Solo Fine Threading III

[Willis Efram]

17 Fall 524

Siting atop his bed and looking over the materials he had, Willis considered what to make next for his work. While he had mostly made repairs to preexisting items so far, he had only made very simple items when asked to due to his own understanding of his lacking skills. However he knew he would need to work on more things, eventually wanting to work his way along to making molds to work off of and more complex items like leather boots and such for the jungle.

Looking at what he could do now though, even with a template to work off of via a finished product, he was not so sure he could make a pair of boots that would be serviceable. And so with that in mind the Akontak pondered what he could make. A leather... Blanket? No, he shook his head, that was not really a proper idea. A leather cloak maybe? That seemed more of an idea, since it would likely be more breathable in the heat of the jungle than a leather coat or such but still protective in the outer layers of the wooded jungle.

Considering that item though he realized another thing he would need to be able to make and which would more likely need to be replaced more often... Leather ties or lacing for boots, bags, anything really that tied shut rather than using other fasteners like buttons. Even breeches at times used leather ties to stay in place rather than buttons or belts.

Nodding to himself Willis realized making such fasteners would be a good idea, and something he could likely do at his current ability level. Picturing some in his head Willis realized he even had a pair in his room, and getting up from his bed he raced over to his shoeware to pick out the simple pair of boots he owned. Sure enough leather lacing was used on them, fed through small cuts in the leather of the boots... Picturing it further he recalled seeing other objects being more reinforced, such as with sown in metal rings or things for the leather fastener to loop through rather than just a opening in the leather as was done here. These were all things he filed away in his mind for later useage and practice, but for now he just planned to make the lacing.

Inspecting his boots he could see the lace was somewhat simple. A single length of leather wound up and down and around the boots fronts to tie them shut... This meant however he had to cut the leather the same, one long narrow strip. This part, he knew, would be easy enough and clean enough to do in his room, but any kind of weather proofing he did to the leather afterwards with oil or such would need to be done outside of his room and in an open place where he would not need to worry about spilling or making a mess. But just cutting out some leather, that he thought he could do here safely.

With a smile Willis got up, beginning to pull out his tools and going through the pieces of leather he had in his room he had gotten from his source before for use on other projects and which could service for this task.

WC: 556

[Willis Efram]

Thinking over his work, Willis considered the materials he had at hand and the dimensions of the finished product he required. Rather than one large piece, he needed a long length that was thin. Thinking it over, the Akontak knew that leather bent and so needing just a single straight piece was not the end of things. If he had an awkward cut of leather leftover later surely he could use up such scraps with similar work. For now since he was new to making lacing he needed to be careful, but later perhaps he could use it in other ways.

Knowing what he wanted to use it for, hardy jungle usage, the stronger and hardier the better. But looking at his example more closely, thinner and less hardy lace could also be used for other settings like in the settlement proper. People still usually wore clothing there, though some did like to keep bare more than others, and so he could also later make some for that setting. For now though he wanted to focus on one thing and that was making leather for the jungle. Cutting thinner and cheaper bits for cooler usage could come later, to start with nice thicker pieces would be easier for him to do.

Sitting at the desk in his room, Willis pulled out the scrap piece of wood he often replaced and used as a cutting surface, along with the length of leather he was currently using for his work and a few knives for cutting leather. Shears or the like might work for some jobs but leather cutting knives tended to be more multipurpose in the Akontak's experience and so he tended to use that tool the most. As usual though before just blindly cutting he took out some chalk for marking on the leather, plotting out his work before actually doing so. This time his marking was rather simple, slowly marking a straight line adjacent to the edge of the leather piece. In Willis' mind after all this would mean he only needed to cut off one side and the edge of the leather piece would serve as the other one.

Of course he was new to the task and realized some trial and error would be needed, and so planned to try the task multiple times until he was able to approximate something similar to what he had seen in other places. Slowly he marked along, doing his best to keep steady, measuring out a rough width for the cutting that would be to the desired shape. Once he finally had it long enough, nearly the entire length of the piece of leather, Willis finally began his real work. Cutting.

Careful to start with, and moving the leather across the wood while keeping both his blade and cutting surface in place, Willis slowly cut along the line he had chalked. He did his best now to correct any imperfections, trying his best to cut straight and not too narrow or shallow while letting his drawn line and experience guide him. It was the start of a slow process that would continue for quite awhile.

WC: 525

[Willis Efram]

With the task at hand, repetition was the key. At the same Willis was learning keenly at that time that repetition was a difficult thing to do when trying something new. Pulling the leather along into his blade Willis got one, two, then three pulls, before his blade moved a bit too far over. As it did he ended up cutting off the length of leather instead of continuing it onward as one long strip as he was trying.

Letting out a sigh Willis tried to work out what he could salvage, checking on how much he had done. Looking at the separated piece and checking it over the unskilled leathersmith saw he had gotten at least a few hand spans but no where near the full length he had wanted for a lace on a boot. Instead, checking the leather over, he felt it would perhaps work as a tie for a small pouch or bag but little more.

Shrugging to himself Willis kept at it after this small mistake, focusing on how he moved his materials and working to avoid making the same mistake and finishing his single first strip. Once he got that done he could try for a second one without any mistakes, but was realizing one of the downsides to making the edge of the leather piece the side of the piece he was cutting. If he was a bit off or wavered a bit in his work then he was liable to cut off the piece into a separate one as he had done here. And once cut off reattaching it was not really an option the Akontak knew. No, instead it would often mean starting over with a new piece and possibly trying to work out what could be done with the scrap leftovers as he had been here.

