lea-tooling-msg – 6/26/05
Leather tooling. decorating leather.
NOTE: See also the files: leather-msg, leather-bib, leather2-bib, leather-dyeing-msg, lea-bladders-msg, lea-tanning-msg, tools-msg, tools-bib.
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From: Ron Charlotte <roncharlotte at delphi.com>
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: CRAFTS: Leather Sources?
Date: Tue, 18 Oct 94 21:11:25 -0500
Kate Jones <kate at ds9.lesn.lehigh.edu> writes:
>Second: Are there any good resources out there on period leatherworking?
>I'd like anything from what they made to how they made it to the tools
>they used. Alas, I go to an engineering school and the art resources here
>are limited, but if I have a title and author I can get my friend the
>resource librarian to ILL them for me. Thank you!
>
>Rhian the Subtle
I would recommend _Handtools of the Arts and Crafts_, by the Diagram Group
It illustrates a huge variety of tools for both general and specialty
leatherwork, and includes pictures of period examples of several. It's a
good start.
al Thaalibi -- An Crosire, Trimaris
Ron Charlotte -- roncharlotte at delphi.com or afn03234 at freenet.ufl.edu
Gainesville, FL
From: beckum at aol.com (BECKUM)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Crafts: Leather Tooling
Date: 4 May 1995 21:09:33 -0400
One other item of note. In the leather tooling that I do, I do not cut my
designs into the leather, nor do I make muck use of stamps. I tool my
leather with an awl when it is wet. It can produce texturing that is very
deep and well defined, with out having to make cuts into the hide.
I have been told by other SCA leather workers that it is a very period
method of tooling leather, though the documentation they refered it
escapes me again.
Beckum
From: cmhelm at artsci.wustl.EDU (Catherine Marie Helm)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: CRAFTS: Leather
Date: 4 May 1995 17:47:12 -0400
I shouldn't be doing this... I should really be studying... I'm so
tired of studying...
In response to I. Marc Carlson's very nice post on leather decoration
in "period," I would add the following as documentation for examples
of painting on leather (other than the occational passing mention in
someone's text).
If you can find it, you can see very clearly that the tooled (blunt
tooling, not cuir cisele') celtic knots on the very well-known
Stonyhurst Bible binding were painted, Plate II of Waterer's _Leather
and Craftsmanship_, Faber & Faber LTD., London, 1950. This
photographic plate is the best photo of the Stonyhurst Bible I've
found to date. Diehl does not include a photo plate of the Stonyhurst
Bible but does confirm in her text that "the incised lines still show
a trace of color." <E. Diehl, Bookbinding, Vol. 1, Dover Books, NY,
c.1946,1980, p. 109.> The Stonyhurst Bible is 7th C.
Another good example of paint on leather is from Der Katalog des
Deutsches Ledermuseums und Deutsches Schuhmuseums, color plate
("Tafel") III, (Universita:tsdruckerei, H. Stu:rtz AG, Wu:rzburg,
1967) < the colon symbols are for umlauts >. The item is a 14th
C. leather cover, with figures of ladies and minnesingers cavorting
about under four gothic arches. Tons 'o' paint! Unfortunately this
reference is scarce to non-existent in the English-speaking world.
Unlike the Waterer books, many of which sit on shelves in university
libraries all over the place, German- language leather refs are hard
to find, unless you're in Germany or Austria.
I sure I could dig up more refs with pictures of paint on leather but
I really should quit procrastinating. I had the two refs I just cited
on my worktable in easy reach, since I had them out to take to the
Known World A&S Collegium this past weekend (a really neat event! if
you didn't go, you missed out).
I have a brief bad idea, one which I can not even dream of pursuing
for a few weeks. It goes like this: I have nifty leather refs and
so do a few of my friends. However, we don't all have the same leather
refs and so trading bibliographies is a good idea. Very often, just
knowing a book exists is more than half the battle in tracking it
down. I've been writing up various documentation bits on leather
for a couple of years now, making what is essentially an annotated
bibliography. If people have handy lists of their leather refs, could
I interest anyone in swapping lists?
(Replies should be sent directly to my email address - I do not read
this or any other list/newsgroup with regularity as I am in the middle
of studying for my comprehensive written test for PhD candidacy, which
starts at the end of next week. I can not guarentee that I will answer
email promptly until after the middle of May. Patience, please!)
Ah *sigh*, back to the school books...
Twcs the Procrastinator/cmhelm at artsci.wustl.edu
From: IMC at vax2.utulsa.edu (I. Marc Carlson)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Crafts: Leather Tooling (Revised)
Date: 4 May 1995 14:46:44 -0500
I've given this some revision, with the help of some comments by
<Thora Sharptooth <Priest at vaxsar.vassar.edu>>. Any comments?
Criticisms? added sources?
