Oiling leather after burning

Susan N · #1 06-09-2005, 08:36 AM

Got another question. I am making an archery armguard and have been burning a design on it. I am going to have to oil the leather and was wondering what that will do to the burning. I know it will darken the leather and I may loose some detail in the design but was wondering how it will affect it over time.

Susan N

wade clark · #2 06-09-2005, 02:43 PM

I'd sure suggest you oil it AFTER burning it, to reduce fumes from the oil burning. No experience though.
Good luck!
Wade

Irish · #3 06-09-2005, 03:01 PM

Susan N,

I haven't burned on leather yet but it would seem logical that as the oil darkens the leather it would also darken the burning. Those lines that are now deep brown would, most likely, become black. Remember that the burning is not something that is added to the work as paint but instead part of the leather itself.

If it were me I would go root through my dresser drawers and see if I had an old leather belt, key chain fob or out dated leather purse to experiment with before adding the oil. Also, have you tried the leather soaps, they add protection to the leather but might not darken the way that oil does.

Susan

Susan N · #4 06-09-2005, 04:31 PM

Thanks for the info. I am using a piece of leather from Tandy and I am burning the design first. I think what I will do is look in the Tandy catalog and see what kinds of products they have for finishing. I think you are right Susan about the design darking evenly. I am doing the scroll dragon from your book and it looks really cool so far. I only have a sharp skew and a feather edger that I have been using. I did order some more pens for shading but could not wait for them to get here and went ahead with what I have. Not to bad so far.

Thanks for the info

Susan N

squbrigg · #5 06-10-2005, 07:50 AM

I trust we will get a peek at the finished product Susan N? Leather should burn nicely, easier than wood in some ways, depending on the processing. But it holds the burns well. There is quite a hobby on leather burning....er....use to be. Haven't seen much leather burning lately. Looking forward to seeing your dragon!

Bob

Susan N · #6 06-10-2005, 08:26 AM

I will see if I can take a picture and post it in the next day or two. It is my first one and only a small one from the Classic Carving Patterns book. I have ordered some instructional books and pens to do shading with. Now I just have to figure out how to make the arm guard. I have not used any wood yet and the leather did seem to be nice to work on.

Susan N

carver6 · #7 06-10-2005, 02:09 PM

Susan,
Years ago I did some leather work. You mentioned in an earlier post, you were going to contact Tandy Leather Co. in regard to finishes. Check with them also regarding a pattern for an archery arm guard. I'm sure they have one, and a selection on decorative designs you could burn on instead of tooling the leather. They have a multitude of finishes and all types of hardware and patterns for anything you might want to make.
Good Luck!!!
Garon

Susan N · #8 06-10-2005, 07:40 PM

Thanks for the info carver6. I was planning on tooling the armguard as I do have some leather tools also. I decided I was not very good at tooling and since I had this burner not being used it would be a good chance to try burning the design. I still like the tooled look better but I think it would take me several years to get good at it. Just not as easy as it looks and I am more familiar with painting and drawing so the burning is easier for me. Now I am hooked and want to do more.

Susan N

Pyrographer · #9 06-21-2005, 02:11 PM

burning should be done ONLY on vegetable tanned leather and any conditioner or oil should only be done AFTER you have burned. Burning is only done on raw wood and leather. Coloring, stain, etc is done when all burning is finished.

Also, a hint, burning on leather use a cooler pen and be sure you clean your tips frequently.
Nedra

Susan N · #10 06-21-2005, 06:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pyrographer

burning should be done ONLY on vegetable tanned leather and any conditioner or oil should only be done AFTER you have burned. Burning is only done on raw wood and leather. Coloring, stain, etc is done when all burning is finished.

Also, a hint, burning on leather use a cooler pen and be sure you clean your tips frequently.
Nedra

Thanks, Nedra. I did use Vegetable tanned leather that I got from Tandy. I finally just put some Lexol on it after I finished the design and it softened it some and did not stain.

Susan