Rawhide

How long do you let Resolene dry between coats? I am using a 50/50 mix with water and a preval sprayer. Also, do you buff it? If so, buff between coats or after final coat? Thanks, marlon

hilly, i get honing oil from a woodworker supply store, namely woodcraft, but I'm sure any will do. If your knife is cutting hairs, its sharp. The only thing I can think of is it's not polished to a mirror finish on the cutting edge. If this is the case it's going to gran the leather. Also, are you cutting on a cutting board or poundo/rubber piece? Marlon

I loved ceramic blades for certain leathers. They seem to cut the harder leather much easier. Now I have two Henleys and OMG. Fantastic blades. I'll probably never use ceramic again. Marlon

Hi Wayward, Welcome to the forum. I think you'll find a wealth of knowledge here to help you with your endevours. To answer your questions, leather quality will have a profound effect on your carving and dyeing. A lot of times a toolable (veg-tanned) leather will have hard spots. These spots did not get much of the tanning oils if any at all. This will affect the way the dye penetrates and shows. For now, I would stick with the cheap stuff until you get up to speed with actual projects. Then if you plan to do things for profit, I would upgrade to the best leather you can afford, and charge accordingly. Spirit dye (alcohol based) dye (fiebing's) will dry out leather more-so than water based (eco-flow). However, water based dye takes a longer time to dry between coats. I am in agreement with Twin Oaks about speed drying vs. cool drying. The faster you dry the harder it will be. If you want to make leather more pliable, you can use Lexol conditioning solution to soften it up. To actually see someone carve will probably help. on carving leather. It's just a simple video with a person carving, but you'll get the idea of how it goes.The uneven dying could be a number of things. Are you using an antique stain, water based dye, alchohol based dye? All of these have a different method of application, so I'll need a little more info before I make any suggestions there. By the way, welcome to the addiction. Marlon

Barry doesn't have two lines but his prices just increased due to shipping cost and material costs. Which tools are you considering? I would just order direct from Barry. That way you eliminate the middle man. Just my two cents Marlon

That's one of the problems as well, it's not dyestuffs like spirit dye, it's pigment power. And, you can use solvent to dilute it, this will help it dry faster between coats. However, it will still run when wet. Marlon

I think you're cutting too deep. When you bevel your work, the leather surrounding the cut, can't be compressed enough to "fill in" the gap. Marlon

Hilly, Your knife has to be extremely sharp, because you don't want the leather to move as you're skiving. I only know of a jig to cut 45 degree angles for things like a mitered box corner, but not long tapering skives. Just a lot of practice. Also, draw a line where you want the skive to begin, this will help you in cutting it straight. Marlon

cal, The only guild I know of it texas is lone star leathercraft guild. They meet in dfw area. Peter Main is a member and he lives in Houston also. Marlon

hidecrafters has that book, too. Thanks for sharing Marlon

You are exactly right. Using leather is better as it will get between the "lines" Marlon

Here's the Peter Main way. (man I learned a lot from him). Fisrt strop your hair blade, yes, strop it. Using rouge on leather is fine. Pick out the leftover rouge from between the "hairs". Next the technique depends on the animal or person you are carving. If it's short hair, pull the blade in short bursts. If it's long, use long strokes. For a little more definition, take your hair blade tool and hold it like a pencil (if you have it in a swivel knife, take your index finger out of the yoke and hold it like a pencil), now using really short arching moves, almost choppy, go over the entire hair area. Marlon

Not me.

I add 3" for the buckle end and 6" for the billet end. That's 9" total. I have the customer give me the belt they are wearing to measure or I have them put a tape measure THROUGH THE BELT LOOPS to measure the waist. Marlon

Very nice Cal. And welcome to the forum and to the addiction, ahh... leatherworking. Marlon

Hilly, You are indeed a lucky one. When they get sore, whew!!, they get sore. Sounds like you pull tight enough. Just plain lucky. Marlon

Hilly, sounds like either you have callouses already, or you're not pulling tight enough. Marlon

I've done this with the empty blank CD spindles of 50 or 100 count. Works great. Marlon

You're welcome, and me too

Do you use the RealLemon brand in the green bottle, or an actual lemon and squeeze some juice from it? Marlon

Another idea to try is to take 3 or 4 cotton balls and put them in a cloth. Tie the cloth tightly around the cotton balls. this makes a little "pad". Apply your dye to the pad, dab off excess and then apply the pad to your work in circular motion. I like to start my circles before I touch the work to prevent excess soaking in one spot. The harder you rub, the more burnishing effect you get and you can apply as many coats as you think is necessary to acheive the color you want. Good luck. (By the way, this is covered in Peter Main's book "The Main Technique of Coloring Leather". Marlon

If you use leather for stropping, make sure it's a very thin piece, say 1/2 mm or so. This will minimize the rounding of the tip when you strop. (This is why I use Illustration board or heavy card paper, it doesn't give under the pressure of my hand.) The leather will try to wrap around the edges of the tool and tend to round off a bit. On a side note: Never been to Prague, what's it like? Marlon

No sweat, glad you enjoy it. I'm sure he'll be pleased that you all like it. Marlon

He uses a number 3 scalpel with #11 blades. Marlon

Rob, Inverted carving is the act of beveling the inside of the swivel knife cuts. Carving on the flesh side is called "rough out" carving. Marlon