stiffen leather?

[SDS]

Is there a way to make leather stiffer? I made a sheath out of leather that was a little too limp/limber for what I wanted but it was what I had laying around. I'd like to know if there is a way to make the leather stiffer/harder.

Thanks,
SDS

 

[tazzknife]

wet it and then put it in a dehydrator for about 4 hours, or you can wet it and put it in the oven on the very lowest heat for about an hour. Depending on what kind of leather and how it was tanned will determine how stiff it will get. But keep in mind that if you oil it, it may become pliable again.

 

[SDS]

Sounds good. It's in the oven as we speak.

Thanks,
SDS

 

[tazzknife]

Keep an eye on it so it doesn't scorch. If it is thin leather, it won't take an hour to dehydrate. Keep checking the stiffness of it until it doesn't seem to want to get any stiffer. Then take it out and let it air cool.

 

[LRB]

Leather starts breaking down at around 140o, to 150o.

 

[tazzknife]

true. I use a dehydrator to stiffen all the leather I do that needs stiffening and then don't worry about it. If you use the oven, you MUST check it often. Heavier leather is better in the oven than lighter weight leather, though I have done both in the oven.

 

[G L Drew]

If it's not finished yet, try dying it with a alcohol based dye. That always adds a degree of stiffness.

 

[Kindyr]

there are several ways to harden leather though all are variants of the same concept.

the first, and foremost rule is that the leather must be vegetable tanned. If you'regetting your leather from a regular leather dealer they will be able to tell you, but the "regular" leather from tandy is veg tanned.

in armour making, the term for hardened leather is courbouilli, which translates to boiled leather in french.(so I've been told) most leather workers discourage putting the leather in boiling water.

so those who work with hot water typically keep the water at 180 degree. dip the leathere till it reaches it's plastic state and form it to the shape you want. This can be done with forms(known as lasts) or freeform.

The way I have used with good results involve soaking the leather till it becomes pliable, then form it to the desired shape and place it on a wood dish in an over setto 180 degrees and check it every 15 minutes or so. The leather will swell a bit and become hard, almost to the point of wood.

other leather workers will add a glue(typically titebond 3 or elmers) to the water to further increase the hardness. I've never done that, so can't recommend one way or the other.

the other method uses molten wax to harden the leather, though for shealth work this may be counterproductive(wax being a lubricant making the leather easier to cut)

once hardened, the leather can the be treated with a water proofer.

I hope this helps

kindyr

 

[Metalhead0483]

I've used the molten wax method for hardened leather armor. It's really fast and easy adn it makes it really quite stiff, but kindyr is right, it cuts REALLY easily, so line it with something if you're going with that method...

 

[SDS]

I tried the oven method (wet it and put it in a warm oven) checking it often. It dried remarkeable quickly but worked okay. I knew I wasn't going to get that "armor tough" hardness but it's okay for what I wanted.

Thanks,
SDS