tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29524018.post7009721097631948636..comments2024-01-22T19:10:23.007-05:00Comments on A Commonplace Book: Hardened Leather ArmorWill McLeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14685409952186547597noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29524018.post-77348729545559683492011-11-21T03:05:11.155-05:002011-11-21T03:05:11.155-05:00I've avoided using either beeswax or paraffin ...I've avoided using either beeswax or paraffin wax for leather hardening, in either full impregnation or just as a surface treatment, after doing various test cuts against spare fragments of wax hardened leather - compared to water hardened, the wax hardened leather tended to flex more under blunt impact, and to lubricate the cutting edge on the way through under sharp impact (not that any of us have to worry about sharp impacting objects too much).<br /><br />So water hardening is the way to go, either by forced drying as you describe, or if you have adequate clampable forms to hand, by boiling. Vegetable tanned leather tends to undergo hardening/denaturing when heated to 80 degrees Celsius, while modern chromium tanned leathers will not harden/denature until around 110-120 degrees, so an oil or higher temperature brine mix is required.<br /><br />The best hardened leather armour I ever had was heavy veg-tanned leather that had been left in a tin shed in Perth, Australia, for about a decade, which I then cut up for a coat of plates. Stuff was like rock, but not brittle.Weekend_Vikinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02863068062497281215noreply@blogger.com