all nothing sadder than a sad Mexican. -R. Chandler.
I have a question for the thread.

How much would a custom made pair of cowboy like boots run to?

Not asking exactly for a quote just a ballpark figure.

VelociBacon
Dec 8, 2009

TerryLennox posted:

I have a question for the thread.

How much would a custom made pair of cowboy like boots run to?

Not asking exactly for a quote just a ballpark figure.

To be honest it'd be better to be asking that in a cobbler thread or a specific bootmaking thread, it's an entirely different thing than leatherwork as a craft. I don't think we have either thread so I'll guess it's around 700CAD.

cakesmith handyman
Jul 22, 2007

Pip-Pip old chap! Last one in is a rotten egg what what.

My tan cote order was cancelled, before I go reordering can someone confirm the following for me:

The process should be to clean/strip the leather first, my wife has donated a bottle of deglazer that should do this, then dye if necessary, rub/buff when dry then finish with some kind of sealer, this is the tan cote right? If I'm not dyeing and it's new clean leather the tan cote is just a protective finish?

Also any wet shaping should be done before stitching? When should I burnish the edges, before or after the protective finish?

What do you do if you get water marks on something before finishing?

Finally what do you do to the flesh side of the leather inside a bag?

I've tried googling these but there are a million different opinions available of course.

Trabant
Nov 26, 2011

All systems nominal.
Since I have first-hand experience with just a couple of those topics:

cakesmith handyman posted:

When should I burnish the edges, before or after the protective finish?
I've started doing it after, precisely to prevent stains from whatever edge burnishing agent you use. If you apply the finish first, it should stop any excess edge water/gum trag/Tokonole which leaks over from staining the "face" of the project.

quote:

Finally what do you do to the flesh side of the leather inside a bag?
I like the results of what I described here:

Trabant posted:

And to make this a useful post, here's a new-to-me thing I discovered: if you have a really rough flesh side of your piece, a glass slicker + some finishing compound does wonders. I previously tried using just Tokonole rubbed into the back using a piece of canvas, but it didn't work all that well. This time I followed this video and sprung for one of these and the difference is huge. Yes, it's stupid to pay that much for a piece of glass, I agree. You can probably get it a bit cheaper elsewhere, I just happened to be buying things from Rocky Mountain Leather.

It produces a very smooth surface. Not sure what to do if you'd like a more natural, fuzzy feel, though. You might be at the mercy of what your leather supplier can provide. I suspect it's a matter of how good their splitting is.

VelociBacon
Dec 8, 2009

cakesmith handyman posted:

My tan cote order was cancelled, before I go reordering can someone confirm the following for me:

The process should be to clean/strip the leather first, my wife has donated a bottle of deglazer that should do this, then dye if necessary, rub/buff when dry then finish with some kind of sealer, this is the tan cote right? If I'm not dyeing and it's new clean leather the tan cote is just a protective finish?

Also any wet shaping should be done before stitching? When should I burnish the edges, before or after the protective finish?

What do you do if you get water marks on something before finishing?

Finally what do you do to the flesh side of the leather inside a bag?

I've tried googling these but there are a million different opinions available of course.

You should watch some Ian Atkinson videos (https://www.youtube.com/user/satansbarber/videos), he does a lot of sheaths and such and it might help to see the whole process in order.

I've never used deglazer with my veg tan leather. My process is:

1- Cut leather to rough size (oversize a little)
2 - Wet form the leather and let dry:
- Make sure when you're working the wet material around with your fingers that your nails don't scratch the leather at this point. Don't use any tool with a hard edge that will mark the leather up.
- Make sure you're not forming leather in where the object needs to pull out - like don't trap the object in there with the leather, it's easy to do and you feel awfully stupid afterwards
- Can be good to wrap the object in kitchen cling wrap if you don't want it getting wet. Wooden handles and such can swell if you wrap wet leather around them for a long time so I always cling wrap whatever I'm forming
3 - Once dry, dye the leather (usually 2-3 applications). Be aware that dye will wet the leather so make sure you don't let it lose it's form by manipulating it too aggressively
4 - Use those clips for large stacks of paper to keep the leather pinched together where I want it and cut to size
5 - Use the grooving tool to lay out where I'll be stitching
6 - Use a punch to make the holes for the stitching
7 - TanKote the inside. I do this before stitching so that I can open the sheath a bit for access if it's a 1 piece thing and not a clamshell style. I find it helpful to work the leather in one direction only with the tankote so you're slicking it down and not bringing up the fibers
8 - Carefully apply contact cement where the leather will be held together just on the outside of the stitching holes that are punched
9 - Saddle stitch and tap the stitch down with a flat hammer (make sure you don't hit it with a hammer that has a pattern on the striking face)
10 - Burnish the edges (I bevel the edges a bit first with a skiv but careful you can really gently caress up the piece if you make a mistake)
11 - Apply neatsfoot oil - a couple applications.

I don't think I've noticed any issue with water marks - it should dry and look the same as anywhere else.

