Rogue Leather

There have been a couple of comments recently asking about where I get my design ideas and whether or not I will be publishing patterns. Honestly, whatever I didn’t pull out of my own head was more than likely either copied off of something I had seen at an SCA event or something I found on the Internet.

I’ve seen some cool ideas for carving on tattoo websites, but I always make sure that the images I base my designs on are not copyrighted in any way. In this day and age, you gotta be real careful about what you copy, even if you don’t plan on selling it. The last thing I want is for some jackass lawyer to come ’round with a stack of paper in his hand because my design looks like his client’s.

Now, as for whether I will publish or give away my patterns and designs, allow me to put on my Asshole Hat for a second here. The entire point of doing this sort of thing is to be creative and enjoy yourself. I will never publish complete designs with instructions and measurements and such, because I want you to use the grey matter between your ears. If all you are looking for is instructions on pounding out some crap to sell or give away or whatever, go somewhere else. The world is full of knock-offs, and I would much prefer you take enough pride in your work to screw around with it until you think it looks good and would be happy to give it to a friend and have them show it off ’round the campfire.

There has been more than one occasion where I have taken a half-hour to carefully replace a screwed up rivet because i couldn’t bear to look at it. Would you?

As an example of this, I was at an event last year and discovered I had left my hat at home in July, and needed to get some shade on my head quick. I wandered over to a haberdasher’s and selected a wide-brimmed number with one side folded up. Now, it was all leather, but the guy had slammed it out on a commercial-grade machine, had run over his own seams partway instead of matching them up, and the hat generally had this “half-assed” feeling to it, like the maker was just trying to push out some stock for his booth.

Unfortunately, the guy got me talking and I forgot to ask how much it was until he was halfway through sizing it for me. He wanted $125 for this thing. The leather itself cost maybe $15, and the skull pinning the side up another $3, so he basically wanted $112 for the _maybe_ two hours he spent building and fitting it. If he hadn’t sized it for me I would have turned and left – as it was, I bought the damn thing and felt like an idiot for it.

So. The point here is that if this is the kind of work you plan on doing, get the hell off my website.

If, however, you plan on taking pride in your work, giving attention to the details and making things for friends and family that you will be proud to have them fuss over, well, you my friend are welcome here. But I still want you to think! Be creative! Use my work as an example of what can be done, but don’t blindly copy it for yourself. (Unless, of course, I have managed to perfect something beyond any hope of improvement. Then you may copy. snerk)

In the end, it all comes down to what you want other people to think of your work. Are you just goofing around in the garage, or do you want to make something to remember? Do you want your projects to get tossed aside after a year or two, or do you want your grandkids to ooh and ahh when you tell ’em you made it?

Me? I want the grandkids to ooh and ahh.

Just a quick little teaser of the Camera Case project to show off a technique I just figured out – here’s the side panel of the case all carved up:

The new technique is the gridwork in the middle of the design. I purchased a couple of new shaders a while back, and this is the first chance I’ve had to play with them on a real design. I like the way it turned out.

The trick to using tools like this is all in the alignment – if you overlap them just a touch, it looks good. If you try to line the impressions right next to each other, you may end up with a thin line of material that isn’t stamped. As always, you gotta practice with it.

Actually a double post: tools to have, and how to carry them around!

We’ll start off with a picture:

Here we can see some of my most-used tools in the roll-up pouch I made for them. From left to right, we have:

• a slot punch for belt buckles,
• my stitch groover,
• a belt-tip punch,
• a couple of bevelers,
• my #2 edge tool,
• a 4-way hole punch,
• my folding razor knife,
• my swivel knife,
• a selection of hole punches.

I also have a rotary punch, which is an excellent tool, but it’s only good for punching holes less than an inch away from an edge. For holes farther into a piece of work, you need a simple punch like these above.

The swivel knife is of course used for carving leather, and that razor knife makes cutting out the pices so much easier than using shears on heavy leather.

The 4-way punch doesn’t get a lot of use. I don’t do much in the way of lacing leather, and that is the main use of it. The #2 edge beveler next to it, however, gets used on every project to round off the square edges left by my razor knife.

The beveling tools next to that are used on leather carvings after the swivel knife to add dimension to the artwork. The stitch groover has gotten a lot of use lately, what with all the sewing projects I have attempted. The remaining tools are just for making straps – one puts a nice clean end on the strap, the other punches the slot for the tongue of a buckle or the key slot for a Sam Browne closure.

