- Impression/Incision: 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. 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.
- Belts -- Dress Accessories. Catalog nos. 22-23. These use both Incising and Stamping for decoration
- Leathercovered Box (14th C - Italian) -- Newman, Thelma. Leather as Art and Craft. This box, which is currently in in the Metropolitin Museum of Art, has a overall design that could easily pass for a modern tooling style. 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).
- Impression/Paint:
- Stonyhurst Bible binding (7th C.) [plate II; Waterer's Leather and Craftsmanship, Faber & Faber LTD., London, 1950.]
- E. Diehl, Bookbinding, Vol. 1, Dover Books, NY, c.1946,1980, p. 109.
- Cutting (or often referred to as Carving)/Cuir cisele'
- This is a method of decorating leather in which the design is
cut into dampened leather instead of being tooled or blocked. The
design is first outlined with a pointed tool and then dampened.
Sometimes it is then brought into relief by depressing the background, usually by stamping a succession of dots into the leather very close together by means of a pointed tool. Certain parts of the design are sometimes embossed from the flesh side of the leather, and in such cases the decorating must be done before covering.
Some sources state that this technique was really only practiced only during the 15th century and then only in certain areas such as Southeastern Germany and Spain. There are no English and Flemish and practically no Italian examples are known.
- 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.
- Embroidery -- Doing needlework on the leather itself. There are examples discussed in Shoes and Pattens.
- Impressing
- Stamping/Punching/Cold Stamping -- 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/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/Poker Art -- 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. [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.]
- Gold Stamping -- This is a means of imbedding gold leaf patterns into the surface of the leather. Judging from bookbindings, leather tapestries, and some of the nicer items described in inventories, they used gold, silver, and tin leaf on many items, and often faked up the tin to resemble gold or silver.
- Modelling -- Creating a bas relief in the leather using a
number of techniques, including carving.
- Dublin piece (13th c) -- This 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 before the main design is finished. 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
- Molding or Moulding -- May include molds and/or countermolds to create the design. A design that has been engraved on a piece of wood can be pressed into a piece of leather stretched over the form. 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. 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.
Painting and Dying
- Paint -- The acidic content of vegetable tanned leather
doesn't seem to be very friendly to a lot of the pigments and
mediums used in period, especially over long time spans. There
are few examples of painting on leather that have survived. A
number of painted artifacts housed at the Cloisters, in NYC, etc.
- Leather Cover (14th C.) -- Der Katalog des Deutsches Ledermuseums und Deutsches Schuhmuseums, color plate ("Tafel") III, (Universitätsdruckerei, H. Stürtz AG, Würzburg, 1967). The item is has figures of ladies and minnesingers cavorting about under four gothic arches.
- Roman Scutum -- Waterer, J.W. Leather and the Warrior
- The Scabbard of St. Maurice, c.1200-500 -- Arms and Armor of the Medieval Knight
- Tapestries -- Waterer, J. W. Spanish Leather. There are a few of these surviving that either show traces of paint, or were described in inventories as having been painted.
- Dying (by Ron Charlotte (ska Al Thaalibi)
Tools
-
Awls -- Many Awls are "S" shaped. The cross-section of the Awl must be less than the diameter of the thread in order to achieve a water-tight grip.
- Sewing Awl - A flat oval cross section.
- Stitching Awl - A flat rectangular cross section. You may have to sharpen the point, but there is no need to sharpen the edges, as the blade is designed to spread open the hole for taking the thread, not for cutting the leather.
- Closing Awl - A curved blade, flat oval cross section.
- Stabbing Awl - A round cross section
- Sailmakers Awl - A Triangular cross section
- Dull/Scratching Awl/Round Awl - A round cross section, blunted tip. This is not intended to punch a hole in the leather, and therefore should not be sharp. It is meant to mark the leather, or, perhaps, to widen a previously made hole. It is also entirely probable that some form of Marking Scriber, or Scratch Awl was used in the Middle Ages, but I have no solid documentation for it (although the "horn" on the half moon knife might serve such a purpose.
