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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 10 ก.ย. 2024
- In this project I attempt to rekindle a lost art, just what I like doing! Only so much is known about how leather mugs, bottles and pitchers were made, so the project was a relative success considering. I learned about them originally from John Waterer's book Leather and Craftsmanship ( amzn.to/1lqjBs0 ). The black jack is fun to drink from, light, and seems pretty durable. No, there is no weird taste. Read more details in my blog post about this project: skillcult.com/b...
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I used vegetable tanned leather that I made of bullskin tanned in oak bark. The leather was pounded with a smooth faced mallet while damp to make it more dense and less spongy. The forms were turned on a lathe out of douglas fir from the seasons firewood. The two clamp boards were also made of this, hewn out with a hatchet. A metal ring was also made in a simple ground forge to form the bottom of the cup over a wooded piece.
The wet leather was nailed to the clamp boards and then they were clamped together. After the pieces dried overnight, it was all put together, cut to shape and sewn with waxed linen thread.
The next day, the form was cut into pieces with a tapered central piece that could be easily removed. The cup was soaked in hot water at 85 to 90 degrees C until it shrank significantly. The form pieces were pounded back in to stretch the mug back into it's proper shape and it was dried thoroughly.
The inside was coated with pine resin and the outside with linseed oil and lampblack.
I have been making leather goods for about 7 years now. I live near Williamsburg and know the guy who makes them for the Colonial area.
Your method flatly amazes me. I really think you captured the essence of making one of these mugs as they were made hundreds of years ago.
It doesn't matter what differs from other peoples techniques or what I think of how you did what you did. You did amazing work in such a wide variety of tasks that I stood in awe of your guts and ability. Well done brother.
Hey, thanks for the good feedback. It was an intense project but it worked out. I was not sure what I was doing at the end until I did it. I really want to make a leather bottle now, of the traditional type and also do this over and refine a few things. I imagine that there were a lot of variations in their production and probably some things that are done across the board. Apparently the guy that wrote the book on Black Jacks and Leather Bottels knows (knew?) how to make them and left the information out on purpose so that people would not counterfeit them and sell them as old. But I think you're right, it doesn;t matter that much if we can make it work and the product seems pretty much like the old ones. Thanks again, cheers!
@@SkillCult - just found your channel tonight and have been binge watching! This has me fascinated - how you formed the shape! I believe though, for bottles they used hot sand, and kept stretching, then doing it again till they got the content quantity they needed! I have a jack - but it got squashed so need to re pitch it - not had the nerve to do it yet! Just beware - don't use them for spirits (whisky, rum etc! It also melts the pitch!)
@@cindyholton7234 I've thought quite a bit about how to do a bottle and sand seems like the way to go. But you do have to do it all while it's still hot. If it cools off, it doesn't ever really come back. Hot sand makes sense for that reason, just because it would give more working time. i think between packing the sand hard in there and carefully manipulating the shape until it's just right it would probably work. If you have a reference, I'd like to read it. I could see needing to preform the leather a little though before stitching, at least for making the short squat bottles which are the ones I'd most like to try making.
@@SkillCult I think I knew from word of mouth - but will ask about it when I get a chance, I checked out You Tube and The Bearded Hobbit has a 3 part video of 'Making a Leather Costrel' - he uses un popped pop corn pretty successfully! I don't think any one makes black Leather bottles, jugs or tankards in the UK atm - I think mine came from USA. I'm looking for business ideas - its just if it's financially viable! lol! I've a project on at the mo - and another I've promised someone, but might get my leather stuff out afterwards! Please be sure to video your attempts! Thanks, Cindy
@@cindyholton7234 I'm not sure I've seen anyone do them real with the heat treatment of the leather. Most are just wet molded leather. But the leather shrinks a lot, more or less depending on the temp/time and the density of the leather used. So that is an issue when trying to mold it ahead of time. I think if you stuffed it dead full, and then shaped it, the panels would shrink and pull too hard on the stitches. So I'm thinking along the lines of putting in some sand, maybe mostly full, then heating the leather and finishing the stuffing and molding while it's still hot. Working time can be extended by dipping into the hot water and never letting the leather cool until the shape is finalized. I could see though that in production, they might have dried the different pieces on forms first, then sewn them and finally finish with something similar to what I outlined. I like the small squat black bottles with the two side panels. I need to do that project.