The tool roll was one of the first few things I made after my girlfriend gave me a starter set of tools for Xmas. I like having pockets and hooks for my tools, and this seemed like a good way to keep them stored and organized in my tool bag so I wasn’t always digging through a pile of stuff for them.

I started with a chunk of scrap leather, and only trimmed a little of it off to get the shape you see here. Then I just laid out my tools, folded the bottom over them and drew lines in between for a seam guide. i started on the right, and you can see how I mis-judged how the leather would gather – I thought that pocket would only hold one punch. The one next to it went a little small – that’s the only punch that will fit there. Luckily enough, I had it figured by then and the rest went pretty smoothly.

To finish the project, I whipped up a couple of buckled straps and riveted them to the left side. Here’s what it looks like all rolled up:

With the top flap rolled down over the tools and then the whole thing rolled up and buckled, it keeps everything tucked away inside, and the bundle fits neatly into my tool bag.

There is a selection of other tools in my bag, but the bag itself has many pockets that does the trick quite well. My stamping tools, however, will likely get a new case in the near future since they are currently stacked up in my parts box and I invariably have to dig all of them out to get the one tool I want. (Which is why the bevelers got moved to the tool roll.) It’s getting late though, so I’ll leave those for another post.

The project has been finished, and I thought I’d show you a few of the stages involved. Here we can see that I have completely cut the final design and beveled the edges. I’m quite happy with the result, although I have once again forgotten to purchase tracing paper and got one of the trefoil arms slightly off-center at the join. It doesn’t stick out too terribly bad. It gives it character, dammit!

Once I had that done, I glued together all of the welts and then carved them back down to the proper slope. That was tricky, almost ended up throwing the first attempt away. Once I had it all laid out though, I knew it would work. So, on to some glue and garage bondage:

Bulldog clips are your friends.

Once that was dry, I gouged the stitching groove and used my overstitch wheel to mark off the stitches. Then I took a long look at myself in the mirror and forgave myself for what I was about to do…

I cheated.

The ghost of Al Stohlman may haunt me for it, but I knew there was no way I was ever going to push an awl through all of that leather – Hell, I stabbed myself in the finger on a test piece and damn near severed a nerve!

While I could have possibly driven the awl through with a hammer, my stitching awl is a two-piece model that can change blades and I figured I would probably just break the darn thing. Instead, I put a 1/16th inch drill bit in my Dremmel and drilled about 95% of the way through everything from the cut side down. That took about 75% of the work out of pushing the awl through it to stretch the holes and the last layer of leather – this way the stitch is held more firmly by the leather trying to seal up around it. It also allowed me to make sure the hole on the far side was in the groove.

The next day it was time to break in my new stitching pony and get sewin’. Of course, I broke a needle on the third stitch – crappy needle selection on my part. For leather this heavy (8/9 ounce) get a #000 Harness needle and you should be ok. Those “general purpose” Tandy needles are too thin at the eye and will snap if you wiggle them in an effort to stretch the hole.

Note the extra chunks of leather glued to the pony to protect the work as I stab it.

Now, if you read Al’s book on hand sewing, he tells you to make your threads a double-arm length, or about twelve feet. Here’s why: math. Each of the smallest stitches in this piece took up about 1/2″ of thread on each needle, and the full 26″ seam (24″ inches linear, with an inch of back-stitch on each end) took 18 feet of thread.

Eighteen feet!

The first 5 feet got me just around the first bend, starting from the skinny side. The second 5 feet got me even with the hilt of the sword in the artwork. The third 5 foot thread got all the way to the last linear inch, and then I had to grab another three-foot length to go that inch and the back-stitch.

For your first few stitching projects, your fingers won’t have any protective calluses, and they are going to hurt when you are done. I suggest you get some good leather gloves, which will add protection without ruining your grip or traction. And when you are done, don’t pick up anything hot or you’ll drop it on your foot when you yank your hand back. I almost lost a dinner plate that way.

In this picture, you get to see the finished product: (Thanks to my buddy for the much better pic.)

