WyomingSlick

Sure you can wet mold it after tooling, but you may have a possible problem with the tooling distorting and/or losing it's appeal. It all depends on how much molding you are doing, where the pattern fits on the piece, etc. Most leathercarvers do the tooling after the leather is molded on anything where the leather is severely molded as on a saddle swell or a custom molded rifle scabbard. In that case you may well use the molding shape as the backup for the tooling in place of your usual marble or granite stone. Then you have to consider how much the tooling will expand the leather. It may be possible, depending on the shape of the molded leather, to apply packing tape to the backside in order to help the leather fron doing that. Really, the best advice I can give you is to try it and see. That way you learn from hands on experiance what will work and what doesn't.

Amen to that Hilly! Many of those folks on the Global Warming Bandwagon are aiming to cash in on it, and it's your cash they are after.

First Tooling? Come on now! You must have done some practice pieces first, because nobody does that well the first time out. This is really excellent work for a novice. I am sure you will receive many compliments on your instrument straps and some requests to make more straps for others.

Oh darn! Here I am again disagreeing with the majority again. Don't throw that speedy stitcher away! I myself use saddle stitching on almost everything, BUT! There may come a time when you wish to stitch an item where you want two differant colors of thread; say a natural color to show on the tooled side and perhaps another color, like black or brown, to match the lining leather on the inside. Of course you will have to use an extra matching thread for the liner side instead of using the bobbin thread which you are using for the tooled side. See attachment which is "borrowed" and added to a little, from "The Art of Hand Sewing" by Al Stohlman, a "must have" book. All of what has been said above is true, but it is also true that the speedy sticher produces the same lock stitch as most sewing machines and there are a great many of them out there in Leather Land. Handsewn saddle stiching is a mark of quality, but machine sewing is faster and sometimes an economic necessity.

QUESTION - What are the dark lines on your leather? It looks like you drew the pattern on the leather with a pencil. Generally speaking, most everybody uses a stylus or pen to trace the pattern onto the leather which results only in an impression of the lines into the leather. They do not mark directly on the leather with a pen or pencil. I suspect those marks are going to be hard to remove. As thin as that leather looks, your lacing punches should be sharp enough to push them through with your hand - At least, a single layer. As far as a mallet to hit them with - a deadblow plastic hammer that is filled with metal shot is an economical alternative. You can find them in generally any tool store, or at walmart.

For a starter set, I suggest you look on eBay. For example; here is an auction that ends in a few days which has a nice selection of tools. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=160398818748&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT In general, when buying tools on ebay, you want to look for the older Craftools made back in the 40's to early 60's time period. These will not have a letter prefix before the tool number. I have posted a number of guides on leather tools at ebay which you can access here : http://myworld.ebay.com/wy-slick They will give you the basics on tool information to use in your search. You are better off by far in buying the older tools on ebay than buying the newer tools from Craftool. Sometimes you can get a real steal as in this auction that ended a few days ago. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=170436239301 Someone got nearly a thousand dollars worth of tools there for just over a couple hundred bucks! I kinda felt bad for the seller. But that just goes to show you that it is very important for eBay sellers to have the very best pictures and description possible. As someone totally new without any tools yet, a set like that would have been great as you would not be getting any tools you already have.

Depends on how many you need and how much quality you are looking for. If you are wanting a bunch of them, then it is probably worth going online and finding them. For just one or two, you are probably well off going to Walmart or some other department store and buying a couple of the plastic binders and drilling out the rivets that hold them together. I get the plastic ones because then I can use the plastic for templates and such. If you have a high quality notebook project, then you may consider an office supply store. Some of the notebook binders there will have a higher quality mechanism in them that are stronger and more secure than the Walmart ones. Another source that I have used many times is your town's thrift store ( Goodwill, Salvation Army, etc).

Examples of tooled leather that were done by cutting and beveling date back well over a thousand years ago. One early example, a celtic desgn demonstrates this readily. However it is a geometric design that would not have reguired a swivel knife. I think you have to look to the early Spanish carvers who started using floral designs on saddles. I wouldn't be surprised if it didn't evolve from a simple knife that simply had a yoke, or Y on the top. Someone probably figured out soon that such a knife would work better if the top would swivel and walla! - the swivel knife was born! I would think then that we owe it to some early Spanish carver who got tired of moving his body, and/or the leather so much while carving a flower. And now we have ball bearings

Shades of Stephen King! Yes, I enjoyed seeing this. Hope to see it again when it is finished as it looks great so far.

Actually that wasn't cheap then. You have to keep in mind that in 1955, the copyright date of that edition; the average working man in America made less than $1.50 an hour. Today the average working man in America makes between $13 and $14 an hour and the book is around $10.00 now. So actually in term of relative cost, the book is cheaper now. One thing is absolutely true though! That book is worth every penny!