Goddammit, baby, that lamp black hack just sent me into orbit. Awesome.
We'll be talking about lamp black in the future. Maybe this summer. I cleaned out all the sheds and stuff and there are probably 40 or 50 jars of fat of all kinds accumulated over the last 10 years or more. I could make a shit ton of lamp black! It's cool stuff. Used to be a household item.
Dude you are the last of a breed called 'real men". Salute!
Awesome!
Just a few tips for the leatherworking bits.
1. Your stitching is off if you need pliers to pull the second needle through. A stitch should take around 10 seconds at max (you can see a quick vid on my channel) You can fix this by either making your holes larger (bigger awl blade) or making your thread smaller (getting smaller needles will help too, john james makes beautiful harness needles in England) You should also look into making the awl into a proper 4-sided diamond shape if you want neater stitches (no awl twisting though!)
2. You can fix any inconsistancies during forming by doing the main forming before finishing the cutting and sewing of the handle. All you need to do is run a line of stitching up the side to keep the glue from seperating. This way you can form, and then cut everything down (you can take out your stitching if needed afterwards too, if you need to cut the form down a lot)
3. You should look into vinegaroon! If you're making a veg-tan leather, you might as well use its neat properties! That lamp oil you used is less of a stain, and more of a paint (which will probably seep off over time) Vinegaroon actually produces a chemical reaction with the tannins in the leather to change it to a black-grey. Very old-school all-natural technique that would fit well with your look.
4. if you're using metal for forms, I would look at using copper or brass. regular steels will actually seep into the wet leather and can cause staining and rusting (bad chemicals in piping...) Copper and brass do not react with leather.
5. Don't be scared of beeswax! Leather and beeswax play together very nicely and will actually create a water-proof coating similar to pinetar (although it does wear down quicker) I would DEFINITELY cover the outside with hot beeswax as a final finish to give it a nice sheen and feel in the hand (as well as water proof)
Good job for your first project! I'm incredibly impressed by the tanning, I might have to contact you about tanning a few hides for some of my own projects!!
+HandandSew Thanks for the tips. I've barely done any of that type of stitching before, and I just had to use whatever clunky needles were at hand this time. I actually did order some John James saddle stitching needles now, so I have those to work with in the future. I did figure that maybe having to pull the stitches through was good for a vessel, but now I really think it doesn't matter if the stitches are super tight. The coating does the waterproofing. I do want to pick up a diamond point awl to try at some point. I didn't have one though, so I improvised with the stabbing awl bits that I have and just tried to at least put some sort of edged tip on it. I like the shape of the handle though. I come from a background of sewing in braintanned buckskin, where it is advisable to use round awls only. I've done a lot more tanning of veg tan than working with it and I often use buckskin lace and punched holes. A vice would help too, but as you can see the shape isn't exactly the best for clamping in any normal stitching vice. I think between having to push the round awl through, using large thread and needles, being inexperienced and careful and not having a vice, the stitching just took a really long time. Given that it was just about my first real experience doing this type of stitching, I was happy enough with the results, though when I look at other people's work, it makes me want to get it together :)
I do use iron and vinegar for blacking veg tan elsewhere. I gathered that these may have been finished with linseed oil though, which can make a shiny built up finish. There is a process, or group of processes called Japaning that use linseed. That's what I'm going for. I'm hoping it will contribute to the rigidity of the mug as well in the long run. It will have to be built up over time though. I'm using raw linseed oil which doesn't dry as quickly as the oil with metal driers added.
I want to try straight pitch because the beeswax made it a little soft. I thought the inner coating would need to have some flexibility, but once the coating is inside, the whole thing is very rigid and doesn't flex anyway. I have it cleaned out and waiting to get around to recoating with plain hard pitch, closer to rosin. We'll see how it goes, but I think it will work. The little bit of information I could find seemed to favor straight pitch as an interior coating. If the japaning works how I envision it, it will make a hard almost shell like coating that won't soften if it gets warm.
