Hi, I'm just getting started with leather working, I'm making bible, missal, and liturgical book covers. What kind of leather do you recommend. I keep seeing top-grain, full-grain, and others. It's a bit confusing at times on which one to start with.
Hi, in terms of what leather there are so many options and it really depends on your taste. The first question is do you like a smooth or textured leather? Smooth leathers can scratch more easily such as Buttero, however there are some that are don’t scratch as bad like Wickett and Craig because they put a polyurethane spray over it to help abrasion. If you like pebbles you can go with one of my favourites minerva box however you can get pieces that aren’t consistent which is annoying. These are all vegetable tanned so they’ll burnish. Vegetable tanned leather also patinas. The other option is chrome tanned which will have great scratch resistance and be cheaper however, you won’t be able to burnish it. Another thing is do you want to make more refined covers or more rustic. My Bible and Missal have a textured leather so I would personally go with a pebble leather. With full grain and top grain I did a course where I did discuss those in my introduction to leather course: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-g8jXm4YH-eM.htmlsi=FD6XOzqB2WQnqlWC You should start with either full grain or top grain leather. The only difference is top grain just has some surface sanded away to make a consistent surface whereas full grain has no altered surface. There is a downside because you see the marks of scaring, scratching, fat lines etc. from the animal. That’s all, it’s not anything too drastic, some people like seeing the natural skin, others wants something more consistent. Either doesn’t change the strength of the leather. I made belts with top grain leather, it was very consistent surface whereas with full grain you see the raw surface which can be annoying if there’s a scar and you need to cut around it. You just want to avoid genuine and PVC/bonded leather.
@Josephmedcalf0 thank you so much for the detailed and helpful response! I got started with some full grain cowhide. I love the smooth feel, and your missal video above has helped me tremendously in getting started. That video alone has helped me get to the stitching point (your hand-stitch video is very helpful too!).
Just ask Are you from here? do you have family that live locally? Then after you ask them what hobbies they have. You could ask them what goals do they have
I prefer this introduction. Feel free to use it: Hi, I’m Jason and my favorite flavor of crayon is green, which do you prefer?’ Now the weird people will leave you alone and you can get stuck into that bar tab and buffet in peace.
I think the reason there is a Christian revival, more specifically Catholicism, which is true Christianity, is because the culture has gone so far to one end that people now have to search for the truth themselves. Conservatism is really just liberalism masked. Catholicism is unchanging truth. This need for an unchanging teuth that is universal is why I think yhe TLM has such appeal. It is beautiful, but it is also the Mass of all time.
In fact, it was the first wound dressing. A knot that could be untied with one hand and bandaged the wound was important. A tie is not an ornament or decoration. It had its real purpose.
Trench coats were privatly bought by officers. Wool is fire resistant and when wet retains some three quarters its insulation. By far the best material for WW1 in the wet western front. By the Korean war, the world understood that and new Zealand's wool industry expanded 400,%
Thank you, I got my shoe trees from Trimly. I have the older design boot trees but they have a updated design: trimly.com.au/products/premium-boot-trees-new?variant=42108512665825¤cy=AUD&cmp_id=17862645772&adg_id=&kwd=&device=m&gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAADQ7RHvKdyiowWbJ7kVzWM6umKvs-&gclid=Cj0KCQjw-ai0BhDPARIsAB6hmP6dqDoUwUt_568vXM_7lqrGV1xyD0sMD6WtXr5oACDOCMBjxmSNTfIaApRZEALw_wcB
I need to buy/make one of these for my mothers new faith journal 😊 what are you gluing in the video? I’m confused because it looks like you’re gluing the first piece of leather onto… the book?
You look great regardless 😊 Do you have an online page/shop? I have a few questions about leather crafting and am enamored with your work and craftsmanship ❤I follow you on my other account, you don’t have any shop linked but my fingers are double crossed you have one! I resent YT not having a message function for times like these 😢 (Got a couple questions about how to improve my craft and tool/materials since I seem to have THE WORST luck with buying supplies and I’m pretty sure I’m not strong enough to break things as easily as they do, but I might be doing something wrong 😅)
I love my tanner's tape, but when I have to use glue I apply it with a small scrap of leather. I save my leather dust and the dots that come from punching holes so after the glue dries on the little scrap I punch holes in it until it's gone. I use the dots as filling for leather stuffed animals and anything that needs stuffing.
Great video, i am new to leather craft , can you tell me what size of the edge beveler you are using, because size 3 for different brands is different , also suggest some brands .
You are correct different brands will have different sizes if they are the same number. For the main edges of belts you can either use a size 2 or 3. I use a size 3 Palosanto edge beveler for the edges of the belt and a size 0 edge beveler from Weaver Leather Supply for the belt keeper. In terms of brands Palosanto is probably the top of edge bevelers but they are a little pricey. You can also look at wuta that are a bit more cheaper and have a design similar to Palosanto. However, I haven’t used them before. The edge bevelers from Weaver Leather Supply are high quality and pricy as well but the design isn’t the best on thinner leather. But what you can do is bevel the piece on the edge as I’ve done in previous videos. I also do have some tool videos as well.
In the different things work for different people, plastic spreaders work OK for me but not great, what I use is an artist's spatula, the blade looks like a mini brickies trowel. Crepe rubber is a twofer if you rub it on clogged sandpaper you clean both.
It took me sometime to get used to the plastic spatula. That’s a smart idea using an artist’s spatula. I didn’t know you could do that with crepe rubber. Thanks for the tip ☺️
I am looking for a course. I worked with wood, metz, machines, etc. I can not buy quality real leather high-grade items anywhere, so it may not pay what I earn as a bond trader in the city but to produce quality items is an urge I have.
I am in the process of making a cover for the Roman Missal for Father to use during the celebration. I noticed you lined your Missal cover. Did you use a lighter weight leather or cloth?
MeToo to the plow gauge. Very expensive and I thought it would work better than the cheap strap cutter due to all the rollers and guides but it just doesn't and is so much more finicky to adjust. Second is the Craftool "Pro" stitching groover- in this tool, the groover bit is in-line with the handle and has the guide as the L-shaped piece and I thought this design would allow a straighter, more controllable groove than the regular style grooving tool with the offset L-shaped grooving bit, but was I ever wrong.. The in-line grooving bit is so much more prone to wandering off wherever it wants and ruining projects... The regular style of groover is actually so much more controllable but really needs the centre post to be thinner so it can ride the edge of the leather more precisely and consistently vs the blunt rounded post, but I still prefer it to the so-called "Pro" design...
Completely agree, I’m surprised with how many other people regret the plough gauge. I had a look at the tool, I’ve never used a groover before. That’s a great description, thanks for that 🙂
