Calico Jack Report post Posted April 13, 2015 I am working on my first carving. I am looking to get some more definition on the edges of the carved lines. I used craftool B197 to bevel all the lines but would like to see some more definition. I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions on how to accomplish this. Please help. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DoubleC Report post Posted April 13, 2015 If you're using the beveler that comes with the beginning 6, the beveler is much to big to do a good job. Plus I can't even see where you beveled? There no impressions. I think you beveled too close to the line. I'm not the world's best beveler myself so I'm gonna let some other people chime in here. Also how thick is that leather? It looks thin to me which is hard to get to pop. Cheryl Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Squirrelly66 Report post Posted April 13, 2015 B197 is a smooth beveler, there's nothing wrong with that, I use B200 and B935 for all my interior bevel's. I have some thoughts that since your burnishing is light colored in some area's and dark (the way it should be) in other area's, that you may not of cased your leather properly (it could also be the picture and my old eye's not seeing right also). When I bevel around the outside of a project I usually use a Textured beveler (whether it be lined, checkered, or course). Also your beveling does not appear that deep (could be because of shallow swivel cuts due to using thinner leather) and if your leather is thicker could be due to swivel knife cuts not being deep enough, which could mean your blades needs sharpened and honed. As for getting the project to pop out so to speak when beveling DO NOT be afraid to strike you tool firmly and hard, the cow is dead it don't feel it. Also look at getting some undercut beveler's to use in spots that you want to looked raised. B892 is my favorite when doing small areas' of the eye, nostril, wing edges, etc... B60 is a larger version. They are smooth surface. Take a look at some of the tutorial posts at top here. Yak Lady's horse head tutorial will give you some very good knowledge on beveler use. Hope this help's Michael Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Calico Jack Report post Posted April 13, 2015 This is in 6 to 7 oz Veg Tan Craftsman leather. I will admit that I did not strike very hard. I started this project while the rest of the family was sleeping and was being very cautious as to not wake the bear or cubs. (The cow may be dead but I was worried about waking a hibernating bear) I was worried about my caution being an issue. I did notice the uneven burnishing. I decided this morning to go back with a modeling tool and darkened the burnishing and evened it out much more. I am going to look into the undercut bevelers and will also view the tutorial. I have always been amazed by the figure carving I have seen in the past and strive to improve. Thanks for the advice DoubleC and Squirrelly. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Squirrelly66 Report post Posted April 13, 2015 6-7 oz. is pretty good. Try adding a piece of felt or old terry cloth towel under your stone, this will help muffle the sound as to not wake the bear. Is that craftsman Oak from Tandy's? Take a look at my 1st figure carving, in this section, Its a horse head but you'll get the idea of what your looking for to make your figure's stand out. Your very welcome Michael Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
texback Report post Posted April 14, 2015 (edited) From what I can tell from the pic it looks like the leather wasn't cased well. With properly cased leather you don't have to hit the tool that hard to get a good bevel. The temper of the leather seems to have some to do with it too. Tandy leather is a hit or miss for good leather...more often a miss. Edited April 14, 2015 by texback Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Calico Jack Report post Posted April 14, 2015 6-7 oz. is pretty good. Try adding a piece of felt or old terry cloth towel under your stone, this will help muffle the sound as to not wake the bear. Is that craftsman Oak from Tandy's? Take a look at my 1st figure carving, in this section, Its a horse head but you'll get the idea of what your looking for to make your figure's stand out. Your very welcome Michael Yes it is Craftsman Oak From Tandy. This bend had some drastic inconsistencies that I did not notice as this was my first piece of leather I had purchased. From what I can tell from the pic it looks like the leather wasn't cased well. With properly cased leather you don't have to hit the tool that hard to get a good bevel. The temper of the leather seems to have some to do with it too. Tandy leather is a hit or miss for good leather...more often a miss. After purchasing this in store the next leather I purchased was a 4-5 oz. piece and I annoyed the guy a little by digging through the entire stack to find the most uniform piece. However it has stamped better than the 6-7 oz piece. He just wanted to roll up the first piece on top and it was absolutely horrible. I didn't even have to get closer than 5 feet to see the holes and thin spots in the leather. Is there a place that you would suggest for leather? I am still very leery about buying it online and not being able to examine it before the sale. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
