Art Project: Leather, wood, glass, plastics

1. Design and make an article of leather using cutting, skiving, lining, and stitching (along with knowing the different tools). Decorate with tooling or carving.

2. Chip carve a decoration, finish with shellac, varnish, oil, or wax.

3. Paint or etch on glass. Make a stained or fused glass piece. Try glass blowing. Learn how the following are made: cut, blown, pressed, stained, milk, patterned, crystal, plate, and safety glass. Identify/view Wister, Steigel, Amelung, Jarves, Tiffany, and Sandwich Factory glassware. Visit churches to see stained glass.

4. Make plastic decoration. Make a plastic item at home.

This one is a bit more involved, so I'll be posting each piece as I complete them.

1. Leatherwork

I made Viking turnshoes out of 3mm and 5mm leather and artificial sinew using an awl, punches, and needles using a saddle stitch.

Tools:

Awl and Groovers-

Diamond awl or stitching awl with a diamond shaped head used for saddle stitching by hand.
Scratch awl are used to make lines and re-open holes during hand stitching.
Stitch groover lets you create a line at a specific distance.
Wing divider also lets you create a line at a specific distance with two set marks.

Edge Bevelers and Skivers-

French edger us a short shovel shaped tool used for thinning leather.
Edge bevelers round the edge of leather to take off the sharp angles for burnishing.
Super skivers work like razor blades to remove larger sections of leather like a vegetable peeler.

Hammers and Mallets-

Mallets are used to drive punches, stamps, or pricking irons into leather. Mallets should be made or wood or rubber.

Knives and Cutting-

French angled knife has an angled blade that comes to a sharp tip for small, detailed precision cutting.
Mini round knife is a general-purpose knife with a semi-circular head.
Pricking irons are pronged tools used to mark holes for hand stitching. There are two main types: diamond point irons, which punch through the leather, and European-style irons, which create diagonal slashes that need an awl to open. They come in different sizes and prong counts, and are named by stitches per inch or stitch length in millimeters.
Rotary Punch/Punch Set uses punches to make holes in leather for things like belt holes, attaching grommets, snaps or other hardware, lacing or hand stitching (pricking iron/stitching chisel preferred).
Skiving knives usually have a large metal blade with a flat or diagonal edge. A skiving knife is best for thinning leather edges because it is used in a downward motion, thinning to a particular thickness.
Straight utility knives are straight-edged, general-purpose leather knives good for cutting, skiving and general leatherwork (ex. straight leather knife).
Strap cutter simplifies cutting widths of leather for bag straps or belts. It is adjustable for both leather thickness and strap width. To use, feed the leather through the arm and the blade will cut along the parallel. It’s important to maintain consistent pressure and to keep the leather edge pressed tightly against the face of the strap cutter for the best cuts.
A tempered cutting glass is a solid sacrificial surface for skiving leather.

Sharpening Tools-

Leather strop is a piece of leather used to hone the edge of a tool by smoothing up and down the blade at a 15-18 degree angle.
Strop polishing compounds are abrasives used to polish and sharpen edges by being applied to the flesh (rough) side or a leather strop.

Slickers & Folders-

Leather Burnisher for Surfaces smooths out the grain and unwanted creases in leather. To use, dampen the flesh side of the leather and run the burnisher back and forth over the grain to smooth the crease. A surface burnisher can also be used to smooth out stitches, to help crease leather and to set glue lines.
A leather folder is used to get a sharp, precise crease or fold in leather, e.g. in wallets, pockets or bags. Fold leather around the edge to start a crease or run the tool along the folded edge to smooth and set folds or creases. You can also use this tool along glue lines to help them stick, or to break apart set glue lines in wallets or pockets.
Leather Press Roller can be uses to roll over glued edges to secure, to flatten stitches, or to set creases and folds.
Leather Slicker/Burnisher is a notched, wooden tool that uses friction to finish, smooth and seal leather edges with water, wax or gum tragacanth in a process known as “burnishing.” Also called a burnishing tool.

