Casing Leather
…..by Bob Park
Casing is probably
the most important
step in preparing leather to be tooled and I am
frequently asked about the process. I'm sure there are
many variations but the following is a common
technique and it works well for me.
Years ago, saddle shops would have a "casing box"
which was usually a wooden box lined with galvanized
steel sheets designed to prevent moisture from
escaping the box. Needless to say these boxes were
anything BUT airtight and a pretty wet piece of leather
could be placed into the box and the next day when it
was removed it was ready to tool.
Today, we use plastic trash bags, ziploc bags and ice
chests, all of which prevent ANY moisture from
escaping....especially the plastic trash and ziploc bags.
When a soaked piece of leather is sealed in a plastic
bag, everything is preserved...moisture and
all...resulting in leather that is not cased...just soaked!
The purpose in casing leather is to achieve moisture at
a saturation level that allows the leather to be tooled.
Properly casing the leather will result in cleaner, crisper
and better colored tooling. In addition, properly casing
the leather will allow you to tool a little longer than just
wetting with a sponge. Simply wetting the leather with
a sponge IS NOT casing!
When using plastic bags, much of the moisture in the
leather must be allowed to evaporate BEFORE it goes
into the bag. I let my leather begin to return to it's
natural color before bagging it. I want it a little wetter
going into the bag than I would want it to begin
tooling. The idea is for the moisture to be evenly
distributed through the leather and not wetter on the
top or bottom.
I wet my leather, by pulling it through a pan of water. I
want to see bubbles coming out as it passes through Bobby
the water...but waiting until all the bubbles are gone is
way too long. One will quickly learn how much is
enough. The same holds with learning what the leather
should look and feel like when properly cased, which is
a color close to natural, with a cool feel when touched
to the cheek. It's pretty easy to get the hang of it!
Once the tooling process begins, try to avoid frequent
re-wetting. The frequent addition of moisture results in
a loss of tooling definition. The colors fade, beveled
and shaded areas begin to raise and the tooling just
doesn't look nice and crisp any longer...because it isn't!
And while there is nothing wrong with wetting the
leather and tooling it in one sitting, it won't have the
nice burnish that is achieved when beveling and
shading properly cased leather...nor will it cut as
nicely.
When I am tooling a project that I know I can't finish
without re-wetting several times, I break the tooling
down into sections and keep everything not being
tooled covered with plastic wrap which preserves the
casing until I am ready to move on to the next section.
I am not saying that moisture can't be added as you
go...it's just that the more frequently it is, the more
color and definition is lost. During breaks I cover what
I'm tooling with plastic wrap also...squeezing as much
air out as I can.
Another popular method for preserving moisture
content is one preferred by leather artist, Peter Main.
Peter simply wets the edges of the leather and then
covers the entire piece with 1/4” plate glass which
effectively seals in the cased moisture until it's time to
continue. Peter told me that he has been able to
preserve a project for upwards of one week utilizing
this technique.
Directly related to this subject are the use of additives
to the casing water and the use of backing materials to
control stretch. In the interest of simplicity, however, I
will address these techniques another time.
As I have stated there are a variety methods being
utilized by toolers and saddlemakers....this is just the
one I use and it's a pretty simple process....I hope you
find it helpful on your next project!
© 2009, Bob Park Custom Leather