Harag

Thanks, I've got samples of these and they are not the right ones, too think. I have emailed the LePrevo and they said the best one would be the Scandianavian hide, looking at the pictures of the colours the Tuscan one is the closest match. I'll request a sample of that the next time. http://www.leprevo.co.uk/photos/scandinavian.htm

Agree, at the moment I'm just playing around with tooling bookmarks to see what I can do, so the painting isn't just for bags. It's all a learning experience.

Yes and no... for things like LARP (live action role playing) mainly.

Hi all Many thanks for the replies. I'll email the firm and ask them which leather I should order from their site as they don't specify chap leather. http://www.leprevo.co.uk/hides.htm Split Leather (#088 Suede split):

Hi All I got a sample of the below Suede from my leather supplier as I was hoping to make some "pouches" out of the soft leather, with a draw string at the top. but when I received the sample it was sort of hairy on both sides. I would like the outside of the bag to be smooth. http://www.leprevo.co.uk/photos/suede-split.htm So my question is, how do I make the outside smooth? I've just watched a video on Leather Craft Library (premium) by George where he makes a stirrup bag (under project misc) and the soft leather (chaps) he's using is the same stuff, but his outside is smooth and he didn't say what he did with it (guessing it came like that). Any help / advice would be great. Thanks

Any news on when you will be sharing the pack? I would love a copy of it as well, I'm willing to donate for your work on this.

Thanks for an excellent tutorial, much appreciated.

Thanks for posting your work. Can I ask, what leather do you use to make the pouch in the first and third pictures and the pockets in the last picture?

I completely agree with this, I'm new to leather working and planning on learning carving & dyes first. The videos have really helped me to "have a go" as well

Excellent video, thanks for providing these Nigel. Much appreciated.

Hi Welcome to the leather world, like you I'm also new, I'm reading these forums and even bought several books. Just got my first parcel yesterday with my carving tools in it. The books I would recommend for starters are: Depending on what you want to do there are others. The Art of Hand Sewing Leathercraft Tools Leathercraft Manual Others: Figure Carving Pictorial Carving How to Carve Leather The art of making leather cases vol 1, 2 and 3

Many thanks for that, the one key thing you said was to burnish it before I paint/dye, I wasn't sure on that part. I'll take a look at the bob park tutorial,

Hi all I've bought some carving tools and some 1/2 price bookmarks to practice on, I'm hoping to then paint the front of the bookmark, but I have a question about the sides & back. The back of the bookmarks are rough, how do I smooth these down, what do I use? am I right in saying. 1. don't dye/acrylic paint ??? 2. Add "Tan Kote" then buff (with what?) when dry 3. Add Resolene to add water resist Sides: 1. again, dont dye/acrylic paint 2. Add "Gum Traganth" - then buff (with slicker) when dry. 3. Add Resolene to add water resist. both: #1 - What if I want the sides and back to be the same colour as the front? when do I make the back smooth? Many thanks.

You mention the backs of leather. I've just got some 1/2 price bookmarks which I'm going to practice carving and then acrylic painting. As these are natural colour I was going to paint the edges and back as well, but I want to smooth the back of the bookmark. My question is do use Gum Tragacanth BEFORE or AFTER I've painted the back / edges? Many thanks

Thanks again, Since the block I seem to have bought is large and as some of you suggest should do the job, but need to strop more, I'll give it a go. If all else fails, I'll look around for the green block which seems to be the one to use.

Which book did you get the lacing out of?

Thanks all, but as I've already bought the red one metioned in my original post, will this one be ok, or should I put it to one side and buy a different colour one?