- Saddler's Awl - A diamond cross section. This seems to me the most commonly used form of awl in modern leatherworking, and according to the Shoes and Pattens, and Knives and Scabbards, Diamond blade awls were available from quite early. Those found at the Lloyd's Bank excavation are somewhat corroded, and consist of 2.25" and 3.5" long wooden handles, and 1.75" long blades. When you use an awl such as this, you may have to sharpen the point, but there is no need to sharpen the edges, as the blade is designed to spread open the hole for taking the thread, not for cutting the leather.
-
Pricking Awl - I suspect that this is a term for any awl, such as a "Stabbing Awl" that is used for making holes to stitch with, and should not be confused with the other "pricking" tools of leatherworking and shoemaking (the Pricking Iron and Pricking wheel).
- Hand-Leather -- (A.k.a., a Shoemaker's Mitten) A piece of leather wrapped around the left hand to protect the hand when drawing the thread tight.
- Irons -- As I know of no evidence for a Pricking Iron, or "overcast wheel", for measuring the holes to be made for stitching, it is possible that some scale might have been used.
- Knives and Shears:
-
Round/Head knife/Half Moon Knife --
Used to "click" or cut
out the leather, and to skive the edges. - Shoe/Sole-trimming/Square ended Knife: --This is a more square headed blade, kept very sharp.
-
Paring knife/Trenchet -- A paring knife is used to trim away excess leather, particularly in places where the Half Moon knife would be difficult to handle or manage. THe most importan aspect though is that this knife must be sharp. Note that in modern parlance, a Trenchet is a specific sort of knife totally different from the Paring Knife, while in the Middle Ages it seems that they were synonymous.
- Pattern Knife
- Shears - A large pair of scissors, made from a single strip of metal, used for cutting thread and leather. There is some disagreement about whether you should ever use scissors or shears to cut leather as it does not cut evenly, but there they are.
-
Stropping stick/Sharpening Bat -- Used to keep awls, shears and knives sharp, when you feel that they have begun to dull.
- Stop working. Start by stropping your blade along the edge of the stropping your blade along the edge of the stropping stick across the grain of the wood, or along the leather. A four sided bat can be covered with a variey of grits, from nothing but the surface of the wood, or leather through jeweler's rouge or similar substance. Stroke the blade firmly and smoothly and evenly. Do both sides. Carefully run your thumb along the edge, checking for burrs, checks or rough edges.
- If the stropping doesn't make the burrs go away, use a stone.
- Be patient.
- Keep doing this until you can't feel a burr and your knife cuts smoothly again.
- Whetstone -- Used to keep awls, shears and knives sharp. They are also known as oilstones, honing stones, and sharpening stones.
- Use a light lubricating oil, or water. Other forms of oil may have drawbacks for the unwary. Water produces a keener cut on the stone, as does oil mixed with paraffin.
- Don't be stingy with the oil, since it is not meant as a lubricant, but serves to keep the pits in the stone from becoming impregnated with metal as you sharpen. This is what forms the grime black slurry that forms as you sharpen, and what must be wiped away before it can clog the stone.
- Notice the bevel your blade forms, and try to keep this angle. You can get a sense of the bevel by lying the edge of the blade on the stone.
- Sharpen in smooth, firm strokes, as though you were trying to take a slice from the stone with each stroke, or else move the blade in firm, circular strokes (opinions vary). Often only a single pass with a stone is enough to produce a clean edge that can be resharpened by stropping.
- Keep doing this until you can't feel a burr and your knife cuts smoothly again.
- Be patient.
- After using a stone, you should probably finish with a final stropping.
-
Needles -- Hog's bristles (aka Sow-hair,
Boar's bristle) became used in the shoemaking industry because of
their flexibility in pulling the thread through curved holes. It
is not known when they became common, but they were at least in
use by the 14th century. Other needles were also used, however.
- Sample Paste -- 1/4 cup White Flour; 1/16 tsp Alum or Salt; 1 cup water. Combine the flour and the alum or salt. Add the water, eliminating lumps. Bring to a boil for a minute, constantly stirring. If it thickens, add water.
Polishing Bone -- For flattening and
smoothing. (Note that the Polishing bones protrayed are also
usable as Drawers/Channelling Tools, and for "Pricking", or
marking the spaces for punching the holes along a seam. 