Other tools include a cutting mat, a leather roughing tool like sandpaper, a leather thickness gauge which tells how thick a piece of leather is, a ruler for measuring, and a thread burner, like a lighter to keep the ends of the threads from unravelling.

2. Chip carving. The original instructions said to make a box, but I made a Viking Waxed Tablet instead and sealed it with a mixture of 50/50 beeswax and boiled linseed oil to make it waterproof.

3. Glasswork is a bit different. I don't have a local glassblowing location I can use, so I tried lampwork instead making glass beads in a variety of ways. I used devanli handmade glass rods and made plain, compound, fragmented, and mosaic-based beads.

What is...

cut glass?

glass that is cut by pressing them against a rotating wheel of hard stone lubricated with water.

blown glass?

a technique for forming molten glass into functional or artistic items by inflating it into a bubble using a blowpipe.

ex. of Roman blown glass from the Metropolitan Museum of Art

pressed glass?

a type of glassware created by forcing molten glass into a metal mold using a plunger, allowing for rapid, cost-effective production of intricate designs.

stained glass?

a decorative art form featuring colored glass pieces assembled to create images or patterns, commonly held together by lead strips (cames). Used heavily in church windows since the 12th century, it combines colored glass—achieved via metallic oxides—with detailed painting to control light and enhance architectural beauty.
metallic oxides are added to molten glass, meaning the color is inherent, not painted on top. For instance, cobalt produces blue, while iron oxide produces green.
pieces are traditionally cut, painted, and joined together like a jigsaw puzzle using lead came channels. These joints are then soldered together.

milk glass?

an opaque or translucent, milky-white (sometimes colored) decorative glass first produced in 16th-century Venice. Popular in the Victorian era and mid-20th century, it is known for its creamy appearance and durability.

patterned glass?

a decorative, translucent glass featuring patterns or textures embossed onto one or both surfaces during manufacturing. Created by pressing molten glass between rollers, it offers privacy, diffuses light, and adds aesthetic appeal, making it ideal for showers, doors, windows, and office partitions.

crystal?

a specialized, high-clarity type of glass made by adding minerals like lead oxide, barium, or zinc to the raw mixture, resulting in a heavier, more brilliant material that refracts light better than standard soda-lime glass. Known for its durability, it can be crafted into thinner, sharper, and more intricate designs—often used for premium wine glasses, chandeliers, and decorative items.
due to a high refractive index (>1.52), crystal glass sparkles and creates rainbows in sunlight, whereas regular glass often appears flatter or with a greenish tint.
crystal is denser and heavier than regular glass of the same size.
when struck, crystal produces a long, ringing, bell-like tone, whereas normal glass makes a short, dull thud.

plate glass?

a high-quality, thick sheet glass produced by rolling molten glass, then grinding and polishing it to achieve an exceptionally smooth, distortion-free surface. Historically used for luxury mirrors and large windows, it has largely been replaced by modern float glass, though the term is still used for durable commercial glazing.
poured onto tables, rolled flat, annealed (heat treated then cooled), and polished to remove imperfections.

safety glass?

engineered glass designed to be significantly less likely to break, or less prone to causing injury when it does break, compared to standard annealed glass. The two main types are tempered (toughened) glass, which shatters into small, harmless, pebble-like pieces, and laminated glass, which stays intact within a frame when broken.
Tempered Glass: Created by heating and then rapid cooling, making it ~4 times stronger than regular glass. It is commonly used for side/rear car windows, shower doors, and patio doors.
Laminated Glass: Made by bonding two or more glass panels with a plastic interlayer (PVB). When broken, the shards adhere to this interlayer, preventing flying pieces. It is used for windshields, skylights, and in security applications.

Wister, Steigel, Amelung, Jarves, Tiffany, and Sandwich Factory glassware:

Wister