Question for you wet molders.

[Omega Leather Works]

Just curious about the moisture content you prefer for extensive wet molding.

I typically don't "case" by the method of submerging until the bubbles stop, followed by allowing it to even out/dry. Usually I find running the leather under the tap for a few seconds on each side to be sufficient, however, I'm looking for better definition on a small (clip on) folder that I'm working on.

Also, what thickness do you prefer?

 

[Robber58]

My experience is that if you wish to get really detailed definition, then you do need to case the leather properly. My process is to hold it under the faucet for long enough to get it thoroughly wet then I wrap it with saran plastic for at least two hours; more is better. I then take it out and let it dry until it begins to return to the original color and work it then. The better leathers will work almost like clay which means be very careful because any mark you make will show later. The only time I really find the need to do this is when I am making tightly molded holsters or when I want to do deep tooling on thick leather. For general sheath fitting and more moderate tooling I do just a light wetting, wait a bit and start working.

Thickness is really a matter of how much definition you want and how much time you want to spend. Something 5 or 6 oz will work well and relatively easily for most shapes. It gets progressively harder and more time consuming as you get thicker no matter how you prepped it and, in my opinion, anything over 10 oz will be next to impossible to get tight definition with anything but the most simple shapes with shallow curves.

Hope this helps,
Randy

 

[Horsewright]

Strig I have a totally unscientific way of doing it. I wet mold all my sheaths except my boot sheath which I don't make a whole bunch of. I use a plastic container with water and Pro Carv in it. I toss the sheath in and wait until it sinks. When it sinks I pull it out. I do 4 sheaths at once and once they come out I will do other things to them while the other 4 are getting wet enough to sink. These other things will include edging, trimming off any bottom leather that needs trimming, punching slots etc. Once I have all the sheaths in that bunch wet and done up to that point I then sand edges and rub them for the first time. About this time all the sheaths are getting their color back and I will wet form them to their specific knife. If the sheath is heavily tooled I will do 90-95 percent of the wet forming on the back if not I do about 50-50 front and back. Now my wet forming is not the hi def that maestro WickedLeather does just basically knife shaped. This has worked very well for me over the years. I use 7/8 oz Herman Oak for sheaths. Its a special holster tannage and one of its attributes is that it is suppose to mold well. It does but I think more importantly after the wet molding and then drying process it seems to stretch less. This is based comparatively to regular HO. I've been using it since the start of 2014 when it first showed up in Weaver's new catalog. So I've probably got 500-600 sheaths done with it now. I'll stay with it for the foreseable future.

 

[Omega Leather Works]

My experience is that if you wish to get really detailed definition, then you do need to case the leather properly. My process is to hold it under the faucet for long enough to get it thoroughly wet then I wrap it with saran plastic for at least two hours; more is better. I then take it out and let it dry until it begins to return to the original color and work it then. The better leathers will work almost like clay which means be very careful because any mark you make will show later. The only time I really find the need to do this is when I am making tightly molded holsters or when I want to do deep tooling on thick leather. For general sheath fitting and more moderate tooling I do just a light wetting, wait a bit and start working.

Thickness is really a matter of how much definition you want and how much time you want to spend. Something 5 or 6 oz will work well and relatively easily for most shapes. It gets progressively harder and more time consuming as you get thicker no matter how you prepped it and, in my opinion, anything over 10 oz will be next to impossible to get tight definition with anything but the most simple shapes with shallow curves.

Hope this helps,
Randy

Thanks Randy! I am using 7/8oz. I have 4oz and I think may 5/6oz would be perfect. I do like the idea of using a bit thicker but my evidence of why is purely anecdotal. I worry that thinner might lose its shape but that's probably totally illogical.

Strig I have a totally unscientific way of doing it. I wet mold all my sheaths except my boot sheath which I don't make a whole bunch of. I use a plastic container with water and Pro Carv in it. I toss the sheath in and wait until it sinks. When it sinks I pull it out. I do 4 sheaths at once and once they come out I will do other things to them while the other 4 are getting wet enough to sink. These other things will include edging, trimming off any bottom leather that needs trimming, punching slots etc. Once I have all the sheaths in that bunch wet and done up to that point I then sand edges and rub them for the first time. About this time all the sheaths are getting their color back and I will wet form them to their specific knife. If the sheath is heavily tooled I will do 90-95 percent of the wet forming on the back if not I do about 50-50 front and back. Now my wet forming is not the hi def that maestro WickedLeather does just basically knife shaped. This has worked very well for me over the years. I use 7/8 oz Herman Oak for sheaths. Its a special holster tannage and one of its attributes is that it is suppose to mold well. It does but I think more importantly after the wet molding and then drying process it seems to stretch less. This is based comparatively to regular HO. I've been using it since the start of 2014 when it first showed up in Weaver's new catalog. So I've probably got 500-600 sheaths done with it now. I'll stay with it for the foreseable future.

