Making a leather water bottle

If any one is intersted, I took this from the old forum, and it was originally put up there by Niall (Daemondog) if anyone remembers him.

Leather Bottles
by Daemondog on Wed Jan 14, 2004 12:40 pm
This is an article I intend to put on my own website but I reckoned other people would like to have a go.


Making Leather Bottles

What you need:
2 sufficiently thick pieces of leather
Waxed Linen Thread and Needle
Leather Cutting Tools
A Litre & ½ of Fine Grain Sand
An Old Cooking pot
A disposable Funnel
An fine pointed Awl
A wooden or leather stopper
Sufficient amount of Beeswax (depending on size of bottle)
A smooth flat ended stick
2 Clean smooth cloths

1. First off decide on the basic shape of your bottle.
The easiest shape by far and especially if it’s your first time is what I call a two piece bottle.
This is essentially two pieces of leather stitched together making it nearly impossible to set the finished bottle down without it tipping over. This is due to the seam running down the centre.
(A three piece bottle is two sides stitched to a stable base. Do not try to make this the first time out. Believe me it is incredibly frustrating. For this article I will be talking about a two piece bottle.)

2. Cut out two pieces of leather in the shape of the bottle you want. I find a Stanley-knife works the best. The thicker leather the better as the hot beeswax will ‘wrinkle’ the leather if it is too thin. Always allow about 1 inch all-round the shape as it will fill out during step 4.

3. Next soak the leather until completely wet as this will male it easier to punch holes with the needle. At this point start stitching two pieces together. Try to get them as close as possible in a running or saddle stitch as this works best and reduces the chance of leakage. You will have to keep the leather damp as it will harden when it gets dry.

4. When you have finished the stitches immerse again in water until completely soaked. Using the funnel fill the bottle with the fine sand (the finer the better). The sand should be packed in as much as possible to fill out the shape. Use the stick to push the sand down and to smooth out the shape on the outside. Be careful not to tear the leather at this point as it is still very soft.

5. Once you have filled the bottle completely to the top leave the bottle in a hot press for a day or two. This will dry the leather and keep it in the desired shape. After it has dried pour the sand out. If completely dry it should flow freely. Tap the bottle a few times and wipe the inside with a cloth (slightly dampened) to remove any remaining sand particles. Ensure there is no sand left in the bottle then leave to dry fully.

6. At this point you can decide if you are happy with your bottle’s shape. If not simply repeat the process above until you get the shape you desire and move on to the next section. You should ensure that the stopper you are going to use fits very snugly at this point as it becomes very important later on.

7. For this part you should take steps to cover the floor and any work surfaces if you plan to do this indoors. Make sure that you are well ventilated as melted beeswax and leather are quite pungent.
Melt the beeswax in your pan until it has achieved a liquid state. Melt an amount that you would think will be enough to generously line the inside of the bottle.
While melting the beeswax pre-heat your oven to a high heat and place your bottle in the middle on a ‘shelf’ until it gets quite hot. This causes the bottle to take the beeswax more readily and opens the pores in the leather.

8. Right for this part please be careful as these are very high temperatures and if any beeswax gets on your skin you will lose that part of it. (I got 1st degree burns on the back of my hand) Using a thick pair of gloves (welders gloves are best and available in all hardware shops for about €10-15) take the bottle out of the oven and insert the funnel. Carefully lifting the melted beeswax pour it into your bottle. Put on the stopper and SWIRL NOT SHAKE the mixture around the inside until it starts to darken. This is the beeswax soaking the leather and making it watertight. Continue swirling until the whole bottle has darkened and pour any excess back into the pan. Don’t worry about bits and pieces of beeswax all over it as they will be evened out in the next part.

9. Leave the bottle to the side for about an hour or two. The bottle will probably have a shiny white waxy look to it but this is normal and to get rid of it put the bottle on a baking sheet and put the bottle back into the hot oven for about 20-30 seconds. Take it out (with gloves) and gently wipe off the wet wax with the clean smooth cloth (not the one for cleaning out the sand as any remaining particles will scratch the leather and leave grooves in the wax) Let it cool and see if the white sheen reappears, if so simply pop back into the oven and repeat step 9 until the sheen no longer appears. Then let it cool and you should have a dark glossy watertight leather bottle - voila!!!

Afternotes: There are loads of thing you can do to make your own distinctive bottle. You can add ‘tags’ when you cut out your shape – simply leave a small triangular or half-circular shape on either side so you can hang your bottle with a leather cord. Make sure you wipe some of the excess wax into these tags.
Another idea is when you soak your leather in step 3 and before you start stitching use an empty ball point pen to leave a deep impression on the leather and when it dries it will stay there. You might have to run over the impression when wiping off the excess wax as in step 9.
A note from someone who made their own leather bottle is never put warm or hot liquid into your bottle as it will damage it. I once heard never to put spirits into it but I’ve never heard anybody else support this.