Leather Working
Leather craft is the art of making articles from leather that are both useful and beautiful. It is one of the oldest known crafts. Tanning and leatherwork call for a comparatively small investment in tools but can yield a great amount of satisfaction. |
History - Instructions - Online Tools - Patterns - Projects
The craft of tanning is older than civilization itself. Chemical tanning, as it is practiced today, existed at least 5,000 years ago there are Egyptian wall paintings showing tanners at work with their tubs and mixing vats. Long before that, our prehistoric ancestors used the hides of animals to clothe themselves.
Leather Crafting Leather crafting is making objects out of leather, the first step is to layout the design of the finished item, then cut assemble and finish it. There are many different ways of finishing and decorating the leather, dying, punching, embossing, lacing and other stitching methods all add character to the finished product. Several techniques may be utilized depending on the design of the article. Getting Started With only these four tools it is possible to get started working with leather: 1. Beveler You just push a beveler at an angle along a cut edge to remove the sharp corner to acheive a finished look. 2. Adjustable Punch With this punch you can make different size clean holes for lacing, rivets, belt buckles, etc. Eventually you will likely aquire separate punches that you hit with a hammer to make the hole, these come in onlong shapes as well to cut slots. Until you get a slot punch you can punch a hole at each end and cut between the holes with your knife. 3. Awl A scratch awl is invaluable when working with leather, use it to mark your leather as you lay out your design, enlarge holes etc. 4. A good sharp knife. You can start with a utility knife, eventually you will find that there are several knives that you will prefer for different tasks. About Leather Full Grain or Top Grain Leather is a good grade to start with, it can be used for belts, handbags, and many other projects. Leather can be dyed different colors, there are special dyes made for leather as well as products to finish and protect the leather. How To Finish The Edge of a Piece of Leather Some Key Techniques in Working Leather Basic Geometric Leather Stamping Instruction Basic Leather Handstitching How To Basic Leather Carving Techniques Braiding Instruction and Techniques
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Early man made foot coverings and clothing from leather. Throughout time, leather was used in many other ways. In the middle ages people drank from leather cups, wore leather armor, and rowed in leather boats. |
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