Making a Leather Bottle

[MikeDB]

This may well be a mistake but hey ho, lest we try…

A very non-definitive guide to how I make a leather bottle.

This bottle is based on the ones recovered from the wreck of the Mary Rose.

Bottles like this were commonly in use in Great Britain from the 11th century to the beginning of the 17th and hopefully this will be an example of traditional wax cuir bolli (soaked in boiling beeswax to create a great strength within the leather and a waterproof and fairly easily maintainable finish.

I should have really made this up first then posted but hey, let’s do it live (well, almost), that way, when I get the final wax dipping wrong and the bottle ends up looking like overcooked bacon we can all either laugh, cry or try to work out what the hell I did! :O

I’ll try to make this as painless as possible so bear with me and my apologies for missing out gert great bits; I think that some things need no pictures.

It starts out with a paper pattern and some 3.5mm (ish) veg tan shoulder

I have a master pattern in card but use paper on actual cutting.

Cut out the two halves and then the welt.

Some of the recovered bottles only had a partial welt, it seems to preserve the round shaping of the neck but I have found that the full welt not only adds much to the strength but also, when combined with a narrow edge prevents any warping of the leather.

The above shows the two halves and welt glued and the stitching pattern marked out with an adjustable groover. You need to be a little more creative with the stitch marks around the handle sections, just a matter of care, time and patience.
If I’m going to add any decoration I scribe in the design at this stage, be very careful not to go through the surface of the hide, if you do it can split open when it wet moulded.
After I’m happy with the stitching layout the holes are drilled out (1.5mm) then the bottle is saddle stitched with waxed linen.

Once I have got this far and am happy that it looks ok I mark the handle holes and cut them out. Now it’s looking more like a bottle, hopefully!

Now it’s off to the bath. I soak a bottle this size in several changes of hot water for a couple of hours, at least until the leather stops fizzing.
Pointless picture of leather fizz….

Once I’m happy the leather is pliable enough it’s time for shaping. I used to use sand but found it a bit of a pain really and now use pearl barley (thanks Eric!). It’s still traditional and much easier to remove from the item.

Packing the barley take a bit of time and the judicious use of a length of dowel to make sure it takes the shape you are after. It’s a fair effort too, a guide being that if you push hard enough to break the dowel then that’s too hard!
You also need to take care that you don’t mark the surface of the leather; any scratches on it now can be a pain to remove later.

I’ve just used a cork to seal the top here and will now let the poor thing rest on some scrap leather till it’s dry, weather permitting a couple of days. Any hint of water in the bottle can ruin the wax dipping so it’s really worth waiting.

It at least looks more like the final shape now.

Thanks for taking the time to read this, if any of you have got this far and are still interested then I’ll post the next steps when this bottle dries out.

Cheers
Mike

 

[Heathenpeddler]

Hey, great to see, it's good to watch the process from the start right through like this

 

[jojo]

Yes please, definitely interested in the next instalment. Very interesting. Thanks Mike:You_Rock_

 

[Eric_Methven]

Excellent mate. Thanks for doing this. I promised to do a flask tutorial ages ago but never got round to it.

Eric

 

[gorilla]

great pictures and explanation mate - i have just ordered some leather and basic tools, so tutorials like this are brilliant!
well done

 

[Dave Budd]

Ah, yet another of those things that I've been meaning to make for years and never got around too!

I've tried a couple of leather horns and a tankard and it's the wax bit that is the nightmare part in my experience, so I look forward to seeing you dip your bottle

 

[MikeDB]

Thanks all for the interest!

A small update then,

You may be able to see now that it's had 24hours drying time the leather is lightening up and is taking on a much harder shape. All I've added to this today has been some contruction lines for the decoration. This will be carved later when the leather is fully dry.

If you are thinking about this sort of project you need to be really sure of what your engraving/carving will end up looking like if you sketch it into the leather early as I did. The moulding process will distort the image. If you're not completely sure then only start to add decoration after the bottle has shape.