I came acrouss your channel a while ago. Wanted to build a medieval composite crossbow and was looking for how to process deer sinues. Somehow became an axe enthusiast by accident and recently learned about bark tanning. Your reasonable/logic approach of things really resonates with me as opposed to all the dummy rules out there. Thanks for learning all those skills and passing down your experiences!
A craftsman at work. I really enjoyed this video
+Rob G Thanks Rob. I really love this kind of multidisciplinary project. Keeps things interesting!
Can I just live with you guys for a year and learn as much as I can?
+Cashew Cashew Welllll, not this year... :)
+SkillCult but that's not a total no lol
That may have been the coolest thing I've ever seen made on TH-cam. Not simply the making of it, but the homemade parts (forge, hide, hide glue, lamp black, all the wood pieces, etc). Good job. I thought I heard Darth Vader there for a second during the waterproofing.
Yeah, that was the respirator. That was a fun project. I'd like to do it again with a few adjustments.
Very well done. The step process gives so much. I'm gonna catch my first deer this winter, tan it, and try to make the most use of it. Your videos are reqlly helpful, thanks. Neolithic brother.
A true piece of fine crafting. I really enjoyed watching it all come together, especially since you had to work out how to do it as well.
+Glen Martin Thanks, I think it turned out pretty well for a first time project, and I learned enough to do a little better next time. I'd like to do more videos like this, but they are very time consuming!
yes , a big thanks from me too. very educational . you are awesome.
:)
As an Englishman I appreciated the traditional English cry of victory at 9:17!
Awesome video man.
I'm so impressed by this! And your patience astounds me! Its cool to see old school crafting still exists! You've got awesome talent man...cant wait to watch more of it!
I use hand tools a lot. Modern life and power tools tend to make us impatient I think. My productivity expectation set point is pretty low, so taking three days to make a cup is just another day at the office :) I don't get to do this kind of project a lot unfortunately, but hope to do more in the future.
Fascinating.....simply fascinating!
I'm a Treestorian here for our city of Chicago, so I am always summing up age rings on wood, lumber and stumps from old growth trees after cut down or old houses dismantled. Ripped fence lumber can survive outdoors for well over 100 years. Including 130 year old wooden utility poles milled out of 300 year old trees. Looks like your lucky to have a regular supply of old growth wood from your forest, something finding less of at lumber yards.
That piece of fir was a slow growing trunk that was jammed up against a faster growing much larger diameter tree. I think they sprouted near the same time, but the one became dominant and the other just held on until they both died. Most of our fir is actually second growth with pretty wide growth ring and not that great. I wish I had carefully salvaged more of that tree, but it wasn't very large.
Yes, that faster growing wood with wider rings just doesn't have the good preservation lignin and other natural chemicals trees once produced to discourage decomposition.
Great mug! I love watching you do all the steps.
Very good video! Thanks for taking us along on this project.
That's the coolest cup I've ever seen. I'm glad I found your channel. Lots of cool stuff.
Wow! Not sure how I missed this video, but I love it!
Wow ! So impressive great skill and a brilliant mug at the end 😀
Man, that was an excellent tutorial on making a black jack! Cheers to you and many more projects like this.
Damn, that's one of the neatest things I've ever seen on youtube.
Damn that axe is sharp. Cutting that wood like butter.
My axes are usually sharper than most people's knives, but that's not saying much I guess!
Not sure how I’ve missed this one for so long - but really enjoyed watching. I’m used to you in depth explanations and not having to pause to read what you’re doing. 😆 Loved “how you like me now!?” Hahahahaha
Incredibly well made Steven. Well done
:)
This is the best tutorial I've seen. Thank you.
That’s awesome! Great job!
This was really fun to watch! Of the thousands of leather items I've made over the decades, I think the only thing I never did build was a mug. I've seen them, but never made one. My favorite drinking vessel has always been an inverted human skull.
Try it, it's a super neat process. Skull sounds inconvenient.
Haha nah, they aren't all too inconvenient. Just epoxy up nerve, ear and blood vessel holes and hit the interior with bar top sealer. They are well insulated and thick enough to carve coolguy tantric designs on. I have enough casting materials to start making resin versions to cut costs, but a former art teacher stole my last mug. Not sure why though since I was making her a plastic one with tantric engravings.
