BarryS

Dave, My projects for the first couple of years were not at all anything like yours here. Keep practicing and the improvement will definately be noticeable. If anybody ever tells you that their work can't emprove they should probably look for another hobby or job. Remember that this is also an art that everybody will look at differently there will be those that do not like something or in the inverse like something. There are general rules in what a certain style of carving presents but these are not hard and fast rules and they can be bent or broken when somebody wants. Do what you like and you think looks the best. Very Respectfully, Barry Shannon

Not a bad attempt. Here are a few suggestions that I have for you. The carving is to small for the area, the leaves, flowers and vine work should go all the way out to the border and terminate past the border. This will allow you smaller areas to background and it doesn't look like the pattern doesn't fit the area. Your vine work is very thick and abrupt, this stops the flow of your eye. Try pulling some of your cuts longer to take up some of the room. When you make your cuts they should be deeper at the beginning and taper off towards the back as well as your beveling. Continue to practice making your cuts by taking scraps and pulling cuts starting out deeper and tapering it of at the end. Keep practicing and referencing the books you have mentioned. It took me about 2 years of classes with Clint Fay to get proficient with this style but it is attainable you are doing good.

Chancey, I believe that your flowers are too large for your vine work. If you were to make your flowers smaller and let the vine work to show more through your project it would make your project look less crowded. In and of itself, vine work is important aspect of the Sheridan style it shows the flow of the design and keeps the persons eye moving through the design. This is how Sheridan patterns seem never ending and seemless. I would love it if you would allow me to take your drawing and show you the difference that i am talking about. I am by no means a master, however i really enjoy drawing sheridan designs. I also am not trying to step on anyones toes, just offering some help.

These are both sold. Thank you Bill.

Sold. Thank you Sam.

All have been sold. Thank you Ed and Mike.

Hey All, Up for sale are two 1/4" angled ruby tipped swivel knife blades in very good condition. I acquired them about 5 - 6 years ago and have never used them. I am asking $15 for each or I will sell them for $25/pair this price includes shipping. I am also selling a 1/4" steel flat ground blade and 4 - 1/2" steel flat ground blades. They still have the factory covering over the cutting edge. I am asking $20 for all five. If you would want all 7 blades I will sell them for $40/set. All of these prices come with shipping included.

These items have been sold. Thanks Jon.

I apologize everyone. I did not tell you that the barrel size on this swivel knife is 1/2". Once again I am sorry for not posting this in the original post. Hope this helps and have a great day.

Hey All, I bought these two stamps for two different specific jobs and have not used them since then. They have both only been used for 1 small job each. The Barry King stamp is a Geer Border Braid and it retails for $55 new. I am asking $30 for this stamp w/ free shipping. The other stamp is a Hides to Art Cross Basket stamp and it retails for $38 new. I am asking $20 for this stamp w/ free shipping. I would seel both of these stamps together for $45 w/ free shipping. As you can see in the attached pictures, both stamps leave an excellent impression and are in new condition. Thank you for looking and have a great day.

Hey All, Thinning my tools out that I do not use. Up for sale in this auction is an Al Gould Special, Leather Wranglers Swivel Knife in black and silver. Included is a 3/8 inch blade. This knife has only been used 2 times, I like it very much however I find that my main knife is my Henley and don't need 8 different knives. I bought this knife and blade for $150 dollars in Sheridan this year, so I will be asking $100 dollar w/ Priority Flat Rate shipping included. This is an excellent opportunity to get a superb swivel knife for less. Thank you very much and have a great day.

Hey All, I was just going through my tools that I don't use alot anymore. Up for sale in this topic are 3 Barry King Grooved (Round Bottom) Edgers. The sizes are #1, #2 and #3. All have been lightly used, however all cut extremely well. I find myself reaching for my Douglas Edgers the most. Brand new from Barry King these edgers cost $55 a piece, I am selling these for $25 a piece or $70 dollars for the set w/ Free Flat rate shipping included. Thank you for looking and have a great day.

I myself also have a lot of Barry's tools, just living around an hour and a half. The impressions from his tools are crisp and clean, for the money they are well worth it. Barry's Tools range from anywhere in the 15 dollar range on up to 60 dollars for the custom basket stamps. However, most of his tools are in the 20 - 35 dollar range. My suggestion to you is to give Barry a call and talk to him about what you are looking for. Barry's customer service is top notch and he will be the best to assist you in your endeavors, if indeed you would like to get Barry King Stamping tools.

