Camera Coverings for the Adventurous

Fedzilla_Bob · 05-31-2005

Hello all-
I know that many of you are interested in recovering your older rangefinders, especially you FSU photoapparat fans.

I have been gathering information about materials and stumbled on the following site-

http://talasonline.com/

Talas is a bookbinding supplier that carries leathers, cloth, other materials and tools for the handmade bookinding community.

You can find Some very nicely finished goat skin in gloss and matte finishes with fine thicknesses that might be suitable to wrap your old FED or Zorki. The prices shown are by the square foot, but they only sell full skins. You can find listings for 2nd and 3rd quality skins.

http://nt.bnt.com/talas/menu.html?ca...&start_index=1

I also found some really nice paper-backed Japanese silk in a variety of colors. The textures looked very attractive.

http://nt.bnt.com/talas/menu.html?category=132

They also carry double sided adhesive. Or you can order a nice thin one from John Goodman.

Bob H

BJ Bignell · 05-31-2005

The links, repaired:

Link #1 - Leather

Link #2 - Silk

Fedzilla_Bob · 05-31-2005

thanks bj!

laptoprob · 05-31-2005

Fantastic, so that is where Aki and Cameraleather (and others?) get their stuff. By whole skin... A pink goatskin... Fabulous! Gets me thinking about all kinds of uses. Furniturre, car, name it...

Rob.

Fedzilla_Bob · 05-31-2005

I'm sure there are other sources in Europe Asia and Africa. The Asahi cloth has a nice nubbed texture.

Kim Coxon · 05-31-2005

Hi,
For those in the UK, try this site. http://www.hewit.com/ They are extremely helpful and are prepared to do offcuts and smaller pieces. I spoke to them and they sent me a "calf's neck" to play with. These would only be £10 and there is probably enough for at least 10 cameras. Watch this space!!

Kim

Fedzilla_Bob · 05-31-2005

Kim, at £10, that ain't bad.

One could get crazy and cover a camera with ray skin -
http://www.exoticleather.biz/exotic_..._and_hides.htm

Kim Coxon · 05-31-2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fedzilla_Bob

Kim, at £10, that ain't bad.

One could get crazy and cover a camera with ray skin -
http://www.exoticleather.biz/exotic_..._and_hides.htm

I have just measured it and there is about 3 Square feet of usable leather. They will also shave it down to thickness required and can emboss it. 15 basic colours, 12 embossings and lot's of dyes. Oh what fun!!

Ah!!! I might have to make some stencils first

Kim

Seele · 06-01-2005

As an occasional bookbinder, I would like to add a snippet of information here.

Different processes are used to prepare leather for bookbinding and shoemaking. For shoes, leather is made to be less porous, thus more resistant to soiling, while bookbinding leather is made to be porous so that the water-based adhesives can dry properly. I remember a fellow bookbinder who tried to bind a book with shoemaker's leather, and as moisture could not escape through the leather itself, it turned into a mangled mess.

Since non-water-based adhesives are used for covering cameras, it would be a good idea to use leather for shoemaking, and if leather for bookbinding is used, extra treatment to render it more resistant to dirt would be a good idea.

kiev4a · 06-01-2005

I've got leather (pigskin) for camera covering from a local Tandy leather store. I had to dig around for some time to find leather thin enough (most is too think). Jim Blazik used some on one of his cameras. SEE HERE

Fedzilla_Bob · 06-01-2005

The only problem would be thicknesses.

I think both companies discussed above also offer leather composites that are very similar to skins sold at cameraleathers.com.

Thanks Seele!