Stiffening leather

[Ken]

When it comes to producing leather brims for kepis and forage caps I was wondering what type of leather is best for this application (type & thickness) and how is best stiffened to give it the necessary rigidity. I’ve searched and found some information on submersing the leather in hot water. I was curious to know what method gives the best, results for this application.

[Becky Morgan]

Re: Stiffening leather

Disclaimer: My experience with leather is with antique golf equipment and with small civilian items.
That said, hot water seems to work very well (especially when I DON'T want it to.) Proper drying and shaping will, of course, be crucial for the result you want. You must be patient with wet leather to avoid mold and, if you try to shape it when it's too nearly dry, cracking. I don't deal with the specific type of finishing you'll need for cap brims, so others will speak to that.

[Curt Schmidt]

Re: Stiffening leather

Hallo!

Boiling or hot water treating leather is an ancient way to harden it (Cuir Bouilli). For examples, in Roman and Medival times jacked leather armor was a cheaper substitute for steel.

Boiling the leather causes it to shrink and harden.

NUG, vegetable-tanned leather was used, cold wet molded, and then "boiled" by controlled temperature baking actually than boiling it . A less effective method was to cold mold the leather, then pour boiling water on it which hardens the surface but not all the way through.

The last forage cap I got from Dirty Billy had a painted vegetable (oak) tanned visor/bill that arrived "tacky." I placed it on the rear deck of my car to bake it dry. It dried, but cracked completely in half.

Oh, I recall a failed experiment/project, where I wanted to "age" a knife sheath. I cold wetted it, and placed it in the micro wave. It "jacked" quite well, but alas the leather shrank and hardened at different rates twisting and deforming the sheath into uselessness.
Suspecting that the micro-wave was too hot, I used my gas stove on its replacement. It "jacked" quite well, but alas the leather shrank and hardened at different rates twisting and deforming the sheath into uselessness.

:)

I have made a few caps, and WWI visor caps, but always simply pick and choose the vegetable (oak) tanned leather by sight and feel. Folks more knowledgeable than me know leather by its "weight" (ex: 6 ounce) and the thickness and flexibility that gives- but I learned and forgot that system several times over.

Curt
Cordwiener Mess

[J.H.Berger]

Re: Stiffening leather

Hello comrades,
Take 2mm vegetable tanned / oak tanned if you can get/ leather which is rather stiff in the grip.
Then you may want to harden it by making it wet and let it dry in the sun, please not a heat source above that or you will ruin the leather. When you apply the linseed oil paint to both sides it will make the leather a bit stiffer too. That should work.

[ACo.]

Re: Stiffening leather

Very good reply J.H.Berger. To all, find bark tanned leather of the correct thickness and as stiff as possible some leathers are firmer than others. The same leather you use for making a cartridge box will give the proper results. To harden (actually stiffen) the leather, wet it thoroughly, support it in the shape you want and place in front of a radiant heat source like a wood stove or even a fireplace - a hot radiator will do fine.But NOT TOO CLOSE! J.H. Berger's suggestion of direct sunlight will work fine. Do not over heat as you will get the results that Curt got. When completely dry, you will have the results that you want.

[Kieran725]

Stiffening leather

Hi Ken, I would recommend bees wax, we have used it for at least 150 years in the household cavalry to stiffen leather it also enables the leather to be polished to a high shine. I have finally got some English hardware for you crown buckles etc so I will try fire them across the pond for you very soon if you would like me to show you how to burn bees wax into leather without spoiling it let me know it is quite easy. Kind regards

Kieran Forsyth


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