At this stage the edges are still fairly rough and uneven but I leave finishing till the leather is dry. You could make it all nice and smooth now only to find it warps or distorts during the drying process.

As a matter of note, if you're still with this the pattern roughly fits onto a piece of A4, that may give a better idea of overall size. It still took over 2kg of barley to fill though so you get an idea of the amount of stretch involved.

Cheers
Mike

 

[SOAR]

Great post Mike I can't wait to dee the final product, spot on fella.

Simon.

 

[fishfish]

fantastic ime gonna have a go at that!

 

[davep90]

how did you make the design on the bottle?
do you carve it out with a groover etc or press it into the leather with a pen like tool?

Dave

 

[John Fenna]

I have made a couple of leather bottles and no matter how much I wax them I still get minor leaks through the stiches.
Mind you I used goatskin so maby the thickness of the leather is an issue.
I also cooked one to wrinkles when filling it with overhot wax so be careful!

 

[MikeDB]

how did you make the design on the bottle?
do you carve it out with a groover etc or press it into the leather with a pen like tool?

Dave

It's roughly marked on with either a bone folder or brass clay working scribe (blunted)
The final finish varies between carved out or embossed depending on the design brief.

I have made a couple of leather bottles and no matter how much I wax them I still get minor leaks through the stiches.
Mind you I used goatskin so maby the thickness of the leather is an issue.
I also cooked one to wrinkles when filling it with overhot wax so be careful!

Never tried to make one in goat skin as I think it would be way too thin, (the goat I use for scriveners etc is anyhow) Most of the bottles I have researched are of much thicker leather. Another point may be that the goat doesn't close up round the stich holes when it's wet moulded perhaps?

I've found that most of the problems with wrinkling are down to moisture in the leather as opposed to wax temp. Althought the technique can be translated into 'boiled leather' (which can result in glue!) as beeswax is liquid at around 42 degrees it never really boils per se. I think the term may have come to light when you see the air escaping from the leather when it's dipped.

Doesn't stop the er, nervous anticipation when it goes in though!#

Cheers
Mike

 

[MikeDB]

Well it’s been 48 hrs and the bottle is near dry so just a few more steps to go in the making.

Time for a tidy up of the edges now the leather has settled a bit.

There are many methods for smoothing the cut edges but I just use a bone folder and either water or saliva. (if you want to be traditional then spit works really well as the enzymes react with the leather fibres)

It’s really just a matter of patience and work till you get the level of smoothness you require.

I’ve tried to show here how the bottle edge isn’t straight, this is caused by the moulding process and sometimes the leather drying out at differing rates, however this can be corrected after the bottle is wax dipped.

After I have the edges and any handle cut outs smoothed off to the degree I want it’s time to start adding colour, the process that for me starts to change the whole look of the item.

For a period looking bottle I’m going to use three oil dyes.

First a coat of mahogany then mid brown ending in a coat of dark brown. These coats are not even so when the bottle is waxed you can see a slight variation and depth of colour.

Looking more like the finished bottle now methinks. You need to bear in mind that the wax dipping will change the colour so the whole bottle will be darker when it’s finished.

Next the waxing……..

Cheers
Mike

 

[Eric_Methven]

Brilliant tutorial so far. What are you using to apply the dyes? Do you surface dampen the leather first (so you don't get any hard lines from the dye)?

Eric

 

[MikeDB]

Brilliant tutorial so far. What are you using to apply the dyes? Do you surface dampen the leather first (so you don't get any hard lines from the dye)?

Eric

Cheers Eric.

I use various things to apply the dyes depending on the end result I'm after. In this case, as the bottle has had a fair bit of handling and has been worked on in various locations I use Fiebings Dye Prep to make sure I get anything that might be on the leather off and then apply the dye while it's damp, if I'm sure I have no oils etc on the leather then yep, I dampen with water. Again, for this bottle I've used a wool dauber for the dye coat and then wiped any excess off with a lint free bit of old t-shirt. The picture above is showing the bottle after two colours, I've another dye coat to add yet which will leave it looking slightly more even but still mottled, hopefully.