After spending some time browsing through various sources,
including Waterer's _Leather Craftsmanship_ last night, and his
_Leather and the warrior_, the methods of leather "Tooling" or
ornamentation appear to be:
Applique
This refers to the techniques of attaching other things
to the surface of the leather, to decorate it. These can
include paper-mache, other pieces of leather, decorative
riveting, plaster/Gesso, etc.
Combinations
There are few instances of combining techniques such as
Incising and Stamping, such as is done in much modern
leatherworking, however, that should not be taken as a
solid statement that such was not done. Items that use
both include catalog nos. 22-23 in _Dress Accessories_,
both belts.
Cutting (or often referred to as Carving)
Incising
Taking a knife, or in modern tooling, a swivel knife, and
inscribing a design into the surface of the leather.
Note that a dull knife can leave a much larger "line"
than a sharp one, and will not weaken the surface
strength as much. This is *possibly* the most common
method of ornamentation for leather during the Middle
Ages. Numerous examples can be found in _Knives and
Scabbards_, _Shoes and Pattens_, etc.
Carving
Technically, this is the technique of undercutting the
leather surface and making it physically stand out from
the general surface of the leather.
Cutout
Creating designed by punching holes in the leather.
There
are examples of this in _Shoes and Pattens_, as well as
the various fields on the burial shield of the Black
Prince (shown in _Leather and the Warrior_).
Sgraffio or Scraping
Scraping away parts of the surface to create an overall
effect. There are examples of this in _Shoes and
Pattens_ and _Leather and the Warrior_.
Impressing
Stamping or Punching
Using a hammer and unheated metal "Irons" to create a
pattern, or set a single image. There are a few examples
of examples of these in _Knives and Scabbards_, most
often to create a repeating motif of a single design
element.
Blind Stamping
Impressing by means of heated metal stamps, touched to
the leather. This is the method of ornamentation used on
books, and other items using very thin leathers.
Creasing or Veining.
This is referred to a single or double line, often used
to
create a decorative border edge on leather. It is done
with either heated metal irons, or by friction with
wooden tools. It is essentially similar to blind
stamping in that it uses heated metal to create a design.
Cuerro Gofrado
Rather like "Blind Stamping", this rather lays the
leather atop a heated metal design, and pressed down onto
it, creating a multilayered effect. It seems to have not
been common beyond Spain and Italy.
Poker Work/Pyrogravure
This also uses a heated tool, but rather than to impress
the design into the surface, to burn the surface with a
very hot metal, in much the same way as a Branding Iron
or a Running Iron works.
Gold Stamping.
This is a means of imbedding gold leaf patterns into the
surface of the leather.
Modelling
Creating a bas relief in the leather using a number of
techniques, including carving. There is a 13th C piece
from a Dublin dig that shows evidence of this, although
it may have been done with simple impression and molding,
as well, or a combination of techniques.
Molding or Moulding
May include molds and/or countermolds to create the
design. It would appear that many molds for Bottels,
etc. rather than having the leather go around the mold,
often have the leather pressed inTO the mold.
Painting.
There are few examples of painting on leather that have
survived, but these include a Roman Scutum (_Leather and
the Warrior_), the Scabbard of St. Maurice, c.1200-500
(_Arms and Armor of the Medieval Knight_), a number of
painted artifacts housed at the Cloisters, in NYC, etc.
"Mihi Satis Apparet Propter Diarmuit Ui Dhuinn
Se Ipsum Appetenda Sapientia" University of Northkeep
-- St. Dunstan Northkeepshire, Ansteorra
(I. Marc Carlson/IMC at vax2.utulsa.edu)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
From: Madoc <NASH_JOHN/HPBRIT_C6 at hpcpbla.bri.hp.com>
Subject: Re: CRAFTS: Leather Tooling
Date: Thu, 4 May 1995 15:33:04 GMT
Organization: Hewlett-Packard
priest at vaxsar.vassar.edu wrote:
>
> Greeting from Thora Sharptooth!
>
> In categorizing types of leatherwork, Diarmuit (IMC at vax2.utulsa.edu) wrote:
>
> > Combination - Using both Cutting and stamping in combination to make a design.
> > This is used in most forms of modern leather tooling, but I
> > cannot recall any such forms in the period examples we have seen.
>
> Catalogue numbers 22-23 in _Dress Accessories_, both belts, are both stamped
> and incised. (I am assuming that "incised work" falls under your category of
> "cutting.")
>
> > Moulding - A design that has been engraved on a piece of wood can be pressed
> > into a piece of leather stretched over the form. Many period
> > leather bottles were made in this fashion, as well as a number
> > of examples of materials shown in Waterer's books. It is my
> > suspicion that the "Arms of Henry VIII" found on the bracer
> > recovered from the Mary Rose, is an example of this, but I may
> > be in error, since all I can see are photos. There is a bit
> > of decorated leather found in a Dublin sewer that was either
> > done like this, or embossed (my opinion).
