The San Francisco call., 1910-04-03

EWVE ARE in the habit of suppos-
NM ing that working in leather
" means a long and careful ap-
premiership in the art. This
is true Of certain processes for the
beautifying Of leather, but other forms
Of art may be successfully attempted
by The amateur Next TO leather cut
ting comes leather tooling In order
10 tool leather. a nutpick may be
employed. i is true that a tool lJr the
purpose is purchasable, but it is not
lsolutely essential to the success of
7 re work
A desk set illustrated was made with
a niczel-plated nutpick. Silver plated
or nickel-plated tools are necessary, be-
cause iron or steel on damp leather in
variably results in stain. Purchased
paste must not be used, as certain
brands dye the leather. A gluten
wheat-aour paste made at home is de-
manded by leather experts. The recipe
Is here given:
one CUP whole wheat OF gluten -four.
one CUP cold water.
Two cups boiling water.
II IS sometimes necessary to add a
AA---A L-D "a DL4lAAAE AGNN4- Dun AAfC
minutes. il should clear up in this
time. Add one level teaspoonful of
powdered alum dissolved IN a very
small portion OF cold water. Remove
from the fire and strain through coarse
cheesecloth. Keep it in an uncovered
jar. where it viii keep sweet for a
week or ten days. Make a smaller
quantity. using the same proportions,
# less be needed. but never be tempted
into putting q preservative into It, as it
might discolor the leather.
Now that you have your tool and
YOUR paste. the leather is the next
requisite. Always buy a smooth, pill
able calfskin for toolng. A leather
that looks very much like calf. but
prepared from a sheepskin. may be
bought for very much less, but it will
not wear like calfskin. The best ma
terial for tooling is Russian calf.
skin Of this leather contains from nine
10 twelve square feet. It is not possible
20 buy less than a whole skin, except
from certain dealers who make a spe-
cialty OF cutting. The better way is
FOR three or four women to club to-
gether and buy one skin. There is no
way 70 leather. II may be cut in
any direction, so il is not Ike mate
risls in which a bias is to be avoided.
Russian calf is usually found in 6uffs,
mahogany and browns.
THREE EFFECTS ARE POSSIBLE
IN the PROCESS Of tooling three things
are possible: The background can be
lowered, the color changed and the
design can be raised above the ordi-
nary surface Of the leather.
Thus. three steps. or planes. are at
tainable in the leather: The back
ground. which is lowest; the surface
OF the leather. which remains un-
changed. and the design, which is raised
above the leather surface.
The lowering OF the background and
the coloring given to it come from care
ful rubbing while the leather is damp.
After selecting a design. draw it on
some heavy paper Take a piece Of
leather a little larger than the de-
sign and immerse it quickly in water.
See that the entire piece of leather is
wet. else a water stain win result.
While the leather is damp, place it on
a piece Of marble. plate glass or an or
binary slate The damp leather will
cling tightly TO the surface of any
one Of these substances. Slightly
dsmpen the paper on which the design
is drawn, and place it over the leather.
In turn, the paper will adhere to the
leather. with the end of the nutpick
trace the lines OF the design. and It will
be found that the leather has the de-
sign upon it in incised lines. When all
the details OF the design have been
transferred 10 the leather. remove the
paper and go over the lines two or
three times on the leather, so as to be
applied.
Be careful OF your finger nails. II
they are the least bit long. you will
see 8 mass Of fine lines all over the