Re: Leather Hardening

[seareach@juno.com (Bonnie A Hindle)]

Poster: seareach@juno.com (Bonnie  A Hindle)

Eogan, you wrote
>Another way to do it that would not require melting enough wax to 
>immerse
>it in would be to melt some wax and then apply it to the leather with 
>a
>paint brush.  If you apply it liberally and let it soak in, it should 
>also
>harden the leather, although (in my experience) completely immersing 
>it
>and letting it soak gets it harder than anything else I've tried.  
>Note
>that it will not be hard for a while afat hyou take it out.  You need 
>to
>let it cool.
	Eogan,
	I am sorry but I have to differ here.  A few years ago I made my
breast plate and a set of vanbraces the paint brush way and it all got
quite soft and flaked rather easily.  Arehyou taking about using just
straight paraffin here or the carboole(sp?) recipe in the fighters
handbook which if I am not mistaken calls for a combination of waxes?? 
How long do you brush the piece leather and how often do you repeat the
process  before you consider it finished for the first time?  I am
getting ready to do another breastplate and am definitely going to try
the fully submerged method - anything has to be better than getting out
of armor and looking little you just got done wrestling a candle and
lost. :) 

	Alesia
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