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Bob Blea

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Everything posted by Bob Blea

  1. Bob Blea
    Thanks, this helps with a project I have sitting on the back burner. I appreciate the info here. Bob
  2. Bob Blea
    You're going to do great! With those books as reference and some practice you will be surprised how quickly you progress. I was planning some tooling practice last night but our power went out! So much for getting any work done.
  3. Bob Blea
    Those look really cool! You should be very proud of those!
  4. Bob Blea
    I believe Barry King is Don King's grandson. And yes, I'm pretty sure the Porter's he worked at was the Porter Saddle Shop in the Phoenix area. If you got to visit there in it's heyday you may have seen some top talent indeed.
  5. Bob Blea
    Hello Hailey and welcome to the forum! The Hide House in Napa, CA carries sides of it. You might be able to buy it direct from the Wickett and Craig tannery as well. They will do special orders and will sell you just one hide too.
  6. Bob Blea
    Welcome to the site! Look forward to seeing some of your work.
  7. Bob Blea
    Welcome to the site! I spent about a month on the North Island many years ago. Really enjoyed it and want to go back someday.
  8. Bob Blea
    I think it turned out nice. It has a cool saddle bag look to it.
  9. Bob Blea
    Thanks Mike! Those were some of the best leather carvers in the world. The level of talent at that show is amazing!
  10. Bob Blea
    Nice work and Congratulations!
  11. Bob Blea
    Practice does help. I recommend picking a really simple floral pattern (ideally something from a craftaid) and carving it five times in a row, critiquing it yourself each time. Take what you learn, like and don't like, and work on that for the next one. By the time your finished you'll be surprised how much you improve. But beyond practice, study the carving styles of people you really admire. Take really close looks at how they do things, the tools they use for certain effects, etc. You can learn a lot by looking at how the artists you look up to do things. And if you ever get the chance to take a class in person with a Bob Park or Robert Beard (or any of the other master leather carvers out there), take it! You will learn a huge amount from them. Hope this helps, Bob
  12. Bob Blea
    Thanks for posting these, they are very helpful!
  13. Bob Blea
    I know I've seen a description of sewing a cantle binding on a saddle where the stitching is hidden. I thought that was in the Art of Hand Sewing by Al Stohlman but I might be wrong about that. It could have been in the saddle making series of books. I can't remember now.
  14. Bob Blea
    Bob, all it takes is some practice and you'll be able to do this too. Thanks for the kind words all!
  15. Bob Blea
    thanks Krittner, this was a very interesting read too. Nice work.
  16. Bob Blea
    Very nice work, and thanks for the details on how you go about it. Turned out great.
  17. Bob Blea
    Thank you guys.
  18. Bob Blea
    Thank you!
  19. Bob Blea
    Thank you all!
  20. Bob Blea
    Thanks very much Rohn. That tool around the picture is called a Geer Braid (named after Chan Geer I believe) and it's made by Barry King.
  21. Bob Blea
    I'm pretty sure that is made by Barry King. If it isn't his he makes one that is very close. http://www.barrykingtools.com/geometrics.htm I think it's the sea shell filler about two thirds of the way down the page. Bob
  22. Bob Blea
    Here's one I finished a few weeks ago. It is a leather notebook designed to hold an 8 1/2 x 11 refillable notepad. The front is a full floral design and the back has an inset pictorial carving of a mountain scene surrounded by basketweave stamping. The outer leather and interior pocket are Herman Oak, with a pigskin lining. The outer edge is laced with Whiskey colored Kangaroo lace from Packer in Australia. I made this as an entry in the World Leather Debut show in Sheridan, WY this year. It didn't place but it did score pretty well and I'm happy with it, though I do see a lot of room for improvement. I made it for my personal use so the customer is satisfied. The notebook was antiqued and in the pictures it looks pretty uneven, but most of that is just not setting up very good lighting when I took the pictures. Overall it came out pretty even color. Thanks, Bob
  23. Bob Blea
    Very impressive! Very nice stitching and the lizard looks great. How did you finish the edges on this one?
  24. Bob Blea
    I think it looks fantastic! I would have put the blue on the outside, but you made your wallet work out. I'm very envious of your stitching.
  25. Bob Blea
    Thanks Bruce, that clears things up. Hadn't even considered the consequences of pushing the leather on soft leather...
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