Yes, now that is effort well worthwhile. The tool sounds much like the gouge that Tandy sold in the 70's for gouging thick lines in Nature-Tan leather for the folks into nature designs (see attachment). It was also used by a pulling action to make the gouge. I used to have one but I guess one of my students must have borrowed it permanently. Now for some reflections on how this thread has gone. Okay, I will admit that I was not at my most tactful and diplomatic self when I responded to the opening post. That does not change my opinion of the matter. I would not have responded so if I was looking at the work of one of my child students. I was under the impression that I was dealing with adults. Certainly, her other work displayed the skill and great artistic ability of an advanced leather artist. This did not and I said so. Then I get jumped on by all the tin knights. I guess it was a hangin' offense. So I do apologize to the lady if I hurt her feelings. As for the tin knights ---- they can go rust!

Interesting, but I have to ask: what is the function of the hook ( L or J shaped part of the sheath?

If you only have one pattern, then that suggest to me that you don't have any instruction books. All instruction books have quite an assortment of patterns that would fill the bill for you. Tandy and Hidecrafter both have many to select from. For the novice I would suggest: Leathercraft Manual by Al Stohman, AD Patten, and JA Wilson Lucky Seven Lucky Eight Craftool Tech tips and then there is a whole library of books by Al Stohlman, all of which are worth many times over their cost. These all turn up on eBay from time to time. Also Doodle Pages and old copies of the leather magazines. Instruction books are faw and away your best investment. What you learn from them will be used time after time, way more than a high priced basketweave stamp. In the Leathercraft Manual, there are a dozed pages devoted to the Swivel Knife alone. This is the book that most 4-H programs use sections from for their leathercraft project books.

Funny, I don't recall using the term foolish. Actually though, we are talking about two differant things here. I am looking for the 984 for it's value as a collector item, not so much as a user. Much as an old car collector might pay ten thousand for a 1948 chevy pickup which only cost $1296.00 new.

Hi everybody, Glad to be here even if I do piss folks off once in a while. While leatherwork has been part of my life for over 45 years, it is just a hobby to me. I have sold quite a few peices over the years but I am a far stretch from a professional carver. I started out my leather learnin' with a wonderful teacher in 4-H who not only was a patient man but a very fine craftsman. Unfortunately, that was only for two years. But since then, I have had many wonderful teachers; Al Stohlman, Ken Griffin, Al Stohlman, F O Baird, Al Stohlman, etc.... And then there were all the great lessons from Doodle Pages. Cliff Ketchum's pages were the supreme example of tooling artistry - always regretted that he didn't have more of his work and designs published. And then there was Al Stohlman. As you probably noticed, he receives multiple thanks as a teacher. By far, and then, even farther; the greatest teacher of leatherwork ever. I have seen a few disparaging remarks about the Stohlman style in these forums and all I can say is some fools don't know anything. He is to the leatherworld what The Ventures are to guitar players. LOL Another passion of mine (86 records of theirs). Attachment - a few of my past endeavors

Oh dear, did I stir up a bunch of tincan knights to ride to the lady's defense. I believe the lady posted on here to get honest reactions. And I gave one. So what is the problem with that? The way you all come on, a person would think you know little or nothing about leatherwork through the ages. Basically what she did there is a geometric pattern which is about as old of a leatherworking decoration method as you can get once mankind progressed past painting simple depictions of nature on hides. Most all of the Moorish leatherwork is of a geometric desgn due to religious constrictions. As was their woodwork, where much of the roots of chip carving in wood lie. Those Moorish designs are also the root of where many of the tools we term "geometric" come from. Every element of her design can be found in leather stamps. The flower is nothing special, it is just the reverse of a McMillen pattern from the old days, and the triangles are to be found as a segment of other McMillen geometric stamps. See attachment. Peter is somewhat correct is saying I couldn't ptoduce the effect with conventional tooling. That is true since I would have to take a modeling tool and screw up the impressions some to make it as uneven and primitive as hers is. But I could produce an even and much more attractive representation of the design with stamping tools Actually, I find it kind of amusing as I see some of the folks replying to this thread, are the same ones who went on and on about how they have to use high dollar custom basketweaves and other geometrics to produce that "crisp" impression and then they turn around and slam me for pointing out that this looks "primitive". Go soak your heads! My point was and still remains: that the product of the lady's effort was not worth the time to produce it. I have been an admirer of many differant styles of wood carving since I was a small boy. I was born overseas in Afghanistan, and when my family returned to the States we brought many examples of Afghan and Indian craftwork home with us. Some of the woodcarved item would be classified as primitive but each still has an intrinsic beauty and is a fine example of what a man can do with simple tools. As for tooling leather by using a knife to incise a design into the leather; been there, tried that.....a long time ago. Several problems with the process besides the factor of it weakening the leather. The leather has to relatively thick for much of an effect. Knives have to be razor sharp, and even then, are still difficult to control. Leather has to be fastened down since the force used is a sideways one. And when you are all done, still not so attractive. It is not real hard to see why such a process has not "caught on". This lady was not the first to try this, and I am sure I wasn't the first. I wasn't putting the artist down here, I was just saying I think the process is not very workable for leather. I have eyes to see and most of her work is very admirable. Her dragon motorcycle seat was vey impressive. This doesn't fall in that category. Then there seems to be some opinions that I don't know art or have no appreciation for "thinking outside the box." I realize that some people think Andy Warhol's painting of a Campbell soup can is fine art, but I will take a Leonardo or a Renoir anyday over that kind of stuff. Picasso? Hah, I think the guy's brain was addled by too much Madeira. LOL While I'm on the subject of appraising work by an artist, I see some leatherwork on here that is praised as good when it is actually as bad or worse then some 9 year olds first effort. There's nothing wrong with encouragement, but then there is no value in praise for it's own sake. In fact I would say it is harmful to praise something that is unworthy.

