The Leather Element: Hardening Leather 

I tell people he is the Bob Ross of leathercraft. Bob Ross inspired my girlfriend to start painting and Chuck Dorsett inspired me to start leather craft.

i seriously love how excited this man is to talk about making leather stuff,

Note to self: Do not sass Chuck when he has a leather mallet in his hand.

I would love to see a more focused in depth video on the "curing" of the leather

There is a Tandy's near my house but I've decided in going to buy some stuff from Weaver just because of these videos.

Just got into leathercraft a month and a half ago. Made a holster, put it in water and then used my foodsaver to vacuum all the air out and wet formed the leather. Then stuck it in the oven to cure! Thanks for your videos!!!

A hammer to my project? I am an blacksmith.. thats kind what i do! Loved the vid and youre energy :)

Just recently picked up leatherworking because I'm a competitive axe thrower and throwing coach and wanted to make some sheath and axe beards. These videos have been incredibly helpful in explaining the little things that will make my projects go much smoother. You've got good energy, are concise and provide great examples. Your work is much appreciated.

These videos are exceptional. So informative and the passion for the craft is infectious. I never feel like you are pushing your products (which I'm sure match the high quality of the videos) but rather genuinely looking to share your knowledge and tips for the betterment of the art form. I've watched most of the videos twice and eagerly await the next ones. Thanks so much (from Canada, "eh")

I think it would be great if you could do a series on the layout and construction of leather armor IMHO.

Thanks for sharing your knowledge.We never get to old or to good to learn from others.

I have to say thank you. I have picked up this art and your videos have more than helped me on many subject's. Keep up the great videos.

Just found your channel and I can't stop binge watching it. Great stuff!

Chuck....You 'Da Man!!!!! I was just looking into hardening leather to make some ladies bangles. This video is very timely. Thank you.

Dude, your projects are amazing and your craftsmanship is incredible. I love your content!

Great video! Have watched several. Great teacher/teaching! Thank you for posting!

These videos are amazing!!! I cant believe I only found them now!

Man, you are amazin teacher, I learn so much from you, I bet you are the number 1 employee of the hole company, cheers and keep those vids coming

I am super excited about this technique chuck I can see all kinds of things that it could be used for thank you very much once again great teacher

My first project in leather was my hat. I accidently made it hard as a rock by wet forming with boiling hot water and then the dye hardened (dried) it even more. I ended up having to treat it with steam from a boiling pot on the stove to rehydrate the leather a bit to regain some flexibility in the leather and to adjust the fit. It was a learning experience lol. I know I could have taken a hammer to it it was so hard but I didnt.

I have been waiting to get a closer look at that suit... THANK YOU!

Very impressive demonstration on the armor. It's always nice to see a craftsman who is confident in his methods.

Been learning leatherwork in my free time and these videos are amazing faucets for knowledge

I just started working with leather today and I want to make one of those armored suits now. Looks awesome.

Thank you guys so much, this video is awesome. Great information and great ideas for new projects

Awesome demonstration Chuck!! I remember seeing that armor at Tandy when you worked there, it was pretty impressive then and still impressive now

could you demonstrate this technique

That gives me more ideas. To try.Thanks.

As always, nicely done. Thank you!

Thanks Chuck! I thought waxing was the only way one could go for hardening. Sooo much easier and delimiting for finishing. Fantastic and simple.

I have been wax hardening leather for years (SCA heavy fighter here) and as long as you use straight paraffin for your wax, and watch your temperatures, it's not as dangerous as this gentleman makes it sound. And using only paraffin, it won't wick into everything it touches like oil might. If you don't want it to soften in the sun, adding stearic acid to your paraffin will alleviate that issue. All that said, I'm excited to try the soaking / baking method, as wax hardening does not strengthen the leather, only make it keep its shape.

you are the beeeeest. I tried everything, nothing worked . but your method worked so good :D thanks

Love the energy he has you can tell he loves what he does

Thank you so much for the lesson. Teacher!

Well that was interesting it's an extremely fine craftsmanship

Thanks for another great video, you have really helped me to get over some bumps in my leather projects. Just also subscribed. Good info Chuck!

