Wetforming a probably idiot question

[Man of Tanith]

Evening All
so today's stupid question
should i feel the urge to wet form a sheath for my bahco laplander is it just a case of soaking the leather wrapping the knife in a protective thing and leaving it in the wet leather whilst it moulds to the shape that i can then stitch together once dry?
Cheers in advance
Sam

 

[g4ghb]

Yes and no.....

yes wrap the item in cling film or similar to protect it, soak the leather then you have to mould the leather with your fingers, a spoon etc . just leaving it will not really get a good form you need to coax it into doing what you want.

You can also stitch the sheath (making it a snug fit) and then wet form, I think it is probably easier ;-)

 

[g4ghb]

Hold on! :togo: what am I doing!!?!?

What am I doing giving you hints!



seriously though mate, any other advice I can give just ask, you know that!

 

[John Fenna]

I sew up the basic sheath and then soak the leather.
The item (in cling film) is then inserted into the sheath and the leather moulded by hand and spoon to conform to the shape of the object. As the leather driesit sets more into shape and when half dry I remove the object from the leather so the lether can dry from inside as well as out - I often put the leather in my dehydrator on a low setting to speed this up.
Once the leather is dry I check the fit and if all is good I then dye/wax/polish it to a final finish.
If the fit is not all I want then I will resoak the leather - all or just in the area that needs adjusting - and work on it again.

 

[Kerne]

You can also stitch the sheath (making it a snug fit) and then wet form, I think it is probably easier ;-)

This gets my vote as well. I always wetform sheaths after I've sewn them. (Though I tend to wetform pouches before I sew them, but always using a former to get the shape I want.)

 

[Man of Tanith]

graham dont panic i am only experimenting!
you'll still get plenty of trade from me but i have a hankering to try making something for myself
shall see how it goes thanks for the hints so far

 

[Totumpole]

That's good to know! Been
Meaning to get some good thick leather to wet mould me a sheath for a while, but not been able to find thick enough leather.
I also have a question of a similar nature. I have a ray nears wet moulded pouch which has got a bit at points - You can see the water marks. It's also starting to soften up quite a bit. How am I best to try and remedy both these? Apologies for the slight :threadjack:

Colin

 

[Man of Tanith]

thread jack away i will probably be asking the same thing a few weeks from now

 

[HHazeldean]

That's good to know! Been
Meaning to get some good thick leather to wet mould me a sheath for a while, but not been able to find thick enough leather.
I also have a question of a similar nature. I have a ray nears wet moulded pouch which has got a bit at points - You can see the water marks. It's also starting to soften up quite a bit. How am I best to try and remedy both these? Apologies for the slight :threadjack:

Colin

I believe that if you soak it in beeswax it might help but I have no experience of this myself.

HTH

 

[g4ghb]

not sure what you mean Colin - what has got a bit at points?

Does it matter that it is softening? - this is often a good thing. I find that the wetforming process does tend to stiffen the leather a little so (and the quicker it dries the more the effect) You could try running it under a warm tap till it's wet then leave to dry over a radiator. a Beeswax dip is a great way to make it VERY hard but not that easy to do on the small scale and could make it look worse.

 

[John Fenna]

I find a 50/50 beeswax/parafin wax mix gives almost armour-like stiffness to even quite floppy leather.
If you cannot dip the leather in the mix melt the wax in a stainless mug inside a stainless bowl of water and paint it on the leather using a disposable paintbrush. If the leather is carefully warmed - ie with a hairdryer or hot air gun - the wax will penetrate better. If the wax sits on the surface of the leather warm it into the leather with a hairdryer/hot air gun.
Do not over heat the leather or it will shrivel up like pork cracking!
If the leather has a finish you want to keep just wax the rough side or inside of a pouch and hope that the wax does not go all the way through the leather!

 

[Biker]

I find a 50/50 beeswax/parafin wax mix gives almost armour-like stiffness to even quite floppy leather.
If you cannot dip the leather in the mix melt the wax in a stainless mug inside a stainless bowl of water and paint it on the leather using a disposable paintbrush. If the leather is carefully warmed - ie with a hairdryer or hot air gun - the wax will penetrate better. If the wax sits on the surface of the leather warm it into the leather with a hairdryer/hot air gun.
Do not over heat the leather or it will shrivel up like pork cracking!
If the leather has a finish you want to keep just wax the rough side or inside of a pouch and hope that the wax does not go all the way through the leather!

Just saved this tidbit of info. Thanks John! Got a block of beeswax in my works cupboard downstairs and I know just the job I can use it on.

 

[Eric_Methven]

If the leather has a finish you want to keep just wax the rough side or inside of a pouch and hope that the wax does not go all the way through the leather!

Wax working its way through to the grain side of the leather from the back can, on some items look very nice. Especially if you want the item to develop a nice patina. It works best around stitched edges where the wax creeps around the edge. You can get a nice dark brown graduated colour change all around the stitched area. It looks good on bags and pouches.

Eric

 

[Totumpole]

not sure what you mean Colin - what has got a bit at points?

Sorry, that was meant to be it has got a bit wet at points, damn iphone autocorrect. I see your point.
Thanks to all for the advice.

Colin

 

[John Fenna]

Wax working its way through to the grain side of the leather from the back can, on some items look very nice. Especially if you want the item to develop a nice patina. It works best around stitched edges where the wax creeps around the edge. You can get a nice dark brown graduated colour change all around the stitched area. It looks good on bags and pouches.

Eric

I like the lok too
Not everyone does though....