tooling without casing?

C

Canesplitter

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Hello everybody!

Maybe this is a weird question but have you guys tried tooling leather without casing? And if so, how are the results?

How would Hermann Oak behave if you tool it without casing?

Last question: does anybody know which leather Bob Loveless used for his sheaths? 9 Oz, 10 Oz?

Thank you all for your effort and advice!

Cheers
Canesplitter
 
Not weird at at all. I have not fully cased a piece for a long time. Depending on size, I will use a spray bottle or a sponge to get the surface thoroughly and uniformly wet. Not saturated so water will no longer penetrate but wet enough that the color does not start changing back immediately. Takes practice to know what that looks like but it is not super critical. Too much and it will take awhile before it is ready and too little will not give you good tooling contrast. I then wait for it to just start to change color and start to work. Smaller pieces can be done with out other water added but bigger ones will typically require I use a sponge to keep the color uniform. If you don't, it will cause the appearance of your impressions to vary across the work and looks a bit unprofessional. The sheaths pictured below were done using the above process. The only time I fully case is if I am after maximum relief on thicker leather. My experience is that effective depth is limited with the surface wetting only.

Like all things it takes some practice and trial and error but it is not too difficult and saves a lot of time
Randy

 
I did not try to answer your other questions. Herman Oak veg tan will do just fine with the process I described. I do prefer Wickett and Craig veg tan for tooling.
I have no idea what thickness leather Bob Loveless used with any certainty. The sheaths I have seen appear to be in the range of 8 to 10 oz.
Randy
 
Randy, thank you very much for your shared knowledge! Some very fine leatherwork there !!!!!! Wished I could do that!
Here over the ditch in Germany it`s not easy to get hold of that quality leather like Hermann Oak or Wickett Craig, at least not in the preferred weights.

Robert, thanks for your reply!

I`ll try to source some good veg tan leather from the US and see how it goes!
 
Canesplitter said:
Hello everybody!

Maybe this is a weird question but have you guys tried tooling leather without casing? And if so, how are the results?

How would Hermann Oak behave if you tool it without casing?

Last question: does anybody know which leather Bob Loveless used for his sheaths? 9 Oz, 10 Oz?

Thank you all for your effort and advice!

Cheers
Canesplitter
Click to expand...
Are you using the term casing the leather in the traditional sense or are you speaking of dampening the leather? We don't case either to carve or tool leather. But we do dampen the leather prior to tooling similarly to Randy. As he mentioned when the color is coming back is the time to start. I tooled a belt yesterday a couple of passes the whole length with my sponge and then I let it set for about 10 minutes or so. Then when the color started coming back start tooling. I was able to tool the whole belt without re dampening the leather. On a bigger project like that I recommend dampening the whole project not just the area that needs it. That way you won't create water marks on the leather. We too prefer Wicket and Craig over Herman Oak for tooling.

cuorTBM.jpg


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Traditional casing involves sinking leather in water till the bubbles stop coming out. Then taking it out and wrapping it in a wool blanket overnight. Next morning your leather is ready to work. This is laborious and time consuming and not necessary for tooling.
 
Horsewright said:
Are you using the term casing the leather in the traditional sense or are you speaking of dampening the leather? We don't case either to carve or tool leather. But we do dampen the leather prior to tooling similarly to Randy. As he mentioned when the color is coming back is the time to start. I tooled a belt yesterday a couple of passes the whole length with my sponge and then I let it set for about 10 minutes or so. Then when the color started coming back start tooling. I was able to tool the whole belt without re dampening the leather. On a bigger project like that I recommend dampening the whole project not just the area that needs it. That way you won't create water marks on the leather. We too prefer Wicket and Craig over Herman Oak for tooling.

cuorTBM.jpg


Ngdsupo.jpg


Traditional casing involves sinking leather in water till the bubbles stop coming out. Then taking it out and wrapping it in a wool blanket overnight. Next morning your leather is ready to work. This is laborious and time consuming and not necessary for tooling.
Click to expand...

I just wet the leather also. I thought that was casing the leather. I've never dunked the leather in water.
 
Yeah casing is used that way (dampening the leather) which is why I asked the OP what he meant by casing. I've heard of folks dunking it and sticking it in a plastic bag overnight too. In one of Al Stholman's books he talks about a drawer thats fairly airtight. Saddle makers tend to use the wool blanket method and I use to hang with some of those guys. The only time I've used the traditional method lately was in making tapaderos (stirrup covers):

pK7yFxv.jpg


1mnu1IW.jpg


1mnu1IW.jpg


I was trying to get these ready for a show and Nichole and I were both working on them at the same time trying to get that lacing done. We spent several hours without success. While at the show I talked with my good friend TCAA saddle maker John Willasma one night when we were out to dinner. I asked him how to build these and he said the leather had to be cased or ya were never gonna get it. Came home cased em and did both the next morning by myself in about an hour. Casing the leather made it very plastique and shapeable. Got er done.
 
Dave, thank you very much for your reply. Some more fine leatherwork to admire.
I tried different things. Saturating the leather overnight to get an even moisture content in the leather or simply dampening the leather with a sponge.
My idea is that true casing would be more sensible to do with heavier leather like 10 oz or more.

Can certain types of leather be tooled even without getting it wet?
 
Canesplitter said:
Dave, thank you very much for your reply. Some more fine leatherwork to admire.
I tried different things. Saturating the leather overnight to get an even moisture content in the leather or simply dampening the leather with a sponge.
My idea is that true casing would be more sensible to do with heavier leather like 10 oz or more.

Can certain types of leather be tooled even without getting it wet?
Click to expand...
I've not really run into any that tool well. On a water buffalo belt I won't dampen it for our maker's mark but it doesn't tool well anyways so we don't tool it other than our mark. And that is more of a cutting type stamp rather than just an impression. I highly recommend a product called Pro Carv (we get it off of Amazon) to mix in your water when tooling. Here's a pic of a water buff belt. Ya can see that the maker's mark is more of a cut than an impression.

C3nqVHW.jpg


Use to do some tooling on water buff as it is veg tan, but quit cause it just doesn't hold the tooling well and it lifts with time.
 
My leather is 10oz and I haven't had a problem wetting it with a sponge. I just wet it until it takes about 15 minutes for the color to come back. If the color comes back in five minutes or so, I wet it some more. It works well for me so far, but I'm not a pro. I have to wet it a little more before I finish tooling sometimes.
 
Horsewright said:
I've not really run into any that tool well. On a water buffalo belt I won't dampen it for our maker's mark but it doesn't tool well anyways so we don't tool it other than our mark. And that is more of a cutting type stamp rather than just an impression. I highly recommend a product called Pro Carv (we get it off of Amazon) to mix in your water when tooling. Here's a pic of a water buff belt. Ya can see that the maker's mark is more of a cut than an impression.

C3nqVHW.jpg


Use to do some tooling on water buff as it is veg tan, but quit cause it just doesn't hold the tooling well and it lifts with time.
Click to expand...

I just ordered a 32oz bottle of Pro-Carv on Amazon. Only one left...
 
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