How to case leather for tooling, properly...

Notice in the title there's a comma in there for dramatic pause, followed by the word "properly". Poorly "cased" leather is one of the most common mistakes I see with newer leather workers. And quite possibly the reason that their tooling never progresses and they end up losing interest in the art form. So I figured it warranted a post dedicated to an art form all it's own, Casing Leather.

What is cased leather?  In short, it's getting the moisture content of the leather just right so that the hide can be tooled, carved or stamped with your design. It also makes cutting out the pattern or trimming the edges a little easier than when it's dry. But be aware of what you're doing once it's cased! Cased leather is when your project is the most vulnerable to marring or marks from your fingernails, tools or ANYTHING that comes into contact with it. If you do have one of those moments where you made a stray mark and want to cuss, don't lash out irrationally. Follow this link to another blog post with a video on how to fix it: Removing Stray Marks From Leather

CASING LEATHER DOES NOT MEAN WETTING IT WITH

 A SPONGE AND GOING TO WORK!

I just can't stress that enough, that's why it's in giant letters and underlined. I struggled with it for quite a while and based my technique (or lack there of) off of some things I had seen in some books from Tandy. And admittedly I had skim read most of it or just looked at the pictures and thought "I got this". At the time, there just wasn't a plethora of information on the internet about it yet. It takes a little time and practice to get it right and I have been guilty of improper casing even after I knew better. But, taking the time and getting it right will make a world of difference in the final piece. Properly cased leather will yield a burnish that is amazing and will provide depth and dimension to your tooling that you otherwise can't achieve. If the piece is too dry it will be difficult to tool and won't retain the shape that your tools are putting into it. If the piece is too wet, especially if it's saturated, it will leave a muddled look to your design and will look like a bag of mashed up ass. So take the time to do it right and I promise you wont be disappointed.

While the "proper method" to get to your end result of a properly cased piece of leather is debated between many leather workers on different forums and Facebook group pages. The end result is what truly matters. If you ask 100 different leather workers what their casing method or technique is, you will probably get just as many answers. BUT, most skilled leatherworkers will all give you the SAME answer as to what it should look and feel like when it's cased and ready to tool. One of my favorite articles on the subject was written by 2015 Stohlman Award winner Bob Park. I really can't articulate it any better than he does and I share this same article on Facebook groups like Leather Work Patterns every time the subject comes up. So, I contacted Bob and asked permission to share it with you here and he was more than willing to share. So read this from top to bottom, then read it again. Make it part of your routine EVERY time you prep a piece and you will see a marked improvement in your finished work.

Bob is the 2015 Al Stohlman award winner and one of my favorite
 leather artists to watch and learn from. He's an incredible talent and
 you can find more of his work at Bob Park Custom Leather

If you're having a hard time reading this on your mobile device, you can also find the PDF version here.

Ok, so now you have the skinny on Casing leather properly. In that article Bob briefly touches on additives. That's the part that I'm referring to that leatherworkers usually debate. Different additives do different things. For instance, adding a little Dawn dish soap to your casing water is thought to slow down the process of it drying out and allow you a little more time for tooling. Adding a little glycerin to the solution, and this is debated heavily in some circles, can help give a better burnish. While other's will stand firmly that you do not add anything to the water and that they get a great burnish from just using water. Then there are also several ready made casing solution additives like Pro carve and the like, that can do a lot of the same things as the other additives.

 So, who's right? I know this is going to sound a bit like a cop out, but I agree with them to some extent, all of them. I think each has it's own place in our craft and can accomplish a little something different. I also think that it depends on the water in your area and whether it's soft water or hard water, well water or city water. I suspect that ambient temperature and relative humidity also play into the equation to some degree. It will also depend how it's stored and how you back it to prevent stretching. I'll go more into those in another post some time.

So the best casing solution is the one that works for you, in your region of the world in whatever your current conditions are. You'll need to play with them all and see what works best for you and provides the results you're looking for.

For Me, I found what I believe is the right casing solution when I tooled this variation of a Jesse Smith Pattern for a toiletry bag. These two pieces are not dyed or antiqued, they were tooled, allowed to dry, lightly oiled and allowed to set over night then coated with Wyosheen.

 I think the burnish results in these two pieces speak for themselves.

 

 

I'd like to extend a very special thank you to Bob Park for allowing me to use his article and for teaching us all a very valuable lesson in leather working. Without people at his level that are willing to share the knowledge and pass it on to a new generation of leatherworkers, this uniquely American craft might end up extinct.

 

LFFL,

Craig

 

 Please be sure to leave comments on you Casing Process, Solution or your thoughts on mine.