Making a Leather Bottle

[Eric_Methven]

Excellent tutorial. Thanks for doing it. My process is almost identical to yours. The only difference being in the final sealing of the inside. I tend not to use a thick coat of wax as I find it has completely impregnated the leather during the first process anyway so the thick layer of wax is not strictly necessary. I just pour some wax round the seam area once the item has cooled and it sets hard and seals the stitches nicely. I've done loads over the years and none have leaked yet. I did have some problems in the early days when I did it like you do. Some of my tankards got sent back to have the thick inner layer of wax removed as my customers didn't like the feel of wax on their lips when they were drinking. Some of them even came back with teeth marks in the wax . Nowadays I just let the wax inside the leather fibres do the job.

Eric

 

[jojo]

where could I get some wax in quantity? I have had a Google but haven't found anything yet.

 

[JohnC]

I got wax via a friend who had contacts with beekeepers.. A local beekeeping group may be of help. It was a lot cheaper than getting the little bits from the ironmongers

 

[Pitkin]

Thankyou for going to all the trouble to put up such a great tutorial, it makes great reading. The finished product is amazing, would love to have a go. Most inspirational and very well done Mike.

 

[MikeDB]

Thanks all for the comments. I have to admit that tutorials are somewhat time heavy and this one, where it could have gone all horribly wrong er, 'live' was fun....and a tad scary.

Mike

 

[fishy1]

This is a very interesting tutorial. I have a couple of questions:

Is it neccessary to cut the welt out of one piece of leather, as then you need an extra piece the size of the template that you only use a small amount for?

And, what does undyed leather look like when beeswaxed? As I have no dyes, and for one flask it's not really worth getting some I think. Can natural things be used?

Thanks

 

[ravensrod]

"And, what does undyed leather look like when beeswaxed? As I have no dyes, and for one flask it's not really worth getting some I think. Can natural things be used?"

Looks like undyed leather but will darken when exposed to sunlight. You could try cold strong tea for shades of brown. For black put some wire wool, rusty bolts or nails in a jar, cover with wine vinegar and leave it for a week or so. Strain it off and you've got your dye.

 

[AnnieSantiago]

This is just beautiful!

 

[Cobweb]

Wow, I hadn't seen this tut until now and I must say I'm impressed, you make it look easy, big kudos to you, once I get some nice leather, I'm going to have a go!

 

[VirusKiller]

Wow, I hadn't seen this tut until now and I must say I'm impressed, you make it look easy, big kudos to you, once I get some nice leather, I'm going to have a go!

Absolutely, and even more kudos when you turn up to a meet with one full of mead or ale!

I'm really glad this thread has re-surfaced; it's definitely making me want to try it out myself. It's a beautiful object.

 

[Sainty]

What a great job. I often wondered why leather goods were so expensive, now I understand.

Martin

 

[VirusKiller]

The photos are gone

 

[MikeDB]

The photos are gone

Yep, tell me about it. I've had a real issue with my photobucket album and have basically lost the lot. Also, been a tad busy in the workshop so haven't had the time to upload them all again. It isn't just these either. All the images I've posted over the last upteeum years are gone.

To use the words of the great Blackadder himself.......

Bugger

Mike

 

[VirusKiller]

Bugger indeed. Sorry to hear that. I take it you have all of the originals, the pain of re-uploading notwithstanding?

 

[MikeDB]

Bugger indeed. Sorry to hear that. I take it you have all of the originals, the pain of re-uploading notwithstanding?

Yep, still got the originals. The trouble with uploading them into photobucket again is that the links will all be different so to replace the pictures on the forums means I've got to edit all the posts again with new links. A job I will get round too, eventually

Cheers
Mike