I used to do the same process for the mug, sans the pitch, for armor parts like the collar of the gorget. First one I ever did I tossed it into boiling wax lol. Oddly enough, that one outlasted all the others I made correctly after it. I think it's still being used out on the field today.
9:22 after staring (probably inappropriately) through the whole process, with a toothbrush in my slack-jawed mouth, I laughed a spray at my screen at that moment 🤣
ha ha. I was pretty worried that part wouldn't come together.
Pfft, electric drill, what a cop out. Nah, I'm just playin man. It was really nice work.
Wow! I wish I had 1/10 of your talent
I'm sure you can do better than 1/10th lol. Just start doing stuff youre interested in, expect to fail and take the lessons and move forward.
You are a skilled craftsman. Cheers.
+Nathan4071 Cheers!
Awsome how to man. Thanks
Awesome work!
Such an impressive video. So detailed and informative. Many thanks.
That was awesome what you did with the forge. I would advise against quenching with water because it can make the metal brittle and form cracks or completely break apart. It's probably fine for your mug project, but if you were to forge a knife, axe head, or any kind of tool, I'd suggest using oil, it's much better for quenching. Tempering and quenching are the crucial steps to exceptional forging. What you did was impressive man.
That is just mild steel, so no hardening. Iv'e quenched in water, but usually use oil. I know there are oil and water quenching steels, but I always use scrap, so I never know which. Brine is another one,but I"m not sure when that is most appropriate, and again, I never know what I'm quencing anyway.
So awesome
MoraKniv? If so, awesome. Love those knives
Yep. I have a love hate relationship with them for going on 30 years. Perfect for this sort of thing.
That’s a really cool project/process and followed up with a really great beer
That is a great beer :)
Super cool video! An alternative to lamp black would be to use iron acetate. The tannins in the hide would turn it black. I tried a small scale experiment and it seems like it soaks in pretty deep. Maybe add to the boiling water!? 🤔
I use that to dye veg tan black, but It does affect hide strength eventually and offers no moisture resistance effect like the linseed oil. what I need to figure out is how to get a hard enamel like coating of the linseed and lampblack. I think I'll have to use metal driers, aka japan drier and probably low heat would help.
I wonder if soaking in hide glue prior to forming would assist in helping the leather retain its shape and allow for a much tighter stitch
So cool!
You certainly are a very skilled craftsman!
+GFD472 thank you!
I was three minutes in before I realized this wasn’t about the blackjack you smack somebody on the back of the head. Thought that it looked a bit robust, but I watch a lot of these videos and have seen some crazy shit.
Great video. I watched someone making these at a craft fair in England, he used asphalt to seal the inside, I think I prefer summat more natural.
There is natural asphalt called asphaltum. It was widely used when it occured for traditional arts. Everything I could find said pitch though anyway. I think they have to be repitched occasionally.
Well done. Thank you.
+pennyghost Thanks!
That was therapeutic to watch! You could sell these for like $10... maybe a set of 4 for $15. Could make a killing! :P
ha ha. 4 for 1500.00 might be more like it lol.
Totally worth it considering your time, skill, craftsmanship... damn industrial revolution! Of course im watching this on a computer that cost only $750 (or two black jack leather mugs) thanks to said revolution and otherwise would never know who you are... so there is that. Keep up the awesome content!
watching you work is mesmerizing. Super cool channel.
Thanks man. I really would like to do more of this type of video, but it's very time intensive.
SkillCult I can certainly understand that... video editing isn't much fun. But I didn't just mean this video-i just found your channel today and watched for hours. I admire your knowledge and skills. I'd love to have even a tenth of your knowledge and skills. But anyway keep up the good work- I'll keep watching and learning :)
Masterful skills. I subscribed.
Awesome, welcome.
really impressive! bravo
:)
Liked "Now I'm Just showing off"
That AWESOME Steven. Love the interdisciplinary action and the video is totally entertaining...though I wanted to see you prancing around with beer sloshing out of the finished mug to that same music you used in the intro! Beautiful work. Have you noticed if the pitch imparts any flavor?
