Tried bone-in leather for a journal cover, ended up with a very expensive bookmark

Last weekend I finally got my hands on some bone-in leather from a tannery outside Columbus. I thought it would give this journal a cool rustic edge, especially for a friend's field notes. Cut it too thin around the spine and the whole thing curled up like a dried leaf within 3 hours. Now I have a stiff, lumpy rectangle that barely holds paper, but it makes a heck of a conversation piece on my desk. I tried steaming it flat with my kettle, which just made it smell like a wet dog in a library. Maybe I should stick to pre-tanned stuff or actually watch a tutorial before I wing it. Has anyone else ruined a nice hide trying to skip a step or two?

1 comments

1 Comment

the_rowan6d ago

The whole wet dog in a library thing got me good... I did basically the same with a veg tan hide last spring. Cut it too thin for a wallet and it curled into a little taco shape before I even got the stitching holes punched. Tried to flatten it with a heavy book and it just left crease marks that made it look even worse. Now it sits on my shelf as a very fancy coaster.