sherlockian100

I started doing leather work, because I wanted a knife sheath. After making several sheaths, pouches, etc. I became interested in tooling and carving. I thought, "how hard can it be?" Well, I bought a Tandy ket that had basic tools and several projects. I found out how hard it can be. So, I started seeking out classes. I went to Tandy, and although the guy teaching at my local Tandy is pretty good, he kind of just teaches project by project. I wanted a more structured learning environment. I found "Standing Bears Trading Post." The owner "WC" is an amazing leathercraftsman. He starts a new beginner's class every 6 months and it runs for 6 months. Then, if chosen, you move into his "intermediate" class. I was lucky enough to get into his class and started at the beginning of July 2012. I have already learned so much after just a month of classes. The problems most beginners have with tooling (Beveling and backgrounding) with out leaving herendous toolmarks was my biggest problem area too. It was amazing to me how after watching me do it for a few seconds, WC said, "do X,Y,Z, differently" and it fixed my problems. I am sure having a great teacher diminished my learning curve big time. Who knows how long it would have taken on my own, if I would have ever "fixed" it. I highly recommend taking classes if one is new to tooling and carving AND, I can't recommend WC in high enough regards, the man is amazing!