Leather basics

[tommy the cat]

Yea I know its been asked a million times but for some reason searches have proved fruitless.
Want to do a sheath and a few other bits so what do I need?
Got some leather and thread.....birthday coming up so thought a basic kit from LePrevo would be nice.....also a book?
Anyway sorry to ask again but my search button seems to be tosh.
Ta Dave

 

[rancid badger]

I'll just go through a bit of a list,

Thread: linen 3/18 R.P. 25gms- any colour you like, but I mostly use white.
Block of bees wax ( small-about 70 or 80 p)
Needles: saddlers harness needles size 2 ( come in packets of 25)
sewing awl handle and blade.

you will need something like a stanley knife as well but I would assume you have access to one of these.

adding to the very basic list above you could then get:
a number 6 overstitch wheel-
a craftool stitching groover (adjustable)

As far as books go; buy "The Art of Hand Sewing Leather" by Al Stohlman. (£10)

This explains all the basic simple techniques in a plain and simple manner. It's a little dated in places (sewing with hog bristles!) but really very good

Supplier? where else to be honest?
I wouldn't go past Le Prevo, they actually have free, basic "how to's" on their website to get you going and will be more than willing to discuss what you need if you contact them.

I'm sure other's will either add to the basics here or correct me but I hope this is of help anyway.
If you do get stuck, just ask
If I cant help ( quite likely ), someone else will (definitely!)

best wishes
R.B.

 

[tommy the cat]

Thanks for taking the time to type that up fella.
It was pretty much what I thought O/ wheel etc.
Also was looking at that book as a basic intro.
Thanks will get the credit card out (again )
Cheers dave

 

[match]

I'd second all of what has already been said, but add a recommendation for another Al Stohlman book - 'Leatherwork Manual'

Covers all the basics of cutting, stitching, assembly, and also covers carving and embossing leather, for when you want to expand your technique. Its written as a school 'Craft Class' manual, so is quite a good guide to learn from.

Chapters include:

Getting to Know your Leatherworking Tools
Structural Assembly (stitching, seams etc)
Leather Fabrication (Cutting, Gouging etc)
Dyeing and Finishing

Again, quite dated, but an excellent reference book!

 

[tommy the cat]

Excellent will buy that too!
Dave

 

[wingchun]

Hi. For books, go to www. Amazon.co.uk and type "leatherwork" in the search field. There you will find a list of 48 books, both new and secondhand ranging from 30p. upwards. I think standard posting is about £2.75 from the UK or America. Check the sellers rating and where he is posting from. If from America expect about 10 days delivery and 7 from the UK. Register your card with Amazon and your details will be kept logged. Next time you buy, you will only have to sign in and click the "buy" button.
Wingchun

 

[tommy the cat]

Anything else what about dye and finishes? Fancy a dark brown mottled antique type effect.
Gonna put in an order to Le Prevo .....daft question but I presume that the colour of thread does not dye when dyeing the leather? ( thinking that it wouldn't anyway cause of the wax)
Maybe go for black thread any way.....could do with the book so as to see what to buy.....!!!!!!
Anyway ta dave

 

[T1tch]

Depending on how dark a brown you want, you can use shoe polish (haven’t tried it myself), or dipping the un-died finished sheath in hot beeswax results in a very nice shade (I have tried this after reading on a post around here somewhere - can't find it now) - but be careful that the wax isn't to hot, or you will ruin the sheath you just spent hours making! The added advantage of the hot dip is that it hardens up the leather - makes a serious difference.
Can't help you on the antiquing as I've never attempted it, but I would suggest that being a little aggressive with it while you are wet-forming the shape would certainly give it more of a lived-in appearance. Also you could use a split leather as that will give a more rustic feel.
With my first (and thus far only) attempt at a sheath the colour of the thread did not have much of an impact: All I had of a decent thickness was bright yellow, but after the hot dip it looks just fine - if I manage to get a decent photo I'll post it up so you can see what I mean.

