A lot of reenactment level work is about learning appropriate historical crafts and skills. This board is for all general skills that don't have their own forum.
But Pete, Mom made sure my hide was thoroughly tanned when I was a kid!
Greg, please post pics when you are done. I'm hoping that as you guys post pics, it'll make me find the time to finish some things up to post myself. I look forward to seeing what you are doing.
Ichthean Forge (pronounced Ick thee an). Maker of knives, and primitive camping gear.
Alrighty, I've got another question regarding Tandy. I've bought tools from them before, but never leather.
If I don't need an entire chunk of the leather that's up on their racks, but rather just a few square feet of my leather of choice, will they actually cut and sell me a few square feet, or do they only sell FULL hides, and simply PRICE by the square foot?
Steven's right. They won't cut their leather to sell pieces. Everytime you cut pieces from a hide you are rendering a goodly amount unusable. The size and shape of the remaining piece drastically cuts down on the projects you can use it for.
What are you looking to make and what weight are you planning on useing ?
I'm looking into buying some stoned oil sides around 3-5 oz. for various projects, including a blacksmith apron, a vest, and some other smaller projects for friends in my trekking group, but I can't afford the $70+ that it's going to require to pick up a full one, so I'm searching for options online. Problem is, most scrap/remnant bags for sale online don't look like they've got pieces big enough for even the smaller projects.
EDIT: HOLY TOLEDO, I'M IN LUCK! I found what I needed on ebay finally; 5 scrap pieces, all within the dimensions I'm needing, for six bucks plus reasonable shipping. Still, any advice you might've had for my earlier question, please give for further reference and/or others.
Last edited by Greg on Wed Apr 29, 2009 12:32 am, edited 2 times in total.
Much cheaper, virtualy the same weight and you can apply your own canuba/beewax blend after you're finished. This would also improve the waterproofing of your seams.
It looks like an oily suede, darker finish and a matted suede look. You can improve the look by useing a hair dryer on hot high setting. This will force more wax into the leather giving it a less waxy look. The suede will still appear a bit matted though. For an apron or many other applications, it won't be an issue, for the vest it might be.
Peter Remling wrote:It looks like an oily suede, darker finish and a matted suede look. You can improve the look by useing a hair dryer on hot high setting. This will force more wax into the leather giving it a less waxy look. The suede will still appear a bit matted though. For an apron or many other applications, it won't be an issue, for the vest it might be.
Well, as of now, I'm covered on parts for the vest, so that's a non-issue. Thanks for the tip!