Now, you may be wondering how I got that interesting finish out of it. Here’s how:

Be a dumbass and try an un-tested Fiebing’s Walnut Oil Dye on a finished project, watch it dye unevenly and panic. Add a second coat of dye before the first has really dried, then rub with a cloth. Watch this one dry until a weird patina forms, then leave it be for 15 minutes. Freak out a little more, then use a Deglazer to remove the patina. Let this dry for about 2 minutes.

After the two minutes, notice that the dye is still uneven and apply a third and fourth coat. Let it sit for ten minutes this time and get that patina going, then hit it one more time with the Deglazer. Now give up forever on getting the color you wanted and rub vigorously with Neatsfoot Oil to try and repair what damage you can.

Voila! You know have a mildly distressed finish to the project that you worked so hard on! The closure tab is the only thing that came out the right color, and there is a small chance that the leather had something to do with it – that bit is from a different hide. It was probably all user error though.

Next project: something a little smaller – a needle case, and possibly a travel case for all my carving tools. Something like a leather pencil box. We’ll see.

*UPDATE* The new owner loves it, and wants to wear it around. If I had thought she might, I would have built it with belt loops…

Do not, I repeat DO NOT let your bracing finger slip whilst punching a hole through leather and stab yourself on the inside of the first knuckle joint.

DAMN that hurt like a bitch until the nerve settled down. Or in this case, went numb. I can’t feel the outside of that finger now. I’m sure it will be fine in a couple of days, but nnggyahh!

There will come a time, probably in your first project, where you realize “oh crap! I gotta sew this thing together somehow!” Fear not, it isn’t as bad as it looks.

Two of the first tools you should buy are a sewing awl and a Speedy Stitcher. The awl is simply a thin spike with a nice handle on one end, and is used for punching holes in leather. The Speedy Stitcher is a combination of an awl and a sewing needle.

Saddle Stitch

The stitch you will use most often in leatherwork is called the Saddle Stitch. In the simplest terms, it is a pair of running stitches going in opposite directions. It is typically made by using two needles, one at each end of a length of string.

Take two pieces of leather and lay them one atop the other with the edges aligned. Punch an evenly-spaced series of holes about 1/8″ from the edge through both layers with the awl. We’ll say 4 holes and call them H1-H4 accordingly.

Now thread both needles onto the same length of string, and tie one at each end. We’ll call them N1 and N2. Now push N1 through H1and pull the string through until you have the same length on either side of the work. Next, take N1 and pass it through H2 to put it back on the same side as N2. Take N2 and pass it through H2 the other way, then tug both needles outward to snug things up. Both needles have now gone through the same hole in opposite directions, and you have made a loop of string in the work. You have made one stitch. Lather, rinse, repeat.

To finish, you can either learn how to tie a knot and have it cinch down between the two layers or just sew back the way you came a few times and cut the threads.

With the Speedy Stitcher, you can simplify things a bit. If the leather isn’t too thick, pre-punching the holes may not be necessary. If it is, use an awl or a lacing punch to at least start the holes, which I will be lazy and call H1-H4 again. Once you have that done, lace the string through the Speedy’s needle and leave an inch or so hanging free. Push it through H1, grab the string with your other hand, then pull the SS back out of the hole, leaving the string behind. Pull enough string through to make it to the end of your row of stitches – about three inches longer than the row of holes.

Now push the SS through H2, in the same direction as when you went through H1. Now pull it back out about halfway – the thread that went through should have bunched up a bit leaving you a loop. Pass the other end of the thread through this loop, hang on tight to it, and pull the SS the rest of the way out of the work. Last step is to tug the thread tight, leaving the “knot” you just made hidden between the two layers of leather. (Pull the thread one way and then the other until you get it sunk correctly.) Repeat for the rest of the holes.

For those of you that are wondering, this is exactly what a sewing machine does – they just mechanized this process. And if you have a large budget, they make hand-crank machines for thick leather.

To finish, sew backwards a few holes and cut the threads close, or you can cut the SS off the thread and switch to the two-needle method of closing.

Butt Stitch

When you need to join two pieces of leather edge-to-edge instead of surface-to-surface, you’ll need the Butt Stitch. This one can be a bit tricky, so you should definitely pre-punch your holes. Since the strength of the leather is very important here, you should use the awl for this. The tip of a Speedy Stitcher needle is triangular and sharp, and will cut the leather fibers to make the hole. The awl, on the other hand, doesn’t cut the leather, it just pushes all the fibers aside and makes a clean hole without weakening the work.

