Leather flask!

[Nighthawk]

So as many of you may remember, I had a good friend pass away a year ago. He was the person who taught me the art of leather. He and I were working on making leather flask when he died. We had it cut out and stitched together, but that was as far as we had gotten. I ended up throwing it away the day that he died, which I have regretted ever since. So with the anniversary of his death coming up, I started to think that maybe I should take a stab at making a leather flask all on my own. I did, and this is what I came up with:



He used to take the whole bottle and dip it in the wax, let it fill completely, let it coat completely on the outside, and then poor the wax out. I tried to do the same. Mine didn't come out as nice as his used to, but for a first attempt, I have to say that I'm rather pleased! I know my next one will be much nicer. And I know now why he never carved images into his bottles... They just don't come out very well!

So- I did do a little research before I started this project and found a tutorial to help guide me. It's here,

http://woodtrekker.blogspot.com/2011...er-bottle.html

if anyone is interested.

[Andy Ternay]

As I told you earlier, nice work and a good start!

I don't dare click the link; I cannot afford another hobby!

[Bugbear]

That's a pretty cool idea.

[Nighthawk]

As I told you earlier, nice work and a good start!

I don't dare click the link; I cannot afford another hobby!

Ah yes- on FaceBook!

That's a pretty cool idea.

Ted- what it is, is 2 pieces sewn together, soaked in water, and then packed with something (in my case, sand) to make the leather stretch and balloon out. Once that's done and the leather dries, you dip the whole thing in wax.

[Bugbear]

That makes sense, thanks for explaining it, Hawk.

[be da veva]

Ted- what it is, is 2 pieces sewn together, soaked in water, and then packed with something (in my case, sand) to make the leather stretch and balloon out. Once that's done and the leather dries, you dip the whole thing in wax.

When it's dry you pour out the sand and then you dip in wax?
Is it hard to get all the sand out or is there a little left inside when you wax it? I imagine the wax would cover the sand on the inside?

Just curious.

[Kilted Rogue]

Nighthawk, there is a great leather forum on the web that has a tutorial on that bottle you made. Here is the link to the tutorial

I wanted to try it my self, but never got the time .. Great work!!

[Nighthawk]

When it's dry you pour out the sand and then you dip in wax?
Is it hard to get all the sand out or is there a little left inside when you wax it? I imagine the wax would cover the sand on the inside?

Just curious.

I used a wooden dowel to pack the sand, and then I use the same dowel to break it loose once the leather was dried. Then I put a couple metal nuts into it, shook the heck out of it, and the rest came out just fine. And then, yes- I dipped it into the wax.

[hylander]

I checked out the tutorial and noticed this:

"Once I'm happy the leather is pliable enough it's time for shaping. I used to use sand but found it a bit of a pain really and now use pearl barley. It's still traditional and much easier to remove from the item.

Packing the barley take a bit of time and the judicious use of a length of dowel to make sure it takes the shape you are after. It's a fair effort too, a guide being that if you push hard enough to break the dowel then that's too hard!"

http://leatherworker.net/forum/index...pic=3084&st=45

The barley sounds easier to use than sand.

To see the pics you need to sign in as a member (its free to be member). If you are at all interested in leather work and haven't checked this site out take a look, a lot of good stuff.

[Nighthawk]

I checked out the tutorial and noticed this:

"Once I'm happy the leather is pliable enough it's time for shaping. I used to use sand but found it a bit of a pain really and now use pearl barley. It's still traditional and much easier to remove from the item.

Packing the barley take a bit of time and the judicious use of a length of dowel to make sure it takes the shape you are after. It's a fair effort too, a guide being that if you push hard enough to break the dowel then that's too hard!"

http://leatherworker.net/forum/index...pic=3084&st=45

The barley sounds easier to use than sand.

To see the pics you need to sign in as a member (its free to be member). If you are at all interested in leather work and haven't checked this site out take a look, a lot of good stuff.

Oh yes, I am a member! Thanks for the suggestion! The sand was indeed a pain in the butt. I will be using barley in the future. Also, I had the bright idea of throwing the flask in the oven for 15 minutes and melting the wax. It looks much better now!!