+Kate Lundquist Hi Kate! I actually slapped that music in from youtube's collection at the last minute after I uploaded it, because I suddenly realized it was completely silent for like a minute and a half. I was too tired to prance at that point :) I actually collapsed on the floor shortly after drinking that mug of beer. I was walking and sort of just walked my way onto the floor. It must have looked pretty funny, like a cartoon. I sat on the floor for a second and was like, "Damn, I must be really tired!" But I only had an hour or so left to finish everything by midnight, so I blazed through. Maybe next time :) I just need to make a dozen or so of them, get some fifes and guitars made out of big turtles and have an olde English black jack party complete with sloshing... Oh, first I have to cooper a barrel out of some trees, grow some barley, learn to make malt and brew some ale... I better get started on that. Some pointy shoes may be in order.
I haven't noticed any flavor, which actually surprised me, but I've only actually drunk IPA from it which has some pine flavor and other strong aromatics anyway. I didn't notice anything. I removed the pitch coating to re-coat with straight pitch, but haven't got around to that yet, so I just haven't actually used it that much. Also, if there is any pine flavor, it will probably fade with time as the volatiles (basically turpentine) leave. I can't imagine objecting much to a little pitch flavor in most cold drinks, but we'll see. I'll probably use it a lot once I get it re-coated, just to see what it's benefits and limitations are.
+SkillCult Ha! That's hilarious. I BET you were tired! You type "Triple A's" never cease to amaze. Oh, and yeah...better get on those other tasks...don't forget to mine the ore to create that metal form. I want to be at that sloshing dance party...I better get on making a black jack for meself. I am working on some slightly pointy toed knee high buckskin mocassins that may work for such an occasion. Have you ever used a "Mench Bench" portable wooden vise? I'll email you a rough sketch I made of the design...Gemiah Kurzfeld's dad Robert turned us onto the design that his carpenter friend Mr. Mench came up with...could be fun to make one that has a taper that matches the flare of the mug body form.
+Kate Lundquist That looks really cool, thanks. I do have a similar wedge arrangement on one of my workbenches, but it tends to get in the way and is much smaller. I like that modular versatile of those type of clamps and that one you can move, which is cool. If you've never seen the workbench book, check it out. It's a gateway drug to the toolbox book though, just sayin'.... amzn.to/1O4CWGf maybe SoCo library system has it.
I've been wanting to make a leather working vice for a long time. They look something like this one linked below, so I could possibly make a special one just for stitching black jacks that just has more space in the gap.
www.ebay.com/itm/Antique-Leather-Vice-Wood-Clamp-for-Repairing-or-Stitching-Leather-/281837554101?_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D33432%26meid%3D46bc47546ec14d9490dd42852ede1ec6%26pid%3D100012%26rk%3D2%26rkt%3D10%26sd%3D171896247795&_trksid=p2047675.l2557&nma=true&si=n11phj%252FKAtHjTnguEpNMe7BWHoc%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc
Rad video bro, although I think I blinked a couple times and missed some big steps. Cheers mate!
How's the mug held up Steven? I could've sworn you had a video with in (maybe in a video of you discussing planes?) but can't find it. I'm planning on hunting a deer (for meat) in the next couple of months after I can get some sort of refrigeration/preservation methods sorted so I'm doing some research into tanning leather/leather projects. Hopefully I can get a neighbour to teach me how to process the carcass, but otherwise I'll have to learn on the job a bit!
Nice work!!!
Great work! I don't work with leather very often, so have never invested in the nice tools. For saddle stitching, I use a dinner fork to mark the leather, and hammer a nail through to make the holes. Always nice to see the proper tools in action.
Wasn't lampblack also used as a tattoo ink at one point?
Also, as a fellow handdriller, well done 🔥😊
the traditional awl for saddle stitch is a full triangle that is larger than the shaft. yeah, lamp black is kind of the universal black tattoo ink! There is something everywhere that can be burned to make it. either fats or tree resins. I need to make more hand drill videos. I've got a book on hand drilling that I started writing almost 25 years ago and never finished. I should finish that...
@@SkillCult I would enjoy reading that. I love the handdrill.
