Bob Blea

Your website looks great. I like how you've displayed so much great work. I hope this site really brings in some business for you. Bob

Hello Ron, I see a couple of things that could help you out. Getting confortable with your swivel knife and your beveler will help a lot. The swivel knife is really a hard tool to master and it really does take a lot of practice, so don't feel bad about your efforts here at all. It looks like most of your cuts were not very smooth and flowing. In all styles of floral carving you want smooth lines and gentle curves. You have many places where the curves don't flow or have flat spots, and it breaks up the flow of the carving. Practice will help with that, and having a really sharp knife is very important too. The pros will regularly say they practice every day with the knife. The swivel knife is the ground work for good carving of any kind, so regular practice with it will make you better. Try practicing doing gentle curves or decorative cuts of scrap leather, and try doing a little every day. Beveling is the next basic tool skill and really can be just as hard to get a good result. I still have trouble with uneven beveling when using checkered bevelers, and for some reason I have never been very fast when beveling with them, where my wife can bevel like a pro and probably spends about half the time I do beveling something. Again, its a skill that takes a lot of practice, so maybe try beveling some of those gentle cuts with the knife and make them equally smooth. Also, it looks like your leather may be too wet when you are working it. That will make it hard to bevel properly and you won't get any of the nice burnishing when you do. It looks mushy around the beveled areas which makes me think it's too wet. There is a pinned topic on casing in the How Do I Do That forum that can help, but basic rule of thumb is that the leather should look almost dry on the surface before you start carving. And yes, if you can get a copy of Sheridan Style Carving that book will help you tremendously. Hope this helps. Keep it up, you have potential. Bob

Welcome to you from up in Fort Collins! Bob

You have all my sympathies too. I have my own furry shop supervisor. She usually sleeps at my feet while I'm carving and I will be devistated when she is gone. I feel your loss. Bob

Welcome! I looked at the conchos on your web site. They look great. Bob

Thanks, I really like some of those. I might try doing one of the birds tonight, just to see how much I can mess it up... Bob

There is an adhesive called Blue Tack that is intended to putting up posters and such on walls, but it will pull off easily and not leave any residue or damage the painted surface. Bostick makes Blue Tack but other companies make similar products and you can usually find it at the hardware store. A small ball of it would probably hold your hardware in place. Hope this helps, Bob

I use a undershot beveler on places where the leave turns back, or sometimes at the tips of the leaves. A petal lifter would do too. Bob

Wow, thanks Helmut. This site will take me a few years to absorb..... Bob

Tandy Leather has many online videos and electronic books available on the basics of leathercraft, including some information on saddle making. You can find them at leathercraftlibrary.com. If you are not near a leather supplier or saddle maker, these on line resources could be very helpful. Bob

This morning I antiqued a notepad with a floral design on it. Once I seal it I'll start lacing. The picture isn't too good because I only took it with my iPod. Bob

Chan Geer sells several different carving packs that include patterns and photos of finished items for reference. He also has several carving DVD's available. Bob

I've been using scraps lately to get better at decorative cuts and finger carving. If it has any open space it's good for a few cuts. I like the idea of using them for skiving practice when done. I could use lots of practice on that. Bob

Thank you Keith! I have been trying to understand why I'm not getting wide cuts when making finish cuts, and you just explained it so I understood perfectly. I just spent the past half hour practicing cuts and already my results are far better than they used to be. I've gone from making decorative scratches on leather to decorative cuts. Bob

My technique for getting that color is actually very simple and it doesn't fit well with many of the techniques that people use for the really good sheridan style carvings. I just use Eco-Flo Gel Antique (Tan in this case). I do oil the leather with Neatsfoot oil and let it soak in overnight, then I apply the gel antique. There is no resist involved. I did this before I knew about the techniques typically used by professionals. When I do this the leather is effectively dyed by the antique but I still get the contrast in the backgrounded areas and shaded areas. I apply the antique gel and then vigorously rub it off, sometimes reapplying until the coat looks even. You don't get the high contrast that the Sheridan professionals get, but I do like the colors I end up with. That said, I am experimenting with using resists to get different effects with Eco-Flo gel antiques, just to see what I can do. I know there are many leatherworkers on this forum that really don't like Eco-Flo products, but the way I am using them I am getting a result that I like, and I have sold some so I think others like the effect too. Hope this helps, let me know if you still have questions or if what I said was confusing. Bob

Thank you WinterBear. It did take a while to carve and bevel it. I just looked at it all as really good practice. When I look at some of the finger carving work I see here and how clean it looks. it didn't seem very intricate. Bob

That looks FANTASTIC! Something else to aspire to.... Bob

It turned out really well, Nice work. Bob

Well, I finished this up last week and delivered it to the customer, and he was thrilled. Here is the front cover. It was all dyed black with Feibings USMC Black. The bar grounded areas only look lighter than the rest of it because of how the sunlight is reflecting off them. The dark area at the bottom is actually a shadow that I didn't notice in the picture until downloading onto the computer. Thanks for taking a look and let me know what you think. Bob

I have that same design of basket weave from Barry King and it is my favorite. I have been thrilled with everything I've got from him. Bob

That looks great! I like the lacing all around and the silver really shows it off well. Bob

Nice looking work, and I love the hardware on the closure strap. Bob

Dwight, is there something that doesn't leave all the shine? I make carved notepads and other small items that are handled all the time but aren't going to need to be weather proof. I want to seal them well but find when I use acrylic based seals the items end up shiny. I would like to keep the more natural look of the leather. Thanks in advance, Bob

Those leaves are just incredible. Your work is really inspiring. Bob

I'm with you guys. I'm still just trying to learn how to carve and what makes a good design. I would like to learn to draw my own patterns but I'm a loooong way from having that sort of understanding. Right now I'm happy if I can slightly adjust an existing pattern to make it fit on something and have it still look good. I'm a fan of the Northwest style of carving, and aside from the recent patterns and articles published by Jesse Smith, there aren't a lot of patterns out there. So, I'm trying to learn what makes a good design, but you're right, it's another field of artwork completely separate from carving leather. Bob