I ordered some Pro Carv then the distributor contacted me saying they stopped selling it. I need to try again.

Interesting to hear about your HO. Those qualities sound great. My leather (you know the stuff) molds really well but it does stretch a bit while molding. I would love to be able to do some work (particularly grooving and whatnot) before molding but it's not possible because any straight lines end up wonky.

Wicked does do amazing work. I was thinking of him and a few others when I wrote this because that's what I'm looking for on this one.

 

[ColdDeadHand]

Just a beginner here, but I've started this whole quest with 8/9 oz leather. It does not like to bend. At this point I just leave it in warm water until bubbles quit coming out the flesh side and then I do my thing. And yeah, it takes forever to dry, but I guess that's better than splitting.

 

[Horsewright]

Here ya go Strig. I've been getting it lately from Sheridan Leather Supply when I get other stuff, I'll get 3 or 4 qts at a time. Maybe oughta buy it a gallon at a time directly but havn't yet.

http://ehub41.webhostinghub.com/~mi...top#!/PRO-Carv/c/9139963/offset=0&sort=normal

 

[Omega Leather Works]

Just a beginner here, but I've started this whole quest with 8/9 oz leather. It does not like to bend. At this point I just leave it in warm water until bubbles quit coming out the flesh side and then I do my thing. And yeah, it takes forever to dry, but I guess that's better than splitting.

I started with 8/9oz too. I find it perfect for pouch sheaths that can include some molding around the handle to help retention. Great for heavy-duty sheaths as well.

These were a couple of my first folder sheaths in the same weight. They have great retention, but molding wasn't ideal.

I forgot to take pics of the sheath I just did, but it's much smaller, the stitching is much tighter to the knife and, of course, molding benefitted from the thinner leather. I'm now thinking that 6oz would be even better for those things. I don't make a lot of folder sheaths, but I'll be buying at least a shoulder of 6oz for when I do. Can't have too much leather anyway. I find uses for every weight I've bought and 6oz slots in nicely between what I already have.

Here ya go Strig. I've been getting it lately from Sheridan Leather Supply when I get other stuff, I'll get 3 or 4 qts at a time. Maybe oughta buy it a gallon at a time directly but havn't yet.

http://ehub41.webhostinghub.com/~mi...top#!/PRO-Carv/c/9139963/offset=0&sort=normal

Thanks Dave.

 

[wicekleather]

I use 6-7 oz leather.
This is the optimum thickness of the wet-forming.
I did it with a thicker but it is hard for a good image detail.
The time of soaking depends on the leather.
An average of 15-30 minutes.
I leave the leather after soaking for 30 minutes on several layers of paper towel
I do molding process in 3 - 4 stages.
Molding - slight drying, molding - slight drying ........... at the end of 24 hours to completely dry.
For me, the most important is a tool for molding.
I tried a few ready tools but at the end I made my own.
I made it over 1000 sheaths to folders, for me it is perfect.

Thats all.

 

[Omega Leather Works]

Thanks man I was hoping you'd chime in. Sorry for incorrectly writing your screen name.

I look at clay modeling tools when I'm at the hobby store, the nylon bone folder is good but not as good as I'd like.

Question. I know carbon steel will discolor wet leather. I have found that my hand made stainless makers mark won't. Is that true of all stainless?

 

[wicekleather]

I did it with a a stainless steel rod with a diameter of 6 mm (about 0.25 ")
15 minutes work with a a belt sander and polisher.
Every month polishes it with a polishing paste.
I did not notice never problems with staining of the leather.
By the way I'm going to do some new, if you want to do for you, too.

 

[Omega Leather Works]

I did it with a a stainless steel rod with a diameter of 6 mm (about 0.25 ")
15 minutes work with a a belt sander and polisher.
Every month polishes it with a polishing paste.
I did not notice never problems with staining of the leather.
By the way I'm going to do some new, if you want to do for you, too.

Thank you, I have the equipment to make something, but I really appreciate the offer.