carmanjd Report post Posted June 18, 2013 hey guy ok so ive decided to start this as a new hobby and I have a friend that can get me leather scraps for free now I don't know if there tanned or not but I assume it a toss up of any scraps so my question is can I carve any type of leather or does it have to be special thanks for any help in advanced. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Glendon Report post Posted June 18, 2013 The only type of leather that can be tooled or carved is veg tanned leather. Vegetable tanned is the flesh toned leather. Anything with a finish like upholstery or shoe leather is likely chrome tanned and will not tool. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cyberthrasher Report post Posted June 18, 2013 Have a look here for a rundown on the different types of leather. As Glendon said, Vegetable Tanned is the only type that you can really tool. BUT, don't just go by color. There's lots of stuff out there that's not vegetable tanned but looks like it. http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=7447 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Glendon Report post Posted June 18, 2013 That is very true. Color is just a general indicator. There are other types of leather that have a natural color similar to what veg tan looks like. Generally what you will run across is veg tanned and chrome tanned leathers. The other common types like alum tanned, rawhide, and brain taned leathers are pretty distinctive and you'll know them when you see them. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
carmanjd Report post Posted June 18, 2013 ok thanks guys :spoton:it looks like ill just give it a try and see what works cant wait to start Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Murf Report post Posted June 20, 2013 I started recently as well, I got a gold membership at tandy leather (35$) and just picked up dirt cheap oak leaf shoulder splits. with the gold membership you usually save about a dollar or so per square foot. I also bought Paul Burnett's realistic leather carving and Victorian carving volumes (all together around 90$, his wife mails them printed pages with sleeves). When i get the leather in the mail i cut them into 6x6 squares and each day i went through the lessons and carved a few squares a day. Ive been tooling for only 3 months and have already become one of the best leather carvers in my area.The cost of the lessons may shock you at first but the information is worth its weight in gold. Shortly into the first volume i realized i was making major mistakes that were making the tooling part much harder. Always try to challenge yourself at least once a week and find some crazy image off the net and try to carve it. other days just sit and fill every open space of the squares with varying depth lines and spirals. Just a little advise from someone who just started as well hope it helps and if you have the money, buy nice tools. a good knife and a few nice bevelers go a very long way. Nothing beats a 4 hour session of carving/tooling that leaves you staring and grinning at the awesome work you did for another hour (please tell me im not the only one that does that). Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cyberthrasher Report post Posted June 20, 2013 I also bought Paul Burnett's realistic leather carving and Victorian carving volumes (all together around 90$, his wife mails them printed pages with sleeves). It's about $50 for the digital PDF copies - just an FYI for anybody else. Oh yeah, and a second FYI - Springfield's membership is $30 initially and $25 a year after that and gets you all the best pricing that you could possibly get at Tandy, but with better quality materials. Not knocking your choices Murf, just pointing out the differences for others. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Murf Report post Posted June 20, 2013 It's about $50 for the digital PDF copies - just an FYI for anybody else. Oh yeah, and a second FYI - Springfield's membership is $30 initially and $25 a year after that and gets you all the best pricing that you could possibly get at Tandy, but with better quality materials. Not knocking your choices Murf, just pointing out the differences for others. No problem =).Ya Springfield does have alot better materials, but tandy was the first place i found and its only an hour away. They ship fast and i can stop in to check out the material, when my gold is up at tandy ill most likely get one at Springfield . Im making seast for me and my dads harleys and all the materials for those are coming from Springfield. I dont have a pc in my currently leather working shop (aka the basement) so the printed copys of burnett's works were required (also i have a book obsession) . Ive seen your site cyberthrasher (really like your work) and i was wondering if you use regular quality tooling side or do you spring for like grade A Herman Oak? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cyberthrasher Report post Posted June 20, 2013 (edited) Ive seen your site cyberthrasher (really like your work) and i was wondering if you use regular quality tooling side or do you spring for like grade A Herman Oak? Most of what I use is the B grade Hermann Oak from Springfield while I'm building up other supplies. I'm about to start getting some A grade from another dealer though. I have no problems with the B grade, but sometimes there's a bad spot in the middle that kills my strap output and the A wet molds a lot better. If it were a huge difference in price I wouldn't worry about it, but for the $0.20 more or so per foot it's worth it to me. Oh yeah, and I print out the digital stuff when I need it. That allows me to get a hard copy of the exercises and patterns, without using up paper/ink on words that I can just read from my computer. Edited June 20, 2013 by Cyberthrasher Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