Mike

 

[MikeDB]

Well I guess it’s time for the last bits on bottle making.

Waterproofing and hardening the bottle.

I’m not going into too much on Cuir Bouilli methods of which there appear to be legion, lets just stick with dipping the finished bottle into hot liquid beeswax.

Firstly then, get yourself a reasonable amount of wax and a gert great double boiler and let it melt. For a pan of this size (13 litres) it took about 2 ½ hours to melt fully.

I usually do this on a propane burner in the workshop but to aid pictures you will have to put up with the kitchen. Always keep a fire blanket to hand chaps, while beeswax melts at a mere 62 degrees and has a flashpoint of something like 254 degrees it will still burn if ignited, think huge candle and the sort of burn injury Ivan the Terrible would classify as ‘most amusing’

When the wax is melted it’s really just a question of immersing the object (turn off any flames)

(As you have spent a long time and much effort to get this far I’d recommend trying a test piece first)

When the bottle is submerged in the wax any air in the leather is given off and it bubbles, possibly another route for the term boiled leather as opposed to water boiling.

You can just see in the above picture the amount of fizz generated by the bottle.

I leave the bottle in the wax till the bubbles stop, no real timing as different pieces and different leather thickness will change the immersion time.

Once the bubbles have stopped remove the bottle carefully. Although it was fairly rigid from the wet moulding it will now be pliable and a tad hot! Wipe away any excess beeswax while it’s still hot, much easier than trying to remove it when it cools and leave the bottle to cool.

When the bottle is cool enough to hold but still fairly warm you can turn your attention to coating the inside and the seams. I simply use a funnel and pour some of the liquid wax into the bottle, keep the bottle moving to swill the wax around.

After you have built up a goodly coating of wax on the inside of the bottle let it cool off totally before you test it for leaks. Filling it with cold water too early can cause the wax to crack.

After it’s cooled off I just fill with cold water to test it. If that’s all ok then I fill it and leave it full for 24 hours just to be sure.

All that’s left now is some polishing and fitting of a stopper.

I’ve seen many types of stopper fitted to period bottles, some roughly carved from wood, others more elaborate and made from rolled leather.

I’ve just added a rudimentary wooden one here but may well change that, anyhow, it looks a little different from the flat and undyed shape of last week.

Thanks for taking the time to read this and suffering my rambles.

Cheers

Mike

 

[Heathenpeddler]

Thanks Mike, that was a great tutorial and I'm glad to see the end result looking so good! I've been thinking about making a small leather bottle for libations and will definitely have to try it - if I can convince SWMBO to let me do dangerous stuff in the kitchen!

 

[jojo]

Thanks for that, Mike, that's really useful tutorial and that's a lot of wax . So the waxing is done in two operations and I was wondering: when you immerse the bottle in the wax, does it not get inside it or do you need to prevent this in some way so it's easier to control the inside waxing?

 

[MikeDB]

Thanks Mike, that was a great tutorial and I'm glad to see the end result looking so good! I've been thinking about making a small leather bottle for libations and will definitely have to try it - if I can convince SWMBO to let me do dangerous stuff in the kitchen!

I wouldn't say dangerous really but it can make a fine mess if your not careful!

Thanks for that, Mike, that's really useful tutorial and that's a lot of wax . So the waxing is done in two operations and I was wondering: when you immerse the bottle in the wax, does it not get inside it or do you need to prevent this in some way so it's easier to control the inside waxing?

Yep, it's a lot of wax. The larger boiler holds more but was really too big for the session.
The take up of wax by, in this case the bottle is fairly small, you just need that amount of wax for the depth....

and yes, the wax fills the bottle, when the leather stops bubbling you just pour the wax out. You end up with a fine coating of wax on the inside but you still need to seal the seams and in my case I like to add a thicker interior coating, hence the double process.

Mike

 

[JohnC]

Very clear tutorial, and a great end product..