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Wizened Oak Leather Buyers Guide
Information on leather, leather goods, their care, cleaning, and conditioning, and the techniques used to make them.
Wizened Oak Leather Buyers Guide


Leather Care - Cleaning and Conditioning
A guide to caring for vegetable tanned leather and suede and the products I recommend for that purpose.

Connor Rademaker
Jul 15 min read


The Process, Step by Step
Even the smallest items from my shop must go through a multi-day process due to the long drying times between each step. Each of the 10 days are essential to produce the finest end product and to ensure that it will last for many years to come.

Connor Rademaker
Oct 105 min read


How to Measure for a Belt
A guide to accurately taking the measurement I need in order to make you a belt. Pant size will not do.

Connor Rademaker
Sep 103 min read


Wallet Styles Compared
There are many different styles of wallets, and I am sure that after a little consideration, you will be able to decide which is the best...

Connor Rademaker
Aug 133 min read


How Wet-Forming Works
The technique of wet forming vegetable tanned leather make a variety of unique projects possible.

Connor Rademaker
Jul 262 min read


How Leather Carving Works
An overview of leather carving and the designs this technique makes possible.

Connor Rademaker
Jul 252 min read


How Leather Tooling Works
A look at the technique of tooling leather, the tools I use, and the designs this technique makes possible.

Connor Rademaker
Jul 242 min read


Leather and Water
Not all leathers are equally water-resistant. The leathers I work with cannot be made completely waterproof, and doing so would ruin the properties I depend on to make my designs possible. There are extra steps I take to improve the water resistance of my leathers, and that works better on some products then others.

Connor Rademaker
Jul 222 min read


Leather Hardware Finishes
A guide to selecting durable hardware for leather in finishes and materials that will stand the test of time.

Connor Rademaker
Jul 164 min read


How to Fix a Popped Thread
What to do when you find a loose thread on your leather goods, including self repair and options for sending your item in for repair.

Connor Rademaker
Jul 154 min read


Range Markings on Full Grain Leather
NOTE: if you would prefer to read this same information without the pictures, that can be found here.

Connor Rademaker
Jul 104 min read


Hand Vs Machine Stitching
A short guide to the practical and aesthetic differences between hand sewing and machine sewing for leather goods.

Connor Rademaker
Jul 83 min read


The Parts of a Hide
Like a good cook, a good craftsman knows the different parts of an animal and how best to take advantage of the unique properties of each.

Connor Rademaker
Jul 73 min read


On Unfinished Leather Goods
Why not dying a piece of leather is actually more complicated than dying it.

Connor Rademaker
Jul 62 min read


Choosing the Best Quality Leather
Choosing the best quality leather is no simple task, and there is no one "best" leather. A lot of people think of leather as something that exists on a clear spectrum with bad leather on one side and good leather on the other.

Connor Rademaker
Jul 33 min read


Understanding Leather Tanning
The word leather describes a widely diverse range of materials, made through a equally diverse set of processes, all collectively called...

Connor Rademaker
Jul 23 min read


Full Grain Leather, Genuine Leather, and other terms of the trade.
Clarifying the terms Genuine Leather, Full Grain Leather, and other commonly misunderstood terms around leather.

Connor Rademaker
Jul 14 min read


Range Markings on Full Grain Leather - No Images Version
NOTE: This version of the article has the images removed as some might prefer not to have to look at what amounts to pictures of wounds. The version with pictures can be found here.

Connor Rademaker
Jun 13 min read


Colors, Dyes, and Screens
This article is about color consistency in leather, and the different ways colors can appear under different lighting and on different device screens.

Connor Rademaker
Aug 19, 20233 min read
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