My New Leather Tankard

[Humakt]

After giving away the previous two leather tankards I made I decided to make myself one.
Just in time for the upcoming beer festivals.
Only this one is special. Because this one actually holds about a pint and a quarter!
Eh? Eh? Canny, or what!?

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8126/8609074267_d5893f98e0.jpg

[butchthedog]

You crafty so and so, ha ha love it. The tankard is a nice bit of craftmanship, like it a lot. So many questions like, how to clean it after use, is it watertight and how do you keep it that way, are they high maintenance. Even if their are downsides to ownership it still looks like a must have item. Good work mate, another notch in your belt mate.

[Silverback]

I want one too !!!!

[Ehecatl]

Is it dishwasher safe? :happy-clapping:

[Humakt]

After it's made I dipped it in molten beeswax and left it in there for about five minutes so the leather absorbs the wax.
Then let some of the molten wax pour along the seams, to ensure it stays watertight.
Leave it to cool for a couple of hours, and then fill it with water and leave for 10 minutes to see if the water seeps out from anywhere. If it does then rub a bit of molten wax into the spot where it leaks.
If it springs a leak at some later date then blast the leaking area with a hair-dryer - that melts the wax which will run in to fill the leak.
In use, as you can imagine, you can only put cold drinks in it. You should avoid drinks with a strong alcohol content (say, 15%+) since the beeswax can dissolve in alcohol. Apparently some fizzy drinks can also eat away at the wax. But I don't drink fizzy drinks myself, so never had that problem and can't comment for certain.
You can buy beeswax from Hobbycraft but it costs the earth from there. Or you could do what I did - visit a local beekeeper and ask if you can have some! I got a carrier bag full for just a tenner. That was two years ago and it's still in use.
Obviously when it comes to cleaning you have to make sure you rinse it out with cold water.
They're very easy to live with and maintain so long as you remember one important thing - cold only!!!

[Thumbcrusher]

Very nice! Are you gonna put brewers pitch in it or are you using beeswax?

EDIT: DOH posted the answer as i wrote!

[Tigger004]

nice Job

[butchthedog]

Nice detailed answer to my many questions, thank you. Obvious when you mentioned it, though never thought about asking a bee keeper for wax, that is a damn good tip.

[rawfish111]

T^

[magnet]

Mega!!!!! mate ,love it.......Magnet

[snowleopard]

Good cup,

Where did you find out how to do this?

Thanks,

Joel