>
> In my opinion, the Dublin piece (thirteenth century) could just as easily have
> been a combination of stamped work and embossing. The basic design (animals
> and vegetation) would have been laid out and rough worked by pressing or
> modeling, then the background would be stamped with a small round stamp befire
> the main design is finished. My opinion is based partly on the fact that my
> husband's leatherwork is done almost exclusively by pressing into wet leather
> to raise an area of decoration, and the end result looks much like the main
> design of that piece. Additionally, the background dots in the piece appear to
> have been worked in rows; they follow the rough lines of the main design rather
> than being the smooth all-over pelleted background I would expect from wood
> carving. (Granted, that is based on my understanding of Viking Age
> woodcarving, which is somewhat earlier.)
> ......................<snip>
What about burning (poker-art) ???
On light leather you can burn, using a soldering iron with a
sharp tip, a series of dots and lines that are black.
They last for a very long time and you can create some very
complicated designs (including some of the really difficult ones
from the book of kells)
This method of decoration is authentic for the period 800-1100
(see sheaths in the Yorvik viking centre) and probably before and
after those dates.
madoc
From: priest at vaxsar.vassar.edu
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: CRAFTS: Leather Tooling
Date: 5 May 95 22:48:06 +1000
Organization: Vassar College
Greeting from Thora Sharptooth!
I'd like to add my voice to that of al Thaalibi, who wrote:
> Madoc (NASH_JOHN/HPBRIT_C6 at hpcpbla.bri.hp.com) wrote:
> Deleted stuff
>
> : What about burning (poker-art) ???
>
> : On light leather you can burn, using a soldering iron with a
> : sharp tip, a series of dots and lines that are black.
> : They last for a very long time and you can create some very
> : complicated designs (including some of the really difficult ones
> : from the book of kells)
>
> : This method of decoration is authentic for the period 800-1100
> : (see sheaths in the Yorvik viking centre) and probably before and
> : after those dates.
>
> Could I please, pretty please have the source of your information.
What he said!
In _Anglo-Scandinavian Finds from Lloyds Bank, Pavement, and Other Sites_,
which has write-ups on two leather sheaths from Jorvik, Dominic Tweddle refers
to the decoration as "incised" (p. 142). These are the two sheaths that are
also written up in the exhibition catalogue _The Vikings in England and in
Their Danish Homeland_ (p. 119); no mention is made of burning there either.
Are there other sheaths from Jorvik?
****************************************************************************
Carolyn Priest-Dorman Thora Sharptooth
Poughkeepsie, NY Frosted Hills ("where's that?")
priest at vassar.edu East Kingdom
Gules, three square weaver's tablets in bend Or
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From: afn03234 at usenet.freenet.ufl.edu (Ronald L. Charlotte)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: CRAFTS: Leather Tooling
Date: 4 May 1995 23:10:40 GMT
I. Marc Carlson (IMC at vax2.utulsa.edu) wrote:
: Leather tooling can be divided into ... specific categories:
: "Stamping" - Taking stamps and whacking them with hammers to make impressions
: in the leather. We have several cases (as shown in Knives
: and Scabbards) of this.
: "Cutting" - Taking a knife (or in modern terms a swivel knife) and inscribing
: the design into the surface. Note that a dull knife will not
: necessarily cut through the skin of the leather. There are
: also examples of this in Knives and Scabbards.
: Combination - Using both Cutting and stamping in combination to make a design.
: This is used in most forms of modern leather tooling, but I
: cannot recall any such forms in the period examples we have seen.
: Note however, with a few of these objects, it is possible that
: Stamping was erased by the swelling of the leather in humidity.
: There is an Elizabethan example of Cutting that is vaguely
: reminiscent of the modern "American Floral" designs that *could*
: be such a case (Citation forgotten).
I think that someone has already discussed the pieces in _Dress
Accessories_ using this combination of techniques. In _Leather as Art
and Craft_ by Thelma Newman (ISBN 0 517 505754), there is very clear
photo of a leather covered box from 15th C. Italy (currently in the
Metropolitin Museum of Art) that has a overall design that could pass for
the modern tooling style with ease. It is quite possible for such
tooling to be done only using stamping tools, but the edges of such work
are usually not as sharply defined as the cut and tooled work.
: Embossing - This is done by pressing a hot metal stamp onto the leather. It
: is most often found on thin leathers, such as book bindings (and
: is the main reason that if a saddlemaker starts talking to a
: bookbinder about leather tooling, they will soon get confused).
: Moulding - A design that has been engraved on a piece of wood can be pressed
: into a piece of leather stretched over the form. Many period
: leather bottles were made in this fashion, as well as a number
: