THERE ARE TWO PARTS TO THIS POST BECAUSE MY EXCEPTIONALLY POOR PLANNING AND RUN ON OF THE KEYBORD FLOODED THE PREVIEW SUB PROGRAM. Putz…
Anyway…Ask any accomplished craftsman about the idea of neat trim and finish in their product and see how quickly they affirm its importance.
Being particular about the leather you use for a project is one thing…brain tan, veg tan, etc….but most guys will have access only to what they pick up at rendezvous or a retail vendor. A couple of tips that will start your project off right from the get-go were taught to me early in my shoemaking career;
If you are going to work with veg tan cowhide, whether sheath, portmanteau, bag or holster, “read” the hide before you start cutting. Do this by wetting and wringing a sponge and swiping it across as much of the surface you will work with as you can. All the scars, irregularities or marks not readily visible will stand out and you can deal with them.
Working with one of the more supple leathers, such as those billed as “garment” or “upholstery” or “Deer Tanned Cowhide” because the color or surface appeals to you, you can get around that plastic looking finish with a really stinky fluid called “Deglazer” . Open a window and turn on the fan because this stuff is noxious. Look at this little patch next to the bottle in the pic. It started out with a shine to beat the band. When I washed it not only did the shine go away but it got a whole new look and patina.
You can’t use it on larger projects, but you will greatly enhance the character or patina if you get rid of the modern finish.
Next to finish one of the more subtle measures of quality is a process called…”Skiving”. This is done when you want a distinct taper along the edge of leather piece where the edge tapers down to a really thin edge generally known as a feather. It makes a big difference in your finish work in addition to being necessary in some projects. As a Cordwainer, I have never cranked out a pair of shoes without a feather somewhere. The two most common uses of it for a cobbler might be on the tip of a belt where it folds under the buckle and meets the rest of the belt, or on the edge of a bag. Here I want to show the latter as taught me years ago.
Look at this set of patterns for a simple, lightweight belt bag that will fit in either an 18th or early19th century outfit.
Rather than bind the edge of the flap with a strip of leather, I will fold the edge over the lining and close it. That thick, black line on the outer edge of the flap is what’s going to be skived or feathered and folded.
For me, the most effective knives are curved. That’s something one has to get a feel for working with.
I made the two short blades from some stock sold as shoemakers knives. I was never a big fan of moon knives, learning to use them out of principle rather than convenience, but they work well in this role.
The trick is to cut at a steady, consistent angle where you slice lengthwise along and toward the edge. Allow the blade to hit the surface of the cutting board and a very shallow angle on the very edge of the piece you are feathering. In these pics, the slicing starts at the inside edge of that thick black line and is gradually worked in slicing motions down to the edge. The delicacy of the feather is managed by the way you cut.
When finished, it should look like this;
SOMETIMES.
You may not want to skive this thin if making a welted seam around the pouch of the bag ( lest it give out) but you may want to skive thin if rolling a strip of leather over, let’s say, the top of the front of your pouch
As stated, The reason for this cut is because the edge is going to get folded back over the lining and stitched closed without the benefit of one of those strips commonly used to seal the flap edge.
Some guys use rubber cement, some guys use contact cement, and some guys use stuff known as leatherweld. The former two stink and the latter requires a waiting period while it sets. Contact cement, when applied to both surfaces and treated to a session with a hair dryer, will be permanent. Use it with windows open. The only thing I use rubber cement for is to coat bone inlays on a rifle before staining the stock. I judge it does not hold well on leather, but sazeech hiz own.
Check out this stuff;
More on this in the next post, Part B
Tight Stitches
The Capgun Kid
AKA The Still River Cordwainer