I agree, nice tooling!! Just a thought though! A lot of people use optical mice nowdays which need a textured surface to work well. Is there enough natural texture in the leather grain pattern for them to work? I myself use a trackball mouse so I don't have a way to test this. Anybody have any experiance along this line of thought?

Aw come on Dave! Of course not. If he won't ship, then obviously you would have to pick them up which means that you could look at "the pig" then. If I lived within a 100 miles or so of him I would drive right over and look at them. Sounds like a big lot of patterns and $100 should be reasonable. Worth a look anyway.

If you are looking for a design to build your own, then you may want to consider the features in the toolbox that Tandy used to sell back in the "old days". Scan from 1963 catalog. These come up for sale every so often on eBay, but they usually come with tools in them - I have only seen one offered by itself in 10 years. A tool box that incorporates the top feature where the stamping tools are all face up with each in it's own hole, and several drawers for other tools as in the machinist chest would be really nice. You would only be limited by what you could carry.

Well...first you have to define the cowboy, and then you can talk about what kind of truck he may have. I come from a ranching family background, both sides. In general, cowboy refers to a working ranch hand, a man who works for low wages and usually doesn't make enough money to afford a real nice truck. He is likely to be driving an older second hand truck like you are thinking of. Out here in Wyoming it is going to be a 4 wheel drive nowdays, because almost nobody buys anything else. When I was a kid, it was the opposite; 4 wheel drive trucks were rare critters. See pic of my Uncle Ike at the ranch in the 50s . Ike was a real cowboy in that he spent far more hours in a saddle than in a pickup. He was such a real genuine cowboy, that the Alcoa Aluminum Company sponsered a TV Special featuring him, appropriately called "Cowboy", which originally aired in the 60's and a few times since. Some of you may have seen it. Now if your "cowboy" is actually a rancher, or a ranch manager, then he is very likely to be driving a newer and much nicer pickup with lots of "bells and whistles". And if your cowboy is a "weekend cowboy" who holds down a good paying job, as in in the oil/gas field. then he damn sure is driving a very nice pickup, one selling for forty thousand or more. Then you have your Rodeo Cowboys and what they drive depends on how well they are doing on the circuit, and on what events they participate in. If they have to haul a horse or two for roping, doggin', or cutting. then they usually do it with a truck. Many riding event cowboys may get around in a car; doesn't take much to haul a saddle or a rigging. And fuel ain't cheap! Then of course, you always have the old ranch truck which may never leave the home place. I, like many a ranch kid, learned to drive in one of those old workhorses. In my case, it was a 1952 2 wheel drive Dodge that was painted kind of a pale green. That old truck body was built out of some solid steel, it took a damn hard bump to dent a fender on it, unlike the thin stuff they use today.

How about Tiger Lily?

John, paste the address for the Japanese company into Google Search box and search. Then open the page by clicking where it says "translate this page" next to the entry. That will give you most of the site in English.

Honestly? I don't see the point. What you have produced there looks like a bad piece of tooling, or to be more generous; what they call in the art world; "primitive art". A much more attractive representation of the design could be created using regular leather tools. Much of what is produced in leatherwork is functional in nature, ie; saddles, tack, belts, etc.. For these, chip carving the leather would not be practical since you are cutting away from the top grain structure which is the strongest part of the leather. One of the main reasons we don't see too many filigreed cinch straps on bronc saddles! Hey, don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with creativity and experimenting, that is the way of progress. My sister, who teaches pottery, has used leather stamps for years to make designs on pottery. I just don't see that your hour of creativity produced anything that couldn't be better done in ten minutes.

Hi Luis, I reccomend that all leatherworkers have one of the craft/hobby knife sets made by X-Acto , Neiko, and others. They are easily found for sale on eBay and at most hobby stores. Because the blades are replacable, you can always have a sharp blade. You can then resharpen and hone/strop the blades at your leisure. Or you can always use new ones. With the variety of blades and handles offered, there is one that will work for any medium or lightweight cutting task, Their smaller size make them preferable over the headknife for many tasks. I would guarantee you that nearly 100% of all leatherworkers who are experianced have some of these type knives. I certainly do and use them often.

Update Got the 883 fine lined shader. Am still in the market for the rest.