Bob Blea

Really nice! I love the dog carving on the outside.

Now I see, and that is a cool effect. I can see how it would take a lot of practice to do it right.

Hi Pete, I think I know the tool you are referring to, but if it's what I'm thinnking of I'm not sure how you get a rope border from it. Can you post a picture? Bob

Welcome from another Fort Collins resident! You will find a lot of helpful advice here and lots of helpful people. Bob

Thanks Camano for the compliment, and yes that notebook was antiqued. I've got a better picture of a similar notebook where the contrast was even stronger than my avatar one. This one had a darker antique and I did a good job with the resist layer. I use Wyosheen as a resist. Bob

Hello Bryce, There are a couple of things I see. First and foremost, it looks like your leather was too wet when you tooled it. The carving looks like it was very mushy and you didn't get much burnishing with your pear shader. Also, I see a lot of tracks left by your beveler. Proper casing will go a long way to solving these problems. Make sure your leather has dried out enough so that it is returning to almost normal color before carving. On your swivel knife cuts for your vine work, the cuts don't flow into the vine very gracefully. Also, the cuts for where petals or vines come together are too short. Try to lengthen those lines and fade them out slowly, both as you cut them and as you bevel them. And as you make those cuts coming into the vine, make then gracefully curve into the vine and have them come to an imaginary center line running down the vine. They shouldn't ever actually reach that line but just sort of gradually fade out. Try taking a look at some of the pro's work on here, like Bob Park (hidepounder on this forum) and you can see what I mean. He does this very well. Also, the way you are using your mule's foot is backwards. Most people would stamp it with the V pointing the other direction. Hope this makes some sense, and that it helps, Bob

Looking at that picture it definitely looks antiqued, at least in my eyes. I get results like that following the same procedure that Camano described. Oiling leather will usually darken it some, but it darkens the leather overall, not just in the tooling depressions like you see in the picture. Antiquing the leather darkens the depressions and provides more contrast.

Have you tried Van Amburg Leather? I remember seeing him at a show with a lot of different colors of stringray. http://vanamburgleather.com/.

You got a lot done today, more that I have! Take the rest of the year off!

If you have a smartphone or iPad/iPod, you can get apps that help you do this. I use an app called 'OfficeTime' on my iPod Touch, and it allows me to track multiple projects. Starting the timer is just a matter of taping the screen, and then I tap it again when I take a break or go work on something else. There are lots of apps for this (at least for the Apple devices) so you can find one that works for you and maybe even for free. Keeping track of your time can be really eye opening as far as how much work really goes into what you make. Hope that helps, Bob

Neat idea and it looks good. What kind of leather is the lace made from? Bob

I have done this on 2 oz leather for notebook pockets with a burnisher mounted in a drill press. I have to hold the leather very close to the edge to keep pressure on the burnisher and to keep the leather from rolling over. I think I remember seeing someone here recommend using a stiffener like card stock under the leather you are burnishing to help hold it in place and provide some rigidity while burnishing. The idea was just to have the leather rest on top of the cardstock, not be attached to it. I put Wyo Slick on my edges (available through Sheridan Leather Outfitters) and it works well. I don't get Bob Park quality edges on these thin pockets but I'm just trying to get a smooth edge that feels finished and doesn't have fuzzies, not a super polished edge. It works for that. Just don't put too much pressure on your leather or you can easily mess up the edge and fold it over a bit against the burnisher. When this happens I can ususally flatten in back out with a bone folder and get it looking presentable again. Bob

Hi Bryan, and welcome to the forum! Short answer is that both the koozie foam and the shearling will make good insulators for the can. The closed cell foam of the koozie is probably a better insulator just for the fact that it will take less thickness of it to get the same insulating power as the shearling, but in the end you won't be able to tell much difference between the two. Both will keep the can colder than just holding it in your hand. It will probably come down to which one is easier to get. If you have a saddle shop nearby you can probably buy shearling scraps from them pretty cheap, but if you had to order a whole skin that's expensive. On the other hand, you can get plain koozies at your local craft store. Bob

The undershot or undercut beveller, also called a lifter, was made to solve just this sort of problem. They are rounded to go into the inside curves and lift the petal, but they also bevel that area at the same time. I then use my small beveler to bevel the outer curve. It makes the whole process much easier. I have Barry King Lifters in a couple of sizes and they work well for me. Horn is also right about the smaller tools taking a lot more finesse to keep them from leaving tracks. As he says, those take practice to run well, but if you can switch to a lighter maul when using them. Hope this helps, Bob

Thanks for sharing Ray. As someone who enjoys used book stores I really liked this site. Bob

Welcome to the forum! You're not the only one to have this sort of problem. Usually I hear about people with very dry hands having the tools slip away from them and go flying across the room when struck. You can wrap some electrical tape around the handle, giving you a stickier surface to grip. Also, I've heard of people putting silicone pencil grips on their tools to get a firmer grip. Hope this helps, Bob

Recreating this with that thin pocket is going to be difficult if you want the pocket the same color as the rest of it. Different types of leather will dye differently, and even the same type from two different hides and come out different shades. If it were me, I would make the pocket out of the same 2-3 oz leather and then skive it thinner, which I know isn't an easy task. However, when dyed they should all be the same shade.

My $.02, For carving or stamping, definitely Barry King. For the best geometrics or basket stamps, Wayne Jueschke in Elko, NV. For the absolute best of the best, Robert Beard. For swivel knives, Barry King's are very good but my favorite is Leather Wranglers. I like their round knives too and own one, but Terry Knipschield are really good too. For other hand tools (edgers, etc.) probably Jeremiah Watt or Ron's Tools. Both seem excellent though I don't personally have any yet. Barry King makes some of them too and I have one of his french edgers and love it. Also, you can contact Bruce Johnson who is part of this forum and moderator in the saddlry section. He sells used tools (brucejohnsonleather.com) that are in good shape and properly sharpened, plus he can tell you about the different makers and what would be a good tool for the kind of work you want to do. He's a great resource that would be happy to help you out. Hope this helps, Bob

Nice work, and welcome to the forum. Keep on posting!

Also, you might be getting this because you are undercutting with your swivel knife. Make sure when you are cutting that you hold the swivel knife stright up and down, and not tilted to the side. I had a similar problem and it turned out I was leaning the knife over when making sharp turns. Bob

Welcome Glenn and thank you for your service. If you have questions please post them. Everyone here is very glad to help! Bob

Spectacular work! Nice to see your work here again. Bob

Thanks Tex, I've got some older lacing chisels that I've thought were pretty sticky and I've often thought about trying to sharpen them up. You've made me think I should give it a try. Thanks for the tip! Bob

I like it too, nice job!

Thanks Hunio, I'll be watching too!