pakalbaugh

I have only tried beveling at 30 degrees. I might try 40 next time. I got David Morgan's book, Braiding Fine Leather, in the mail Friday. In it he says that beveling for six and eight strand braids is done by taking one corner off the underside and the opposite corner off the top side (parallelogram) which is different than anything I've seen in other books or online and different than what he recommends for four strand braids (which is what I've always seen...both corners off the underside are beveled). It makes some sense because the six and eight strand braids lay a little differently than the four strand when braided. I'm not sure how it works in actual practice, though. I need to read more to figure out how to set the strands up in prep to braid with this type of bevel and do a short test to see if it really helps. Also not sure how this will work with pre-cut lace. Pat K Juneau, AK

Someone else (not in this forum) also suggested a paper bag on the counter and on the wood and I've tried it but not recently. I think the problem here is that I am braiding too tight so it won't roll and I'm using a core that may not be the right size or the right material. I have always heard "pull it tight" so I took it literally and pulled as tight as I could. On this particular leash, I actually pulled each string each time I brought one around the back so this one is ultra tight. Last night I was reading David Morgan's book (Braiding Fine Leather - it just arrived in the mail on Friday) and in the section where he talks about rolling the leather, it states that if it won't roll, it's braided too tight. So, I think I still need to work on how much tension/pull I give the strands. Morgan also shows, step by step, how to braid and when to pull which he calls "The Mechanics of Braiding". I'm sure I've probably gotten into some bad habits but I'm going to try his method and see if I can switch to his. I highly recommend David Morgan's book. It's helped me understand and answer some of the questions I've had about braiding leather along with the people in this forum who have helped put the pieces together. Pat K Juneau, AK

Thanks Mike! Will try that. Pat

Thanks for the tips on rolling and the comments on cores and blades, entiendo! Here is pic of the finished braid (still not a finished piece). I'm kind of interested in whether I'm taking enough off when beveling (if you can tell from this shot) and/or if braiding very tightly over a core might be part of the issue.. Thanks! Pat K Juneau, AK

I braided an 8 strand herringbone braid yesterday without stretching the lace at all. I beveled it first, soaped it up and went for it. The braid turned out much better than the pieces I've stretched so thanks to those who suggested I do not stretch the pre-cut lace. I was also cognizant of tension and pulled ALL the other strands tight each time I pulled a strand around, under 2, over 2. This gave me better tension than I've ever had before. The pattern stayed straight and even. On previous braids, I was only pulling the "working" strand I brought around the back and maybe the one I pulled around just before tight. So that is the good news. The bad news is that I couldn't get the braid to smooth out very much with rolling. It's a little smoother than the unbeveled 8 strander I've done but not by much. Is this because I need to take more off with the beveling? I'm also wondering if braiding so tight left the strands with no place to go when rolling. (I was braiding over a core also). Pat K Juneau, AK

I get what you are saying and of course, I want my braiding to be as good as I can get it which is why I forced myself to start beveling. I can see a huge difference after beveling on a 4 strand braid and will probably bevel these from now on. Not very much difference in smoothness on the 8 strand (haven't tried beveling a six strand yet). On the small 4 strand piece I beveled, I did not use a core under it (it was just a test) so I'm wondering if not having a core helps smoothing the braid, if it's just the 8 strand herringbone pattern that makes it harder to get it smooth, or if I'm just not taking enough of the angle off when I'm beveling. Hard to know how much to take off and I've tried erring on the side of less, rather than more. How often do you change blades? One thing I didn't like on the four strand beveled test I did was that the braid became much thinner. The four strand is already a very thin braid to begin with and I prefer a heftier braid myself. But I DID like the look of it beveled as the strands sank right down into the braid. Just some thoughts...I'll post a pic of the beveled 8 strand braid I did yesterday later on today once I finish it. Thanks for taking the time to comment. I appreciate everyone's help figuring out the details! Pat K Juneau, AK

Going back to rolling...Yesterday I braided a 4', 8 strand braid. I tried rolling it on the counter without the cardboard under it and rolling with a piece of wood on top. I could not get it to roll! It just kept slipping. In fact, I couldn't get it to roll using the wood piece even with the cardboard under it to give it some bite. I've used the board on top before and it's worked so I'm not sure why it didn't with this one (although I don't think I've ever tried with an 8 strand braid). I ended up rolling it with my hands on the carboard with the counter beneath. Anyone have any tips on rolling on smooth surfaces (like the counter) with a piece of wood? This leash is just not rolling well and also not smoothing out as well as others have during and after rolling even though it is beveled. I can't figure out what the problem might be. Thanks Pat K Juneau, AK

