Help: Leatherworkers, I need advice

Subject: Leatherworkers, I need advice
From: Hollowfox
Date: 06 Jul 01 - 12:02 PM

A couple of years ago I got some Turkish shadow puppets. They are camel hide, with (probably) natural vegetable dyes. At the time of purchase, I was told to put oil on them to extend the life of the puppet, so to speak. The trouble is, I don't know what type of oil is best for this job, and I don't want to spoil the puppets with something that will go rancid, or who knows what. So what should I use? Olive, mineral, mink, neat'sfoot? I tried asking on a puppeteers website, but my terminal kept getting kabollixed up.

Subject: RE: Help: Leatherworkers, I need advice
From: Walking Eagle
Date: 06 Jul 01 - 01:22 PM

Among other things, I'm a saddlemaster trained in doing leather repairs and restoration. First, how old are the puppets? Are they cracked? If so, nothing will take away the cracks. If the puppets are old, natural vegetable dies were probably used. Tanning was probably done using animal urine as a fixant. The dies are not the problem, it's the tanning that has to be considered. 100% neatsfoot oil ( NOTHING cut with other compounds or wax) always has and always will be the best thing to use when there are so many unknowns. You can get the 100% stuff at saddlery supply, feed, and leather craft stores. Some outdoors stores might have it as well. DO NOT get anything that weather proofs leather. LIGHTLY and I mean L*I*G*H*T*L*Y rub the puppets with a lint free cloth that has been left to soak in a bit of oil for about 24 hours in a covered container. This allows for even oiling. Store your puppets where they can get even air flow. Neither too hot or too cold of a room works best. Keep them out, don't put them in a box somewhere in a closet. Leather likes to breathe. Do they have any mold on them or need a little cleaning first? If they do, rub them with a dilute mixture of white vingear and water and allow them to dry for a day or so before you oil them. They should only need to be oiled about twice a year or so. You might want to consider wearing plastic gloves when using them to keep skin oil and sweat from getting inside of them. These little beauties should out last all of us, if taken care of properly.

Hope this helps.

Subject: RE: Help: Leatherworkers, I need advice
From: Rick Fielding
Date: 06 Jul 01 - 01:30 PM

When I first took up Leathercarving as a hobby/part time business 12 years ago I was amazed at the number of products available that seemed to do virtually the same thing. After a few years I realized that they all had slight variations and produced subtly different results. My suggestion is a light application of CARNAUBA creme. Another product that I'm pretty happy with is LEATHER BALM WITH ATOM WAX. Plain old saddle soap can be useful as well.

Bill Sables will have some good advice when he sees this as well.

Rick

Subject: RE: Help: Leatherworkers, I need advice
From: Hollowfox
Date: 06 Jul 01 - 03:19 PM

Thanks, guys. Walking Eagle, the puppets are modern, probably less than five years old, made for the tourist trade, and in good shape. I've been keeping them in my desk drawer, so they live in the same temperatures I do. They aren't packed or wrapped in anything, just laying on top of the unsharpened pencils. I figured they's be protected from dust and light there, but have air circulating gently around them as well. Plus, I'd be able to look at them whenever I wanted to. I'll be interested to hear what Bill Sables and others have to say, but I can pick up some neatsfoot oil this weekend, and your application instructions sound right; these things are thin, and I want to preserve them, not marinate them. They'll probably stay in my drawer, away from the acids found in paper and cardboard, safe from dust, cats, and kids. No way am I going to put them behind glass in a picture frame and let them fade on a wall somewhere.

Subject: RE: Help: Leatherworkers, I need advice
From: Walking Eagle
Date: 06 Jul 01 - 03:45 PM

Sounds like you are doing right by them. What kind of puppets are they? Human? Amimal? Do you tell stories with them? They sound interesting.

I hope I didn't sound too preachy, but I've dealth with leather strap goods and full saddle hides for about 35 years of my life. I worked in a reconstructed period 'village' in Ohio and taught their saddlemasters and also taught the first saddlemasters in Williamsburg their trade. Others will have helpful ideas as well, I'm sure.

Subject: RE: Help: Leatherworkers, I need advice
From: Hollowfox
Date: 06 Jul 01 - 03:59 PM

I have Karagoz and his buddy Hacivad, about 8 or 9 inches tall. They're the mainstay of the traditional plays both in Turkey and Greece, and probably points beyond and between. Their plays are funny, some of the plots I've read about sound like classic baggy-pants burlesque routines (the guys somehow have to spend the night in a madhouse, etc.), and have been known to be used for satire and social commentary without the puppeteers being punished. I also have a nice serpintine type dragon, about 1x5 inches in size, and a small lion, maybe 3x4 inches, if that.

Subject: RE: Help: Leatherworkers, I need advice
From: Gypsy
Date: 07 Jul 01 - 10:16 AM

Keep the neatsfoot oil away from any stitching....can make leather so soft that the stitches pull thru