Hope this helps.

 

[tommy the cat]

Ta was thinking of the black thread looks nice on dark brown sheaths.
Ta Dave

 

[leon-1]

If you've stitched it before you dye it and you are using linen thread then a lot of the time there will be a colour change in the thread and it may not always be even.

Feibings have a range of dyes and waxes which are designed to give an antique effect.

Normally if you want to dye something you will dampen it to allow the dye to penetrate the leather to a greater degree, but if you soak the leather and then dye with a dark brown oil based dye the resultant colour will be far from dark brown, it comes out more like a light milk chocolate colour. You can achieve some very good effects like this, but the downside is that it takes a lot longer to dry it naturally.

There are a number of things you can then use, a lot of the time though I will use resolene (also a fiebings product) which is designed to be used with their professional oil based dyes and I'll use gum tragacanth to seal the edges (I don't like edge kote, it's horrible stuff).

 

[tommy the cat]

Leon 1 I saw a sheath that had a dappled type effect by blotching on the dye over a number of coats....so I can use oil based and then finish with resolene?
Looks like I'm getting closer to ordering!! D

 

[brancho]

If you look here it gives a technique for a mottled effect on leather.

 

[tommy the cat]

Thanks for that I couldn't remember where I had seen it!!
Just thought that it looked really nice. Ordered stuff now so will let you know how (badly) I get on.
Dave

 

[Buckshot]

Feibings have a range of dyes and waxes which are designed to give an antique effect.
.

Looks like Fiebings are a US company, do they have a distributor in the UK?

Mark

 

[leon-1]

Looks like Fiebings are a US company, do they have a distributor in the UK?

Mark

I don't know about distributor, but any dye that you buy from LePrevo
or come to that from Abbey Saddlery is more than likely going to be a Fiebings dye.

There are a number of types, they have a standard leather dye, an acryllic based dye and a proffessional oil based dye, both Abbey and LePrevo stock them, but Abbey's range is far superior

There are three main volumes that you can buy in

4 Ounce
32 Ounce
3.79 litres (this is actually one US Gallon)

What they cover really depends on how much you use, but 4 ounce will do most projects including quite large possibles pouches / bags and then some. So you should be able to get about 3 to 4 decent sized sheaths from one pot.

Now there are a couple of antiqueing products, antique stain and antique finish, both come in quantities of 4 and 32 ounce and there colour range is limited mainly to tan's and brown's (oh and black).

Pretty much the whole range is available from Abbey Saddlery.

Now having mentioned this I should mention that you need to register and have an account with abbey saddlery to see their prices. On some things they are pretty good on others they are quite expensive. It's a bit like shopping in Asda or Tesco's, one is cheaper on some things than the other.

I have always had good service from both Leprevo and from Abbey saddlery, but you should never rule out Bowstock, their site isn't as easily navigable as the others and they don't hold quite the same amount of stuff but some of their tools are very cheap in comparison to the other 2 so they are worth having a look at as well. Bowstock's service has always been pretty good as well when I have dealt with them.

I hope this comes in handy,

Leon

 

[Buckshot]

Wow, what an answer:You_Rock_
Thanks Leon

Mark

 

[falcon]

Wow, what an answer:You_Rock_
Thanks Leon

Mark

I had the same thought..

 

[tommy the cat]

Stuff came from Le Prevo today. Quick service cant fault them. Just got to get some time to have a go at the sheath now......friday I have a window.....Dave

 

[falcon]

That's good Dave...you can bring the finished article on Sunday then Dave

 

[tommy the cat]

Hmnnn Sunday Stuart might have just worked out how to thread the needle by then!!!
Just been 'having a go ' on some leather I scrounged off the local cobbler. Not tried any stitching yet gonna have a look at the dye colour to see if that works out as well as the tutorial.....doubt it.
Anyhoo I will no doubt be tooo busy messing around with bow drills Sunday?!?!
All the best Dave