For some reason, the image in the middle of the post displays much smaller than the one that is under "Attached Thumbnails". Don't know why...sorry. Pat K Juneau, AK

I agree that beveling or not beveling is a matter of taste. I can get Springfield pre-cut leather pretty smooth just by rolling without beveling. But I wanted to see how much difference there was between beveled and non-beveled items because I've heard people claim that you have to bevel to have a finished look. Here is another test example. The beveled one on the right is smaller in width and feels smaller but smoother. I'm still not convinced I like it better but it is visibly different and feels different too. I wonder if beveling weakens the leather and by how much? I know my beveling skills aren't all that great yet but a few times while I was beveling, I ended up taking off more than I wanted to. I definitely need more practice on beveling. Pat K Juneau, AK

OK...thanks everyone! Going to try to bevel the underside corners, soap and then braid without pre-stretching. I'll try and post a photo after I'm finished. Pat K Juneau, AK

Thanks for all the great suggestions! Some colors are worse than others for stretching...or maybe it's just the place on the roll that is worse. I will try not stretching at all and see what happens although I think I will get some stretch as I braid. I do anchor the braid on a string jig attached to a light stand. I'll let you know what happens. Pat K Juneau, AK

Yes, I do roll after I'm done braiding. This one was rolled on a counter with a piece of cardboard under it. I usually roll with my hands, although I have used a piece of wood to roll also.. I think what you might be seeing is that one strand that I don't think got beveled that sticks up. Pat K Juneau, AK

Hi everyone, A question I've had on my mind for a while and which I think is causing me problems on some of my braiding projects, is how to stretch and how much to stretch the laces before braiding? I've tried stretching a lot, a little, before and after soaping up the strands. I inevitably end up with varying widths of strands being braided which makes it difficult to keep the tension and pattern consistent. Sometimes it is worse than others. I am not to the point of buying my own hides, cutting and dyeing my own lace so I am using pre-cut 1/8" lace from Springfield. I am braiding around a core most of the time so stretching after the piece is complete is not as much of a concern as it would be if I were not using cores. I've looked at many videos on the web but most of them are stretching their own cut lace, not pre-cut lace and many of them stretch before they make the final width cut which I cannot using pre-cut lace. You can see my inconsistent braiding on this piece: Is this why I'm not getting a nice, even, consistent herringbone pattern on the 8 strand braid and is there a workaround? Any thoughts on this subject would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance, Pat K

Hi everyone, I've been lurking in this forum for a year now while I learn the craft of braiding kangaroo leather. I've read, with interest, the opinions on whether or not to bevel . I bought a beveler from YKnot Lace over a year ago but was afraid to try beveling because I was sure I would ruin a bunch of leather before I figured it out. Yesterday I got my courage up and decided to give it a try. Although I'm still in the learning curve as far as beveling goes (and also keeping the tension even on 8 strands :-), I found it was not as hard as I thought it would be. I decided to do an experiment to see the difference in quality between beveled and unbeveled. Here are the results: (The pink collar is beveled, the brown is unbeveled). You can also see that I must have missed beveling one of the light pink strands (it sort of sticks up above the rest) which I realized after I started braiding. Since this was an experiment I decided to leave it as is. I started thinking it might be interesting to try leaving a couple of the strands unbeveled on purpose to add some relief/texture as a design element on the piece. Pat K. Juneau, AK

Hello from Juneau, AK I have been lurking here for a few months and have already learned much from this group. THANKS! I figured it was time to post an intro. I am new to leather lace (roo) braiding but have been braiding nylon web agility leashes for a few years now. I am a long time dog show enthusiast (obedience and agility trials). About 20 years ago I bought a really nice roo leather leash for obedience. It is still in excellent shape and I have always loved it but I wanted some different colors to match my current dogs so I began researching making my own roo lace leashes a few months ago. I enjoy braiding and I'd like to make the best I can for myself and gifts for friends. So far, I've made a few roo leather leashes which are nice but not as finished as I'd like. The devil is in the details! I just received my YKnot Lace beveler yesterday and WHAT a difference beveling the lace makes! Here are a couple photos...one of my first roo leather leash (unbeveled) and one of my nylon agility leashes. I've got a few questions which I will post in the braiding forum but I am glad to be here soaking up the knowledge of those so willing to share it. Cheers! Pat Kalbaugh Juneau, AK