VelociBacon fucked around with this message at 17:13 on Aug 22, 2019

cakesmith handyman
Jul 22, 2007

Pip-Pip old chap! Last one in is a rotten egg what what.

Thanks you again, both the videos and your instructions are helpful.

Tan Kote, gum tragacanth, neatsfoot oil ordered.

cakesmith handyman
Jul 22, 2007

Pip-Pip old chap! Last one in is a rotten egg what what.

Tan cote and gum tragacanth turned up early so I had a go at making a sheath for my Gerber:





No dye and the neatsfoot oil will turn up next week so it's done for now.

The channel for the stitching wasn't deep enough, more burnishing to do on the edges, should have beveled and sanded the top edge of the pocket before sewing. On the other hand I'm very happy with it and the wet forming apart from being slow was quite fun.

cakesmith handyman
Jul 22, 2007

Pip-Pip old chap! Last one in is a rotten egg what what.

Nearly finished the next piece, a belt bag for my phone when I'm doing archery. Needs the edges burnishing. Going to try a bracer/arm guard next then I'll need more leather and I can try a quiver.







Any UK goons bought anything from metrolitan leather?

Trabant
Nov 26, 2011

All systems nominal.
Looks good! Are those rivets being used to attach the strap?

cakesmith handyman
Jul 22, 2007

Pip-Pip old chap! Last one in is a rotten egg what what.

Thank you. They are, I just wanted to try something new as I've got the (very) basics of that type of stitching down.

Trabant
Nov 26, 2011

All systems nominal.
I'm with you -- I feel like I want to try all kinds of hold-leather-together methods at some point. Rivets, Chicago screws, snaps, whatever. Then I'll decide what I like most.

TheNothingNew
Nov 10, 2008
Not sure what to call it, but I like the super simple strap holder thing what keeps the strap from backing out. Good design.
Fancy holes on the belt loop are fun, too.

cakesmith handyman
Jul 22, 2007

Pip-Pip old chap! Last one in is a rotten egg what what.

I ordered a bunch of cheap hardware to play with but I'm being jerked around on delivery, get what you pay for I guess. I'm going to start mocking up a pattern for an archery arm guard and I want to make a new sheath for my granddad's knife. Then I guess I'll have to put my hand in my pocket and order a side or hide as the 2sqft I got to play with won't stretch much further.

McMadCow
Jan 19, 2005

With our rifles and grenades and some help from God.
I'm on the lookout for something that may not exist, or is extremely rare. I've made a few assorted leather projects, but my favorite thing to do is to make watch straps.
I've been using veg tan as the liner and internal padding, but nicer premium remnant leathers for the tops. The problem there is that I don't believe most of them are veg tanned. The don't typically take an edge creaser anywhere near as well as veg tan does, and they're way softer. Also, burnishing the edged with gum trag has been weird on a couple of them- which I heard is a thing with chrome tan.

What I'm looking for is a leather that works like a veg tan, but has the interesting grain of something like bison or camelgrain or reindeer. What should I be looking for?

Trabant
Nov 26, 2011

All systems nominal.
Those are wilder than what I've used, so this might not be exactly what you're looking for:

You could try chevre (goat) or Dollaro for pebbled texture, various pull-up styles for wild colours, embossed crocodile patterns, or Pueblo for a suede-like look. All can be found veg tanned depending on where you buy from -- RMLS has a decent range:

https://www.rmleathersupply.com/collections/vegetable-tanned

McMadCow
Jan 19, 2005

With our rifles and grenades and some help from God.

Trabant posted:

Those are wilder than what I've used, so this might not be exactly what you're looking for:

You could try chevre (goat) or Dollaro for pebbled texture, various pull-up styles for wild colours, embossed crocodile patterns, or Pueblo for a suede-like look. All can be found veg tanned depending on where you buy from -- RMLS has a decent range:

https://www.rmleathersupply.com/collections/vegetable-tanned

These are awesome, thank you! I'm hoping to find some un-dyed, but this is a great start.

Lemniscate Blue
Apr 21, 2006

Here we go again.
This seems like a place that would be able to tell me.

My wife and I do renaissance faires, and we have a couple go-to costumes that include pirate-style hats. They're getting a little worn and dirty, so we'd like to clean, condition, and waterproof them so they last a while longer.

They're both leather but different sorts. Mine is rough textured, not like suede but it's stiff so I think it's veg-tan, with a ribbon-like cloth trim on the brim and folded tricorn-style. The other is also stiff but smooth on one side, more of a cavalier hat look. They're both dyed black and we'd like to keep the coloration.

What's the cleaners and techniques we should use to restore and protect them?