Carefully moving the pieces into place Willis once more tried to find his groove, making sure to cut a bit wider at the start with the knowledge that he could trim off the excess when he was done with the first stage. However he also knew going forward with anything important he would make sure to leave plenty of buffer around his cutting, only taking off the clear excess on the first run by and then trimming down to the final product later. It would perhaps mean more scrap and waste, but better that than wasting an entire piece of leather.

In this case though since he was making one long strip of leather this was not really an option, since he was dealing with something by its nature so slim... But still a good lesson for later when dealing with other pieces.

Applying his blade again Willis began moving the leather, slowly cutting along outside the chalked on line. Bit by bit he moved it along, not perhaps totally uniformly but at least without accidentally cutting off any pieces like he had early on.

With that first step done of his first run Willis looked over what he had. One long strip almost as long as planned, and another much shorter strip from where he had made a mistake early on while working.

WC: 530

[Willis Efram]

Comparing the two cut off pieces of leather, Willis considered what to do next. Deciding first to begin with the small piece, the first step seemed to be to trim off the odd bits. While Willis did his best to keep straight while cutting his technique was not perfect and he at times did miss or made odd motions which made things uneven.

Considering the length of the first piece there was not much to do, and so applying the blade on the leather over his cutting piece of wood Willis cut off one, two, then three small spots that seemed odd and extra on top of the rest.

With that done he was left with a small piece of leather, much longer than it was wide, but otherwise normal enough. Just being some unprepared but cut off leather pieces it was not too pretty, but then for what he was planning to use them for a bit of roughness was not a major problem. At the end of this process of trimming he was left with a somewhat smaller than intended cord of leather, little more than what was needed to tie off a small bag and nothing else. Deciding there was not much more he could do for this one Willis turned to the long piece, inspecting it from one end and then the other.

This piece, being much longer than the other, had a few more rough spots than the other. With that in mind he began to prune it as he had the other smaller piece, cutting small bits here and there where he had made odd bumps in the material. Here though he tried to be extra careful to avoid messing up this longer piece.

By the time he was done with this simple process he had a roughly even cord of leather, albeit a much longer one than his first try. Looking it over Willis considered how he could reinforce the cords for use in the jungle. What had had now was perhaps fine for the settlement, but having the softer underside of the piece of tanned leather being facing outward in the jungle was not a good idea. Looking it over a few ideas came to mind to the Akontak, though he was left unsure which if any would be a good idea.

His first idea was to twist the leather, sort of like rope, to make one stronger cord... However, thinking it over, he did not think this would work well unless he made many fine length of leather and then braided them all together.

Tossing this aside Willis considered the next idea he had to resolve the problem which was to simply fold the leather piece in half pr over each other facing opposite ways so that the softer underside was inside... Of course this would mean fastening or sowing the two sides in half the burgeoning leather worker pondered, which perhaps feasible with larger pieces would be tricky on such small pieces... Considering the task at hand Willis decided to put this aside for now, focusing instead on the task at hand and the current softer pieces he was making for the settlement.

WC: 533

[Willis Efram]

Having roughly cut out a short length and longer length of leather cord from the larger skin of leather, Willis considered the next steps in his work.

Thinking it over Willis decided to more or less leave things be besides trimming a few rough spots on them. Being just simple leather cord or similar material they did not need to do much or look fancy, but seeing as he planned for them to be used in Syka proper waterproofing was a must. And so with that in mind Willis began collecting his things and headed out of the inn to proceed with the waterproofing part of his work. Unlike cutting waterproofing could make a mess and tended to drip if the user was not careful, and so Willis took the things he would need and headed off for one of the more public parts of Syka where crafting was often done not too far from the more central areas near the commons. All he needed was a bit of shade, a place to work, and a place to stow his gear. Looking up at the sky and lifting his arms Willis took a breath in for a moment while focusing on the air about him. Quite quickly he could tell that it would be dry for the next bell or so, plenty of time he believed to get his work done before any wetness would come storming in.

Upon arriving at the commons Willis made himself friended while smiling and waving at the others hanging around, not the only one who was doing some work today. He did not know everyone's names, but nodded in response to anyone greeting him and smiled along as he did. One person was working on repairing some netting - at least as far as Willis could tell - and another was sowing a patch on a blanket. Willis for his part showed his work and finding a open spot began said work.

Taking out a brush and some oil used for leatherworking Willis began his task, starting on the smaller piece. This was another thing Willis was learning through trial and error, the appropriate amount of oil to use on leather along with the best method of applying it evenly. For now the Akontak simply used long brushstrokes that were as even as he could manage, going back and forth over and over and slowly working along his pieces. The shorter piece did not take long, soon being coated. With that done Willis let it sit out to dry for a bit before he began on the other side, instead beginning on the longer piece with a fresh coat of its own. Many used the local tar sourced waterproofing, but he had soon learned that while such material was good enough for building materials it was poorly received when used on apparel. With this in mind Willis slowly kept at his work, working up one piece and then down the other, before eventually changing sides once one had dried and repeating it all over again on the other side.

WC: 513