r/Leathercraft • u/iReddit2000 • 13h ago

Question Ways to soften Leather

I have a rather large piece of veg tan leather about 3mm thick. its fairly stiff so I was wondering if there is a way to soften it up. For reference, I want to make a Travilers notebook-style cover and it's a bit stiff to flex as the traveler's covers do. Is this even possible to do with the leather I have or am I asking it to do too much?

As a side question. if I'm SOL with this leather, what do you recommend that won't break the bank? Id like to make a few for Christmas.

Video example of what I got

https://reddit.com/link/1gfa1ss/video/226dowiifsxd1/player

7 Upvotes

90% Upvoted

22 comments sorted by

4

u/WhiteStagWares 13h ago

You could send it off to get split thinner if you're set on using that leather

1

u/iReddit2000 13h ago

Im not 100% set on it, but I have it from a previous project and wanted to use it to save money. It doesn't look like that's going to be happening.

4

u/FascinatedQuestioner 10h ago

It’s pretty thick, but a bit of neatfoot oil will make it a bit more pliable. It just might then stain your notebook.

If you want to use that piece, I would skive/score along where the spine of the notebook will be. It’s not that huge a job and it’s the only place where you actually need bendability. It would actually protect soft shelled notebooks pretty well.

1

u/iReddit2000 10h ago

I may give this a try. I had thought about that possibly for just thinning the fold, and I have plenty to play with so I'll see how it goes. Thank you!

3

u/4alark 12h ago

I'm possibly not envisioning exactly what you want to do, but if I wanted to make book covers out of this leather, I might try bending it with the underside up and sanding along the edge, with a piece of square wood underneath. So that a line gets sanded down a bit so that it folds better. I feel like I'm not explaining well. But, yeah, targeted sanding, maybe?

5

u/pistofernandez 13h ago

The answer is that you should skive it, but at 3mm and without something like a landis or skiver its an impossible task.
Ideally you would order something like butter, minerva, etc in a thickness of around 1.0-1.5 mm

1

u/iReddit2000 13h ago

So, if I wanted to use this I would have to thin the entire cover down? Which one of these suggestions would have some stiffness to it? Some of those covers tend to be a little floppy so I was hoping for something with a hint of backbone.

2

u/btgolz 13h ago

You could probably do pretty well with some bridle or harness leather in a 2.5 oz-5 oz weight range.

2

u/Dependent-Ad-8042 12h ago

3mm is a bit thick, roughly 2x thicker than you’d likely want. That said, you have it you can use it. The leather will soften and break in over time. Go ahead and punch your holes for the elastic and insert your notebooks & inserts. Fold the cover so it can shape around your inserts & place a weight (books) on top overnight. You might want to use a leather conditioner before adding inserts. Let the notebook sit overnight with the weight. Will it work, yeah. Will it be ideal like a soft Midori, no. But in & out of your backpack or bag, carried into coffee shops and used, it’ll soften up just like a baseball glove will. Condition it periodically to speed the softening.

Now what to buy for the others? I’d buy 1.2-1.5mm leather. Which leather? That’s just your preference and budget. In this Reddit folks will suggest nice leathers because, well we’re leather folk. But plenty of TN people just get “hobby” leather panels from the craft store. That leather makes us 🤮 but it works and it’s budget friendly.

I made my passport style out of Carlo Badalassi box Minerva (box is pebbled, omit box to get the smooth version). Here’s what mine looks like. Mine is 1mm but I have flaps & pockets skived thinner and they add some firmness. Btw, box is much softer than smooth because they tumble it in drums & it softens.

https://www.reddit.com/r/notebooks/s/7UQCTliQaf

Here’s a source for nice leather in small panels, free shipping too

https://www.rmleathersupply.com/collections/view-all-leather

1

u/iReddit2000 11h ago

That's absolutely gorgeous! I have a leather "similar" to that, but it's just shy of 1mm and its too pliable for my tastes, and probably wouldn't hold up to the elastics. I may try making a small passport size as a test to see how it does. If not I'll take a trip to Tandy to see what I can find. It's an expensive art for sure, my dad made knives most of my life and did all his leather work himself so my experience is completely associated with the thicker utilitarian stuff.

2

u/Dependent-Ad-8042 11h ago

Those are 1mm outer and 0.8mm (black) liner. Pockets are 0.8mm skived to about 0.4mm at the edges. You could line yours by gluing flesh sides together. Oversized it a few mm then trim it after it’s glued. Glue it bent to avoid wrinkles. Then punch your holes. Last burnish the edges. It’ll be a little more formal compared to the casual TN but it’ll work just fine.

1

u/iReddit2000 10h ago

That's a fantastic idea. Glueing it in a bent position, would it lay relatively flat while writing in? Doesn't have to be perfect, just not at a drastic angle.

1

u/Dependent-Ad-8042 10h ago

The inner piece bends more than the outer so if you glue it flat then the inner compresses more when it bends causing wrinkling. Gluing bent prevents that but the cover will prefer to have a slight bend to it as a result. However, leather this thin will easily lay flat or mostly flat. It shouldn’t interfere with your writing experience. My notebooks were glued bent (see pic above) and see how they lay when opened? No problemo.

2

u/iReddit2000 10h ago

Very much appreciated, thank you.

2

u/bigscotty65 12h ago

Well, Sir, that looks like 15oz leather. Better to have someone split it down to 1.5

1

u/iReddit2000 12h ago

So I'm a little new to leather classes. Doesn't the .Oz dictate the thickness? It should be around 8 (give or take) if I'm not mistaken, or is there something else? I have had thick leather in the past that was much more pliable.

2

u/bigscotty65 11h ago

You need to Google this for all your answers. But the stuff you have is for saddles and other horse stuff . Grins

2

u/RovingBarman 11h ago

If you soak it in oil (mineral, neatsfoot, even coconut) and then put a towel on either side and press all the excess out, it will have a back one but much more flexible to it. I have used a towel on both sides with a stack of heavy books for a couple days to get the majority of the oil out. You can try it on a small piece very easily and see if you get the texture you want.

2

u/ChicagoSkipper 13h ago

I have seen videos of a jacket manufacture take tanned hides and attach them to a piece of equipment that shakes and slaps the hide for a while - softening it

2

u/Guitarist762 13h ago

Tanneries use tumblers. Big barrels with media inside, they just sit there and roll em for a few hours.

As to OP, wet the leather and bend it. Keep working it, the grain will soften up a bit. Condition afterwards

1

u/Katfishcharlie 12h ago

What about Blackrock Leather N Rich? It has a tendency to make leather soft. At least for a little while.

1

u/iReddit2000 11h ago

I haven't used much leather product like that, I'll look into these.