Aaaand another project that will keep me from studying for my master's degree... 😂😂😂 Hope you are happy. :D
I have conflicted feelings lol. Maybe just hit autoplay and turn the sound off.
@@SkillCult It´s ok. It´s still better than procastinating by browsing facebook.
That was awesome
This is really badass but it seems much harder than just making a wooden mug haha. Not knocking it at all im just curious why people used to go through the extra trouble. Yours looks badass though man
Yeah, that is an interesting question. Certainly lighter and thinner walled than wood. More fun and satisfying to drink from than thick walled wooden ware. easier to transport too. I think people carried their own with them sometimes. That's all I can think of really. The advantages over metal and glass are expense, weight and fragility back in the day. Now glass is cheap, but think of the number of glasses that break in a bar and having to replace those in medieval europe.
Think you could make a video going over some of yours books?
I have one that is on tanning books and plan to do more eventually. Funny though, I forgot to include the Waterer book Black Jacks and Leather Bottels though.
Very interesting video!
+Angela Merkel Thanks Angela!
Chickadee sent me👍🏼
Great, he's awesome. Welcome
Is there a site that sells ground bark or tanning powder online? Ive seen mixed tannin powder on amazon but they don't say where it was sourced and i don't know what the solution strength should be with such a concentrated product.
Search for quebracho That is the most common. Yuu might find chestnut extract too. I think there are some taxidermy places that might sell it.
@@SkillCult I was able to find a supplier vandykestaxidermy.com. Thank you for your help. I know a local tree guy and told him to let me know when he is taking down any oaks. Also planning on collecting sumac leaves this summer and a friend has pomegranate trees might attempted a tan using pomegranate peels. Are there any special steps to tanning fish skin? I live on the east coast we catch sharks, large stingrays and gar fish in early summer.
@@darnellbrawner3659 Good. Watch my video reviewing tanning books. my friend Lotta in Sweden has written a whole book on tanning fish skins. Never messed with them myself, but it's quite popular these days. The book is unfortunately expensive, but it's really cool.
Can anyone tell me whether chrome tan leather is ok to make a leather canteen.(prolonged contact).food safe!???
You are much better off using vegetable tanned leather and going through a waxing process. You can use the methods you saw in this video, or if you are making a container for water only, simply soaking it in warm was an then shaping the parts for stitching before another final dip in wax.
Don't have the wax boiling hot! It will literally fry the leather.
I think my only exception for this would be what's called utility splits. They are chrome tanned, but are already waxed. You can literally toss the utility splits into a muddy yard and leave them for many years and they will wash up with water, coming out the same consistency as the day you tossed them down.
wow that looks like a great work stump! :D
Yeah, it is!
And this is why a well made leather mug is low low good-friend price of $1,000...
What does it make the beer taste like?
beer :)
according to google your site isnt secured at all . please fix asap. thank you?
Thanks, there was a box unclicked in my settings. Should be fixed.
Honestly thought he was going to make a sweet beer cozy.
Wow, lots of interesting stuff in this vid that I've never heard of or seen before! How do you clean the mug after use?
It's surprisingly not that hard to clean. The pitch lining is hard and smooth, almost like shellac or something. And it's really just used for relatively clean cold drinks like wine and beer, so it just has to be rinsed soon enough.
SkillCult are there any other kinds of drinks?! Hahah.
Those 5 people hoo disliked this must have sum prity complex reason's
Awesome. That soot color does it wash off or stain clothes, or is it very stable? Looks very nice.
If it's done right, not like I'm doing it here necessarily, it should lock up all of the pigment in the paint base. Traditionally, they were japaned, which makes a glossy almost enamel like finish from linseed and black pigment, but with driers and possibly heated to cure it.
@@SkillCult i think you did a good job. Does it have to be fat soot or can we take it from chimeneys and such?
@@gurzilyasbattal5329 I have parts of it built up now, but if done right, it should be more like a surface paint i think, so it is completely coated and sealed. Use pitch, beeswax or oil to make the soot. It's really not hard to make. Put a tip plate just over the tip of a candle flame. Just do it outside though. Charcoal is not the same and will never really work the same. It's too coarse. This comes out as the finest possible powder with no grinding.