Bondurant, I never thought about canvas for a cover. In fact I have a big chunk of it at the house. I think that is what I am going to do. Thank you for the thought it is greatly appreciated.

Thank you all for your kind words. I also like the fact that the Plexiglass can be replaced when needed and as for the lid I was kind of kicking that idea around and haven't made one yet. However, I will probably end up making a lid for it sometime in the near future. Thanks again and have a great day.

Just thought that I would post a few pictures of the new tool holder that I built. This project was a collaberation with my brother, who drew the plans on a CAD drawing program and also cut all of the plexi pieces on a laser. My tool holder is made out of oak and is covered in a mocha colored chap leather. I also placed furniture tacks around the outside to give it more visual appeal. The inserts are cut out of 1/4" plexi and there are 27 slots for 3/16" tools, 54 slots for 1/4" tools and 27 slots for 5/16" tools along with 6 slots for 7/16" swivel kives and 2 slots for 3/8" swivel knives. So all in all, counting the swivel knife slots it hold 116 tools. Overall I like it and am pleased, however I think that I would add more holes for more tools if or when we do this again. Please let me know what you think of it and any critiques that you have. Thank you and have a great day.

As of the other day when I went into Sheridan Leather Outfitters, they have alot of his tools down there. This includes all of the reconditioned tools and his tools also. I think that they added another 3 or 4 cases to the store to place all of these tools into. All you have to do is call them, Luke, Vandy and Emily are all great to talk w/ and are all very knowledgeable. Hope this helps. Have a great day.

I was just on Zack White Leather and they have Pro Buck Stitch Lace. You might take a look on their site. Have a great day.

Could you please add me also. Thank you.

I agree with Terry although I do not use tape. Using plexiglass will help tremedously. Also I only use regular rubber cement and not any type of Barge cement or others. I have found that Barge or Tandy's equivalent tend to hold alot better, however when I do try to pull my project off of the plexiglass it stretches and causes distortion in my projects. You can get a chunk of plexiglass at Home depot and I would get the thickest piece that you can up to 3/16 - 1/4". Hope this helps and have a great day.

I use a 16 oz Barry King maul for all of my general tooling and I use a 20 oz. for all of my heavier tooling, such as basket stamping and setting my makers stamp. These seem to work really well for me. I am in the process of getting a Bearman maul in his brown head material, been hearing a bunch of good things about it. I think that if you went to a maul your arm would get much less fatigued though. Hope this helped and have a great day

Thanks Doc. I am still trying to get all of my kinks out of this style. I have to say everytime I do a project in the Sheridan Style I see less and less mistakes. Who knows that might just be that I am just getting used to seeing them and not fixing them. Thank you for the kind words,

Bentley, Thank you for the comments. I have really been spending alot of time on my pattern drawing, however not much on actually tooling. So it was good to get back into tooling. These wallets I was really trying to get alot of contrast and depth. Thanks again.

Hi all, Just thought that I would post the last two projects that I finished. Both of these wallet patterns were drawn by myself and are actually only my 3rd and 4th patterrns that I have ever drawn in the Sheridan Style. Both are roper wallets w/ pre-fabricated interiors, I just hate making my own, it takes to much time. Well the lighter of the two wallets is background dyed w/ walnut and the carving is slightly tinted w/ tan. This wallets interior is one that I got from tandy, w/ one exception, I used pig skin skiver to line the back of it. I really hate the puckering effect that comes from there backing material. The darker one is dyed in chocolate and the carving is antique w/ sheridan brown. I antiqued it w/o putting neat lac on it show to darken it more. This one has a natural color Chaylor interior, and I have to admit these are nice interiors. Oh yeah the lighter colored one is also antiqued in sheridan brown. Both of these wallets were sewn on my machine. Thank you for looking and have a great day.

Overall this isn't bad at all. The tooling looks good. However, in the Sheridan Style you must try to avoid straight lines. In the middle of your design it is very straight and does not keep your eye moving throughout the piece. It seems as though your circles need to be closer together when you first draw them out. A book that I would recommend would be Sheridan Style Carving by Bill Gardner and Clint Fay. Clint Fay is the one that I have been learning from and there is a couple of sections on how to actually draw your patterns from start to finish in there. There are also pictures that go along with the reading. But like I said before overall it isn't to bad, the tooling looks good the lacing looks very good as well. Have a great day.