I've been fascinated with these for quite some time and have decided to give it a go.
I bought some specialized leather (extremely overpriced) from Galazan that purports to be for this purpose. The leather seems quite thick which leaves me wondering if this is truly the "old world" way or if Galazan just has no idea what they are selling?
I've heard/seen people using very thin goatskin and other leathers that are so stretchy it would make the whole process pretty easy but they don't seem to have any holding value. (e.g. my Orvis leather pads lasted 1 year and one UPS shipment respectively)
Has anyone done one of these pads using the black leather from Galazan that is thicker?
Those that have done the leather pads, do you wet the leather and block them to the pad, then let them dry, then remove, glue and reapply?
OR
DO you wet the pad and stretch it over while gluing it wet?
OR
DO you wet/glue and do the head of the pad, then let dry, then wet/glue the sides of the pad, then let dry, then gusset and fold under the ends wet/glue until complete?
Thanks for any tips you might be able to offer. I'll try it on a Galazan "silvers pad" that is 1.5" thick this coming weekend once I have my strategy figured out.