This is important because what you’re going to do is push the awl through the leather at a 45 degree angle in such a manner that the tip exits through the edge and not the other surface. If we imagine for a moment that your leather is actually a Webster’s Dictionary laid flat, you’re pushing the awl through so that in enters the book through the front cover, but exits through the side, somewhere in the middle of the “N” chapter. Do this for both pieces.

Now lay them edge-to-edge on the table and run your first stitch through. The needle will enter the top of the first piece and exit through the side, then enter the second piece through the side and (with a little judicious tilting) exit through the top of the second piece. You can use your SS for this part, and it comes with a bent-tip needle for just this situation. For the hand-stitchers, they make curved needles too.

(Note: if you want to make a box, bevel the edges of your leather and sew straight through the base of that “V”.)

For a more in-depth instructional on how to sew leather, check your favorite suppliers for a copy of Al Stohlman’s the Art of Hand-Sewing Leather. Al Stohlman has written many books on leather craft, and he and his wife are recognized as two of the best in the biz. (Or at least Al was until his death.) All they do is Western style, but the methods underlying it all are very solid.

I started this project a few weeks ago, you can see the original post here, down below the funny picture. Well, I finally sat down and finished the painting and applied a matte finish. I’m pretty happy with the results, once you step past the fact that this is a prototype job – there is a flaw in the leather, and the dye job is pretty atrocious.

Let me take a moment to go into that. On the bottle, the directions clearly state “wipe off the excess dye with a cloth before letting it dry”. What they don’t say is WHY. Here’s why: if you don’t, that puddle of dye will seep into the corners of your cuts and pool up. When it does dry, the liquid medium will have gone away, leaving a crust of pigment behind. If you don’t go back and gently scrape it off, it will flake away over time and / or as the piece is bent and moved.

It’s a bad thing, and easily preventable. And despite your normal reaction in this modern world, do not reach for a paper towel. Paper towels can leave behind lint which may get stuck in the dye, not to mention the fact that they wick that dye right back into your hand. Being the father of a teenager, I have a ton of old t-shirts the boy grew out of before he destroyed them, and I cut them into rags for this purpose.

The tricky part is when to wipe it off – do it too soon, and the dye doesn’t penetrate. Wait a few minutes after applying the dye, and see how well it is absorbing into the leather. If any of the dye doesn’t sink in after a couple of minutes, then you can wipe it up.

Now, on with the pictures: We’ll start with an almost-halfway point. I have shaped the piece, and traced out the entire pattern then cut the center star.

If you look closely, you’ll notice a couple flaws in this piece. It was supposed to be the final version, but I made a couple mistakes when transferring the pattern – it twisted on me slightly. this is why you should use tracing paper and not opaque paper!

This is also why I’m using cheap belly and not the expensive stuff. $25 for a 6-foot by 15-inch piece of scrap is well worth it once you calculate in the knowledge you gained by using it for test work.

The second flaw is a spot in the upper right-hand corner: I dripped a little water here and it dried before I could wipe it up. Since I planned to dye this piece it wouldn’t have been an issue, but it is something you need to watch out for if you want to keep a natural finish.

On to the completed test piece:

You can’t really see it in the picture, but the open spaces to the sides of the star are weakly dyed, and the color is not uniform. Fortunately, the matte finish I applied after painting it has blended the flaws in pretty well, and I could almost ignore it for my personal use. (I wouldn’t give something like this to a friend, though.)

I am very pleased with the way the paint turned out though. Nice even color throughout, and that matte finish gives it a nice, even shine without being too gaudy. This all proves that it can be done, I just need more practice.

Stay tuned for the next project: the Cleaver Scabbard.

One of the first things I ran into where there was a serious lack of good advice was in finding a good paint to use on leather. Figuring I would go to a good source, I called around to my local art supply shops and asked what they would recommend. Bearing in mind that what I wanted was a paint that would be fairly flexible and weather-resistant (within reason) they all agreed that I should be using an acrylic medium. What they could NOT say, however, was which brand would be best for the application.

Gee, guys – real helpful there. I ended up picking a brand pretty much at random and taking a couple small bottles home to test. I wasn’t exactly thrilled with the results. Read more »