Leather crafting
Encyclopedia
Leather
Leather is a durable and flexible material created via the tanning of putrescible animal rawhide and skin, primarily cattlehide. It can be produced through different manufacturing processes, ranging from cottage industry to heavy industry.-Forms:...
into craft objects or works of art, using shaping techniques, coloring techniques or both.
Dyeing
Leather dyeingDyeing
Dyeing is the process of adding color to textile products like fibers, yarns, and fabrics. Dyeing is normally done in a special solution containing dyes and particular chemical material. After dyeing, dye molecules have uncut Chemical bond with fiber molecules. The temperature and time controlling...
usually involves the use of spirit or alcohol based dye
Dye
A dye is a colored substance that has an affinity to the substrate to which it is being applied. The dye is generally applied in an aqueous solution, and requires a mordant to improve the fastness of the dye on the fiber....
s where alcohol quickly gets absorbed into moistened leather
Leather
Leather is a durable and flexible material created via the tanning of putrescible animal rawhide and skin, primarily cattlehide. It can be produced through different manufacturing processes, ranging from cottage industry to heavy industry.-Forms:...
, carrying the pigment deep into the surface. "Hi-liters" and "Antiquing" stains can be used to add more definition to patterns. These have pigments that will break away from the higher points of a tooled piece and so pooling in the background areas give nice contrasts. Leaving parts unstained also provides a type of contrast.
Alternatives to spirit stains might include a number of options. Shoe polish
Shoe polish
Shoe polish , usually a waxy paste or a cream, is a consumer product used to polish, shine, waterproof, and restore the appearance of leather shoes or boots, thereby extending the footwear's life...
can be used to dye and preserve leather. Oils such as neatsfoot
Neatsfoot oil
Neatsfoot oil is a yellow oil rendered and purified from the shin bones and feet of cattle. "Neat" in the oil's name comes from an old name for cattle. Today, many consider the best quality neatsfoot oil to be that which comes from the legs of calves, with no other oils added. Neatsfoot oil is...
or linseed
Linseed oil
Linseed oil, also known as flaxseed oil, is a clear to yellowish oil obtained from the dried ripe seeds of the flax plant . The oil is obtained by cold pressing, sometimes followed by solvent extraction...
can be applied to preserve leather but darkens them. A wax paste more often than not serves as the final coat.
Sweat and grime will also stain and 'antique' leather over time. Gun holsters, saddlebags, wallets and canteens used by cowboys and buccaroos were rarely colored in the Old West. The red, brown, and black tones develop naturally through handling and as the oiled leathers absorb the rays of the desert sun.
Due to changing environmental laws, alcohol-based dyes are soon to be unavailable. There are currently water-based alternatives available, although they tend not to work as well.
Painting
Leather painting differs from leather dyeing in that paintPaint
Paint is any liquid, liquefiable, or mastic composition which after application to a substrate in a thin layer is converted to an opaque solid film. One may also consider the digital mimicry thereof...
remains only on the surface while dyes are absorbed into the leather. Due to this difference, leather painting techniques are generally not used on items that can or must bend nor on items that receive friction, such as belts and wallets because under these conditions, the paint is likely to crack and flake off. However, latex paints can be used to paint such flexible leather items. In the main though, a flat piece of leather, backed with a stiff board is ideal and common, though three-dimensional forms are possible so long as the painted surface remains secured.
Acrylic paint
Acrylic paint
Acrylic paint is fast drying paint containing pigment suspension in acrylic polymer emulsion. Acrylic paints can be diluted with water, but become water-resistant when dry...
is a common medium, often painted on tooled leather pictures, backed with wood or cardboard, and then framed. Unlike photographs, leather paintings are displayed without a glass cover, to prevent mold
Mold
Molds are fungi that grow in the form of multicellular filaments called hyphae. Molds are not considered to be microbes but microscopic fungi that grow as single cells called yeasts...
.
Carving
Leather carving entails using metal implements to compress moistened leatherLeather
Leather is a durable and flexible material created via the tanning of putrescible animal rawhide and skin, primarily cattlehide. It can be produced through different manufacturing processes, ranging from cottage industry to heavy industry.-Forms:...
in such a way as to give a three dimensional appearance to a two dimensional surface. The surface of the leather is not intended to be cut through, as would be done in filigree
Filigree
Filigree is a delicate kind of jewellery metalwork made with twisted threads usually of gold and silver or stitching of the same curving motifs. It often suggests lace, and in recent centuries remains popular in Indian and other Asian metalwork, and French from 1660 to the late 19th century...
.
The main tools used to "carve" leather include: swivel knife
Swivel knife
A swivel knife is a chisel-edged blade held upright and mounted on a pivot with a saddle for a finger. It is held somewhat like a pencil, but between the thumb and middle fingers, while the forefinger rides in the saddle above. It is used to outline and cut a design into the surface of leather as...
, veiner, beveler, pear shader, seeder
Seeder
A seeder is a stamp-type leatherworking tool used in leather carving. It is predominantly used in floral designs to represent the seeds in the center of a flower, hence the name. Similar to other stamp-type tools, it is held vertically over the leather and struck with a wooden or rawhide mallet...
, cam, and background tool. The swivel knife is held similar to pencil and drawn along the leather to outline patterns. The other tools are punch
Leather punch
A leather punch is like a hole punch for making holes in leather. Some versions of this tool allow the size of the holes to be changed by selecting from various sizes of hollow cylinders which act as the cutting surface. Typically used for making holes for buckles in shoes, belts and bridels.....
-type implements struck with a wooden, nylon or rawhide mallet
Mallet
A mallet is a kind of hammer, usually of rubber,or sometimes wood smaller than a maul or beetle and usually with a relatively large head.-Tools:Tool mallets come in different types, the most common of which are:...
. The object is to add further definition with them to the cut lines made by the swivel knife.
In the United States and Mexico, the western floral style, known as "Sheridan Style", of carving leather predominates. Usually, these are stylized pictures of acanthis or roses. California, Texas, and a few other styles are common. By far the most preeminent carver in the United States was Al Stohlman. His patterns and methods have been embraced by many hobbyists, scout troops, reenacters, and craftsmen.
Stamping
Leather stamping involves the use of shaped implements (stamps) to create an imprint onto a leatherLeather
Leather is a durable and flexible material created via the tanning of putrescible animal rawhide and skin, primarily cattlehide. It can be produced through different manufacturing processes, ranging from cottage industry to heavy industry.-Forms:...
surface, often by striking the stamps with a mallet
Mallet
A mallet is a kind of hammer, usually of rubber,or sometimes wood smaller than a maul or beetle and usually with a relatively large head.-Tools:Tool mallets come in different types, the most common of which are:...
.
Commercial stamps are available in various designs, typically geometric or representative of animals. Most stamping is performed on vegetable tanned leather that has been dampened with water, as the water makes the leather softer and able to be compressed by the design being pressed or stamped into it. After the leather has been stamped, the design stays on the leather as it dries out, but it can fade if the leather becomes wet and is flexed. To make the impressions last longer, the leather is conditioned with oils and fat
Fat
Fats consist of a wide group of compounds that are generally soluble in organic solvents and generally insoluble in water. Chemically, fats are triglycerides, triesters of glycerol and any of several fatty acids. Fats may be either solid or liquid at room temperature, depending on their structure...
s to make it water-proof and prevent the fibers from deforming.