Repairing cut leather facing

[RandallMoffett]

So is there anyway to repair cut leather facing on splinted and pair of plate armours? I have a pair of splinted greaves that got a nasty gash in them and it go me wondering if there is a fix for it. It is not load bearing. I thought about gluing it down and redying it

Thanks,

RPM

[RandallMoffett]

With 80 views none of the leather guys on the forum have any ideas? I thought with some of the awesome leather skills here someone would have some ideas. The person at Tandy thinks I can get leather glue and simply attach them. Use some leather conditioner than dye it again. Might just give that a try. The full cut is even longer than I though, it does not go as deep the entire way.

RPM

[Konstantin the Red]

Since it's not bearing load, that's what I'd do. Modern adhesives are great stuff.

[Alex Baird]

That, or look into blind suture stitches.

[losthelm]

An image will help.
First instinct is whip stitch.
Its in incision in skin, the skin won't heal so the stiching will hold it together.
Applying a backer piece with rubber cement and stitching it down may help.
If its been finished with super sheen, wax, or other sealer dye won't take the same way.

[RandallMoffett]

Konstantin,

That is the best my internet searches and question to the nice Tandy lady have gotten me so I am looking into what the best glue would be. They sell some of their own stuff which has ok reviews. Losthelms idea of rubber cement might be a good way to go.

Alex,

I will look into some stitches like that

Losthelm,

I have some near paper thin leather I could do that with. Run it behind them and glue them down.

I am wondering if I should finish the cut to pull the two sides together as it does not seem to let me pull them tight if the cut is not fully through.

The dye I used has not been sealed or waxed.

What the heck is leather conditioner. Does it just clean the leather up to remove junk before glue?

Thanks,

RPM

[Konstantin the Red]

I'd say this tells it all about what to expect from leather conditioners. Looks like in general they are applied to maintain/replace any losses of tanning oils and waxes over time:
http://blog.leathercraftlibrary.com/201 ... ners-oils/

More or less a not-quite-polish that stuffs the leather rather in the manner of latigo, which is maximally stuffed as full as possible with oils and waxes so nothing gets in. Restores a fresh-leather smell too, I bet.

From your description upthread, I thought your leather had gotten slashed all the way through?

[Friethjoph]

From my service time, I know just how to cover up scratches and rips in thick leather, but that is far from a repair. It is not a fix, but more "you can't scold me if you can't see the tortured leather". If that is sufficient, you could just try to cover it up with lots of shoe polish in the correct color and have it dry - but that won't last for more than an hour under stress and is for display only.

Glues often can be visible if not applied carefully... but there is some stitch that can barely be seen - you would need to have to cut open the whole slot and then stitch from behind into the leather, exit through the edge of the cut, enter on the other side of the cut and then exit again through the back. A bit like a U-shape where you have the bottom going through the edges, and the tops connect to the next stitch each. Upside: it is somewhat stable and can be disguised with a tad of glue and shoe polish. Downside: it is not invisible, it is stiffer, it is not as water resistant as the uncut leather and only works for leather several millimeters thick, best more than 3mm (~1/10th inch). IIRC that stitch is also used in shoemaking.

[RandallMoffett]

Kon,

Thanks for the link. The leather is still rather new. Might be good to smooth the edges though. It cut through several inches of the project all the way. The cut then has several places around the deeper cuts that do not cut all the way.

Friethjoph,

So the leather is riveted to steel splints. In this case right between one of the splits. It is already pretty rigid but I'd have to take the splint off to get to the back. I am thinking of putting in some leather behind it and gluing them and trying one of my fishhook type leather needles against simply gluing it.

Good to know about the fact it will likely be visible if I am not careful. That might be the end result sadly. Oh well it was made to be used.

RPM

[coreythompsonhm]

Barge cement. Its a super awesome rubber cement. Slop it in good, press the flap or cut together. Let it dry. While its still rubbery, you can rub off all the extra.