Thanks chuck great info

this guy is awesome, i just started and this advice is really helpful

I dont look up "Weaver leather craft" videos. But it seems every time I'm looking for an answer to a question on leatherworking this man here always has exactly the answers I'm looking for. On a completely different note I happened to buy some of their leather for a project recently and that was some of the finest leather I've ever used, most even thickness, not a visible stretch mark, scars, or tooling marks on it, and the backside looked like they went though and groomed it, no fibers hanging off it at all.

Very educational, thank you.

Thanks for great info!

Chuck, I can't believe how beautiful your Coat of Armor is! I'm going to use your method for another purpose. I don't plan on going to war with my project. I need to use your method to protect the skin my arms from the elbows down to my wrists. Whenever I do some work where my skin comes in contact with an object, I get bruising on my skin. I thought if you can use your suit of armor to protect your body from joisting and fighting with axes, I should be able to get the same protection from rubbing my arms against wood or steel. Thanks Chuck, you're the best. Best regards, Richard

Hey Chuck! Love your videos! But can you cover when to stitch hardened leather? I love to use contrasting thread to my main leather color, so would it be possible to chisel and stitch my pieces after it's been hardened and dyed, or would I have to do this beforehand?

This guy is absolutely awesome 😎

I would like to see photos of Chuck's work shop. It is well laid out and would like to use some ideas from it.

I love this guy

Thank you, Sir!

That is some wicked cool armor !!!

very nice video. thanks for the info.

Interesting very good information I am just starting doing leather and I love it !!!

Hey Chuck nice teaching out there in your videos! I have some specific questions about the when to do what and would be so glad if you, or anyone out there, can help me with this. I am making myself a leather armor. Do you tool and dye before you soak it and "bake"/cure the pieces? And do you assemble it after you cured it or before? Same question with paint or antique etc. I hope you´re doing well and i wish you all the best!

Thank you

Wow!!! That is GORGEOUS armor!!!! Game of Thrones needs you! Beautiful!!!

Great information

thanks ! love your videos .

Until this very moment, I had lived 3 decades without realizing I need a full suit of leather armor.

I might be a year late, but thank you. I recently started planning to make a custom sheath for one of my tools (old cheap one wore out) and was hunting endlessly for a nice and concise solution for hardening the leather. I've found so many pro/con lists for any imaginable method, but after watching this video and some time looking for second opinions (hope you don't consider that a slight) it seems oven hardening is the most reliable (or, better in my case, foolproof) option. Again, thank you!

Now i know as much as I knew before watching

Hey, Chuck, could you do a piece on when to use stitching iron punched all the way through the leather and when to use it more as a marking tool and finishing the stitch holes with an awl. Thanks love the videos ...........and your highly caffeinated personality !!!

Thank you sir 🥰

I’m sold this man is great! Fan! Subscribed!

I got the leather strap so often in school in the 1970s. It was definitely hardened leather given the state of my hands after a good few slaps.

Could you do a video demonstrating the leather firmer and what the final result is?

Thanks for the video. Possible diy rack for stamping tools like the one you have in this video -made out of wood ?

Chuck, that is quite a beautiful set of armor. I would like to see you wear that in a video. That would really be fantastic. The only armor I’ve ever seen was a full metal one at West Point. I always thought how hot it must have been inside. It must take you a long time to get in and out it.

Thanks, every time a great learn (sorry for the english)

Hello Chuck, I truly enjoy your videos. I have a question for you. I wet a leather holster and to shape it with suction. When I baked it, it shrunk into a piece of wood half the size it was. Was my leather too wet?

I've been f&^%ng around with trying to get this right for ages, and you've solved the mystery in five minutes. Thank you! When you come to baking in your more complex-shaped leather pieces - for example, as with your shaped/moulded holsters - do you arraign them in the oven to bake in the shape you want them? If so, how do you get them to keep their shape in there? What's an oven-friendly way of doing that?

Hi Chuck, really grateful for your videos. I veggie tanned a deer leg skin, does it make a difference how stiff your leather is to start? And what animal it is??? My deer leather is 1/8" thick fairly soft tanned.

Great one. One thing i'm missing: When would the slicking happen with hardening leather, before or after?

I wish I had this job or at least an apprenticeship

NICE ARMOR ! omg ! You're amazing ! So impressed with all that can be done with Leather. It's like the all purpose material ! LOL! EM CAD Designer/Drafter 13 yrs. 2 yr. Deg. + 4 yrs HS Formal Edu M Drafting Physics Major (Off cycle currently xfer student)

Thanks for the info. Great work as always! I was just wondering if there would be shrinkage to worry about when baking the leather.

