After you wet form leather is there a way to make it softer. I have done it a few times now and the leather turns solid as a brick.
Wetforming Leather
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neatsfoot oil will work i would have thought, although i havent tried it on wet formed leather, just stiff leather
neatsfoot or mink oil but they change the colour and you loose the snuggness of the wet forming fit.
Using hot water instead of cold to wetform stops it stiffeneing as much. Other than that, not much to be done. Anyway, a sheath wants to be as stiff as possible, the stiffer it is the more resistant to cutting it is. As said, a softened wet form sheath will lose its grip after a short time and lose its form to some degree. I use a hairdryer to dry mine for a bit more stiffness 
Thanks for the advice.
HB - Its not a sheath that I am making at the moment, it's a pouch for my compass, which fits nicely so I didnt want it to be dead stiff after wetforming it. I havent wetformed it yet but I think I may pass and go ahead and dye it. Just got a problem the screw for the stud I am using is magnetic
so I will have to get a non-mag one somehow.
Thanks for the tip on using hot water - does it have to be hot hot for that?
HB - Its not a sheath that I am making at the moment, it's a pouch for my compass, which fits nicely so I didnt want it to be dead stiff after wetforming it. I havent wetformed it yet but I think I may pass and go ahead and dye it. Just got a problem the screw for the stud I am using is magnetic
so I will have to get a non-mag one somehow.Thanks for the tip on using hot water - does it have to be hot hot for that?
Thanks for the advice.
HB - Its not a sheath that I am making at the moment, it's a pouch for my compass, which fits nicely so I didnt want it to be dead stiff after wetforming it. I havent wetformed it yet but I think I may pass and go ahead and dye it. Just got a problem the screw for the stud I am using is magnetic
Thanks for the tip on using hot water - does it have to be hot hot for that?
Just what comes from the tap mate. No need for more than that. If its too hot for your hand, then consider that too hot for the leather, what burns one will burn the other, they are both skin after all.
The leather will shrink if its too hot, shrivel up even.
Something I have found when I make a sheath is that the dye stiffens it up a lot - as though it was wetformed.
If I then give it a light coating of olive oil, it softens the leather just a tiny bit (I think it counteracts the drying effect of the spirits in the dye) but it doesn't make it soft. Just a little more pliable. It is still possible to wet the leather again afterwards and form it around the knife.
By 'coating' of olive oil I mean a light coating - applied by means of a J-cloth which has had a teaspoon of oil poured onto it. I can usually do a whole sheath with about 2.5-3 teaspoons of oil.
You can still wax it afterwards, but is best done after dyeing, as the oil will prevent even absorption of the dye.
If I then give it a light coating of olive oil, it softens the leather just a tiny bit (I think it counteracts the drying effect of the spirits in the dye) but it doesn't make it soft. Just a little more pliable. It is still possible to wet the leather again afterwards and form it around the knife.
By 'coating' of olive oil I mean a light coating - applied by means of a J-cloth which has had a teaspoon of oil poured onto it. I can usually do a whole sheath with about 2.5-3 teaspoons of oil.
You can still wax it afterwards, but is best done after dyeing, as the oil will prevent even absorption of the dye.
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