Trabant
Nov 26, 2011

All systems nominal.
Disclaimer: I'm going to list my dress shoe care routine (and everyone has their own version) which I found also works on wallets and belts. Still, YMMV:
  • First clean: brush to remove any loose dirt, clean with saddle soap.
  • Then revive the leather: a conditioner, from very good to fancy. This often darkens the leather, but I suppose it won't matter since your hats are black.
  • And, if you want, apply polish: use shoe polish of your colour choice (i.e. :black101:), rubbed on with a cloth/sponge and then brush-polished. They do tend to leave a smell for a bit, so I don't know if you really want that atop your head. But if you have nicks and scratches in the leather, this would help hide them.
(Those are just the specific products I like for shoe care, so no need to spend $50+ because some internet shoe weirdo linked them :))

I've never applied any waterproofing to my shoes before, so I can't speak about that. I do have a homemade finish -- paste of walnut oil and beeswax -- that kinda does that for small leather goods, but I can't really recommend a store product.

If you can stomach Reddit, odds are there are both hat- and costume-related forums which might be better informed. Or YouTube, if you don't read the comments...

3D Megadoodoo
Nov 25, 2010

I have a leather wallet that is just fine otherwise but the see-through plastic on one side the driver's license compartment has cracked at the edges near the leather. I don't see any way for anyone to fix it other than some sort of adhesive - does such a thing exist?

tl;dr: is there an glue for plastic-to-leather?

3D Megadoodoo fucked around with this message at 14:45 on Oct 24, 2019

VelociBacon
Dec 8, 2009

Jerry Cotton posted:

I have a leather wallet that is just fine otherwise but the see-through plastic on one side the driver's license compartment has cracked at the edges near the leather. I don't see any way for anyone to fix it other than some sort of adhesive - does such a thing exist?

tl;dr: is there an glue for plastic-to-leather?

Contact cement maybe would work.

Slugworth
Feb 18, 2001

If two grown men can't make a pervert happy for a few minutes in order to watch a film about zombies, then maybe we should all just move to Iran!

Jerry Cotton posted:

I have a leather wallet that is just fine otherwise but the see-through plastic on one side the driver's license compartment has cracked at the edges near the leather. I don't see any way for anyone to fix it other than some sort of adhesive - does such a thing exist?

tl;dr: is there an glue for plastic-to-leather?
Soft enough plastic that you could sew it back on? Seems like that would be the longest lasting repair.

deoju
Jul 11, 2004

All the pieces matter.
Nap Ghost
Anybody know what this thing is? It was in a box of leather working tools that belonged to my great-grandmother. The blade, if you can call it that, is an equilateral triangle.

I'm curious what you would use such a weird tool for, and google isn't much help for this sort of thing.

Dienes
Nov 4, 2009

dee
doot doot dee
doot doot doot
doot doot dee
dee doot doot
doot doot dee
dee doot doot


College Slice

deoju posted:

Anybody know what this thing is? It was in a box of leather working tools that belonged to my great-grandmother. The blade, if you can call it that, is an equilateral triangle.

I'm curious what you would use such a weird tool for, and google isn't much help for this sort of thing.

Looks like a pyramid-tip awl, but I think those are usually 4-sided?

VelociBacon
Dec 8, 2009

Dienes posted:

Looks like a pyramid-tip awl, but I think those are usually 4-sided?

Yeah, I think maybe for something like saddlemaking or similar.

deoju
Jul 11, 2004

All the pieces matter.
Nap Ghost
Sweet. Thanks for the info.

TheNothingNew
Nov 10, 2008

deoju posted:

Anybody know what this thing is? It was in a box of leather working tools that belonged to my great-grandmother. The blade, if you can call it that, is an equilateral triangle.

I'm curious what you would use such a weird tool for, and google isn't much help for this sort of thing.

It's a scraping/deburring tool, not sure of the technical name. Bought one for the spouse, she uses it for cleaning up rough edges on plastic minis before painting.
When I found it at the hardware store, it was next to linoleum tile tools. *shrug*

Honestly not sure what you'd use one for in leatherworking.

deoju
Jul 11, 2004

All the pieces matter.
Nap Ghost
There were a few smithing tools in the box too. That could be it too.

Thanks. :)

Vindolanda
Feb 13, 2012

It's just like him too, y'know?

TheNothingNew posted:

It's a scraping/deburring tool, not sure of the technical name. Bought one for the spouse, she uses it for cleaning up rough edges on plastic minis before painting.
When I found it at the hardware store, it was next to linoleum tile tools. *shrug*

Honestly not sure what you'd use one for in leatherworking.

I’ve been looking for that kind of deburring tool for a while, if anyone knows any productive search terms let me know please.

Rotten Cookies
Nov 11, 2008

gosh! i like both the islanders and the rangers!!! :^)

Vindolanda posted:

I’ve been looking for that kind of deburring tool for a while, if anyone knows any productive search terms let me know please.

I've seen them called triangular scrapers. Googling that term returns pretty much what was posted

Vindolanda
Feb 13, 2012

It's just like him too, y'know?

Rotten Cookies posted:

I've seen them called triangular scrapers. Googling that term returns pretty much what was posted

More fool me; I was sure I’d only get those triangular paint scrapers and didn’t even try searching “triangular scraper”.

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Jaded Burnout
Jul 10, 2004


Gang tag contest!

https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3903115

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