I WANT THAT ARMOR!!!

Im actually looking to do this for some leather projects im doing for uni. Im going to try this for pieces, does boiling water really work well. Ill put an updatevon how it goes.

I am happy to see this. I would like to make some gift plaques for some friends of mine, using a hardening technique. The idea is leather piece about the size of standard paper, with a hand-tooled image of Africa (where we have worked) and their names/dates of service. Maybe add a very nice hanging feature with straps or loops. Do you have examples of something like this? Thank you so much!

is there a benefit to drying raw leather under high pressure? Would it make it denser and bond harder between the epidermal cells in the leather? I am talking pressure such as placing a house on top of a piece of leather and let it stay there until fully dried. Several tonnage per square cm, sort of thing.

Hey Chuck do you think we could get a Leather Element strictly on the oven baking method with demonstration. Ive followed your steps best I can from this vid but cant get it to seem to turn out the way your armor does.

Hello Chuck,my name is also Dan and was wondering about layering multiple layers of thick veg tan leather.would it be best to harden the outer most layer before I combine the layers?and should I glue and stitch them together and rivet the layers together also?I'm not concerned on weight as much as I am function.also would it be possible to use a resin along with Kevlar or fiber glass in between the layers?what I'm trying for is an armour without a lot of metal that's functional also.thankyou.

Don't know how I missed this one.

Couple questions, I've made a 8"X8" purse and wet formed it after assembly. Will the 200 degree oven hurt the hand stitching I've done ? Should I leave the forms in when baking ? Thanks

Hi. I hope you can help. I’m building a Viking round shield for full contact fighting. Should I harden the leather or just oil it to give it some give?

I realize this video is a few years old, however I have a question regarding the baking process. Do you place the leather on the rack or perhaps on some aluminum foil? I have some large pieces that I want to harden/stiffen flat, so I'm wondering if I should place the pieces on foil or something to prevent the rack from showing and/or heating too fast. And should I be concerned that the leather might curl during the baking process. Thanks.

Great video, I’m not sure I have an application yet but it was still a great thing to see and that armor is amazing. You mentioned it was pro dye, could you tell me which color?

I’ve been using oak bark to tan my alligator hides for a few years now. I normally use neatsfoot oil. How do you think beeswax would work on alligator?

question can you use an electric toaster oven to bake? Not large pieces but lets say arm guards/bracers/knife sheaths?

Will there be any shrinkage? What If if want to wrap a piece of wood very tightly with it? Can I bake it with the wood in it? How much difference does the weight of the leather make?

Hi. Is there a % shrinkage, or stretch, after the baking process?? Or more precisely: Can I put final cut size or shape into the oven??

@Chuck Dorsett Chuck, I like the idea of hardening the leather in the oven, but can I tool, dye and seal the leather before hardening?

Anyone know which method would be best for hardening panels of leather to be sewn onto a vest or jacket as a makeshift armor? Had a fun idea in mind for a cyberpunk themed event. So long as the leather can remain slightly flexible but also hold up to abuse it would work fine.

Hey...I was wondering your take on wearing your armor outside in rain? I applied a good 2-3 top coats to everything and should be pretty well water proof, but i put alot of time and work into it and would hate for it to get ruined. I guess what would you do?

If you tool something and then want to wet mould it- what would you advise?? Soaking it in the water for a minute and a half would loose a lot of the tooling details wouldnt it? Advice appreciated

Are there step by steps on how to make archer arm guards?

Can you do this after you made the item? I.E. I already sewed it with artificial sinew, dyed it and put the wax coat over it.

I have a question! Do I tool the leather first before baking or after?

Great video! This is exactly what I was looking for. Quick question for clarification: when hardening using the oven bake method, are you dying/finishing your project before or after the bake?

i think i messed up, tried hardning my holster, it looks burnt on back, shirnking on back and twisted, it was finished with dye and sheen. should i have hardend first before finishing. also do you keep oven on while its in for 20 min. new to leather

I watched this video. OUTCOME: I learned something. I watched it while eating lunch OUTCOME: I satiated my hunger. ;-)

I did the suggested time and temp and it was still not hard. Does the leather gauge and amount of time in water effect how long you should make it for.

What if the leather piece is bigger than your oven? Is the leather firmer technique just as good from a hardness perspective?