carverman

I have been out of leather carving for about 12 years and so I am used to the old spirit dyes. I just started to get back into carving again and now I have to use water based dyes because I am based in California for the winter. I am having so many problems with this new dye. I just doesn't cover like the old stuff and several of my latest carvings are ruined from blotching dying. Are there any suggestions out there? I was thinking of trying wood stain as a dye because it has spirit base to it and if it works it is a lot cheaper to buy than what is sold leather supply places, like T__dy. Has anyone tried useing wood stain on leather?

The artist is always harder on his or herself because we know what we were trying to achieve and didn't do it exactly the way we expected. Others who see our work wonder how the heck we did what we did because they can't do it. Many mistakes are made and people don't even see them. We spot them because we are the artists and have a keener, more critical eye. I just want to encourage you to keep going. I have not done any leather carving for over 12 years. I am just getting back into it and find that all I knew about dying and coloring leather has changed. I am used to spirit dyes and now it is all water based dyes. I have ruined several really nice carvings just in the last few days because the waterbased stuff just doesn't work like the olders stuff. I have reinvested about $250.00 in new leather supplies and am quite discouraged but I am not going to quit. Stick with it!

Unfortunately any pre-made wallet parts are made from bonded leather and it will never last. I pre-cut all the parts myself from 1.5-2 oz chrome tanned leather and separate them into small boxes for later use. Then either hand sew them or by machine. Hand sewing takes a lot longer but will last a lifetime. It can be done while watching TV or sitting waiting for a Dr appointment. It always gets people asking questions and adds more customers when you have a finished product with you to show them. I even got permission to do it in a hospital room when I had several weeks from back surgery. It kept my mind off the pain and also sold things to the nurses and Dr. who came in to check me.