@@SkillCult thx
Man that is so cool! What do you think about using an old male deerskin for one? Not as durable I guess? Thanks.
+River Valley Survival and Bushcraft I would say not. Deer skin is pretty loose fibered. I mean it may work, a lot depends on the pitch coating anyway, but given a choice and considering how much work it all is I'd go with something denser. Horse may be okay. There is a large bombard (pitcher) that some english guy had made out of his war horse after it died. I imagine cattle was preferred though. t's just hard to beat cattle for fiber density. I did use a pretty open fibered part of the skin up at the neck. Now that I know I can pull it off, if I do any more, they will be from the center of the hide which is the densest area shaved to an even thickness and to get past any of that loose flesh side fiber. You'd think a wild animal would be better denser skin, but for whatever reason, cattle skin is just really bomber. It can be almost woodlike even before hardening.
Nice. If I can still get my hands on some cow skin I want to try one of these. Very cool! I'll check the book out you mentioned in the description.Thank you.
+River Valley Survival and Bushcraft Leather and Craftsmanship is a cool book, but it doesn't have tons on Black Jacks and he may have some of it wrong. read the blog post too. It should be out soon and I'm putting a link to Rex Lingwood's paper on the author of leather and craftsmanship and his opinion on hardening etc... The book doeas have a lot of cool stuff in it, and some great pictures, but it's somewhat academic. There is another one that I've seen but don't own called Black Jacks and Leather Bottels I want to get that, but apparently the guy cut out the part on how they are made because he feared that people would counterfeit them. grrr....
It's hard to get really cleanly skinned cattle skins. If you do, I recommend rounding them out for tanning. The belly butt edge and neck are all pretty floppy. It's so much work to collect the materials and tan the thing that you might as well stick to the best part if you can get more eventually, which will still give you a big ol' chunk of the best leather to work with. If you cut it down the spine too, it's way easier to handle the pieces, which can be a real advantage for a home tanner. There are other ways to cut them too. You can find diagrams online. The rest will make excellent rawhide or hide glue.
I will keep an eye out for the blog! The cow hide I worked last was so thin, by the time I finished fleshing, it almost looked like a fishing net LOL!. Young cow I believe, but i ended up with a nice size piece for rawhide. You got a lot of sweet info!!! Thanks.
+River Valley Survival and Bushcraft Haven't run into one like that before. Range fed is always better for skin substance/quality. The blog post is posted this morning.
Drinking applejack from a blackjack!
Methinks a blackjack shotglass
how's the mug doing these days?
It's sort of just sitting about. I need to finish the outside and have been wanting to do an experiment using iron to speed curing on the last coats, but haven't got around to it. Also, the inside is un-pitched because I was working on the outside and wanted to change the inside to straight pitch. I probably won't use it at all till I finish that stuff. maybe this summer.
You are my hairy hero!
+Melissa Meader yay!
I like the lampblack paint, and the bellows. I saw them in your fat liquors video as well. Do they have their own video? They're African in design, yes?
I'll do a lampblack video sometime and eventually have an opportunity to show the bellows closer. Its been so long, I can't remember if I copied that bellows design from somewhere or made it up. they work really well though. It's one piece carved from green alder with two elderberry tubes.
I hope that is raw linseed oil you used that will touch your lips processed linseed oil uses lead, I think, for driers.
+John Laurence Poole Thanks for bring that up. It's something that needs to become common knowledge. I already know though. This was done with flax oil from the grocery store actually, so it's best case scenario. I quit using "boiled" linseed altogether. Thanks.
+SkillCult Great, then we can be assured you'll be around for further excellent videos. Folks: most linseed oil sold for woodworking has driers (lead?) in it which make the oil unsuitable for products that come into contact with foods or beverages.
+John Laurence Poole I should have mentioned that. Too much to think about. Maybe I'll ad a sticky note.
rad. just drink it before you put it back in your jacket
could you drink a hot beverage out of that mug?
No, cold only. The pitch melts when it gets warm.
I just wonder, does it taste funny at all?
Doesn't seem to no.
No lighterss...?????
Kchkchkchkchkchkchkch
No excuse