I'm looking at making a Strop and found that I need a hard surface (leather, cardboard etc) and some Jewellers Rouge. The latter I know nothing about so after looking into rouge I found that Tandy do a white one, seen a green one in some videos and I've also see red ones. I've seen it in ether Powder form or bar form, I'm guessing I need the bar. What I don't understand is the difference between the colours and which is used for stopping swivel blades. I've bit the bullet and bought the below - not knowing on the size needed. My better half has told me this would last me 20 years http://www.amazon.co...d/dp/B00BEHXS1G Because of all the different colours, will this "red" one do the job? What is the difference between the colours? Many thanks

Hi all Just getting into the world of leather working, I'm looking at making medievial bags, pouchers, book covers etc. At the moment I've placed an order for some basic carving tools as I'm looking at learning carving/tooling first as I currently don't have a lot of room for going into item making just yet (and to spread the cost of setup over a few months). With my order I've ordered some blank "bookmark" leathers about 1.5 x 9 inch in size as these were on 1/2 price offer (still waiting for the full order to arrive). I was just going to use the bookmarks to practice tooling on, but now I've thought about painting them with a brush and acrylic dye. I'm not an artist and never done anything like this before so it's a big leap into the unknown for me. 1. Casing / tooling 2. Arcylic Dye 3. Oil Dye 4. Finishes From the above list I understand #1 but 2-3 I have some questions on if I may. I'm going to buy a kit of acrylic dyes - 11 colours in the kit and some "resolene" - http://www.leprevo.co.uk/photos/acrylic_pack.htm - so my first question is 1. After tooling, when painting the bookmarks do I paint the edges and the back as well, eg to colour them "green" or whatever colour? 2. After painting I then apply "resolene" to it. do I apply this all over, even if I haven't painted the back (depending on answer to 1). And do I wait for the initial paint to completely dry? 3. Now bookmarks are very small, but if I did some small tooling on a large piece of leather say for a bag then when I apply the oil dye to the leather, do I go over the acrylic dye with this or around it all? or do I apply oil dye (even the tooled) first then paint on the acrylic colours over the oil dye 4. Finishes, what are the basic steps for finishing.. a) case & carve, apply oil dye c) finishes? - They seems to be different finishes - http://www.leprevo.co.uk/finishes.htm Any tips, advice, links will be much appreciated Many thanks

WOW this is a great idea, is this topic pinned? it should be. I came here via a link in another topic. Anyway, I'm just starting out leather working and carving and bought myself some tools and polymer clay, though I'm waiting for the tools to be delivered. I've also bought a Granite chopping board you use in Kitchens (3/4 inch thick) - I've read above to use GLASS for the clay - will the granite board be OK ??? or should I get some glass as well. I've seen small table top glass mats I could get. The granite board I was planning to use on the table to do my carving and stamping on. Thanks all

Thanks for confirming the thickness of the bag. I'm reading up on carving etc, but from what I've read you can't do it on really wet leather and if I carved before putting it on a mold I might run into a couple of problems. 1. Carving stretches, 2. carving not as crisp due to the wetness of the leather. Have you done any carving on a mold since doing this tutorial? if so, what method did you use? Cheers

Many thanks for the article. I'm just starting out in the leather crafting world and waiting for my tools to arrive. I'm planning on using this way for casing, but a lot of videos I've seen seem to simply "wet" the leather with a sponge. I plan to use brown packing tape on the back of the leather to help stop it from stretching, so my question is, while carving, can I simply add more water to the top of it? also if it's going to take a while, can I put the leather back in the bag and leave it overnight again? again, thanks for the article. I will re read it again when my tools arrive.

Many thanks to every one for the suggestions. I've now finally ordered some tools so should start playing around in a week or so. One other question I have though is to do with damping on the back. I've read that the leather stretches and its a good idea to stiffen it with something, some suggest glueing card to the back, other say use packing brown tape etc. (tape seems the easiest for me). by having these on the back to stop stretching when in the process of "casing" is this added. guessing just before I tool, and how do I add more water to it when it I have tape on the back - will a very light damp do on the front?

Hi all I'm looking at having a go at leather working, making bags, belts, cases etc as well as carving. I live in the UK and have just ordered some basic carving tools, but I've read that the carving knife is blunt and will need to be sharpen and to strop often when carving. My better have already has tools as she enjoys a bit of DIY (she makes clothes & jewellery) and says she has a "whetstone" for sharpening. Can I use this wet stone for my own leather tools? Also stropping - What is this, and where can I get / make this from - some of the tutorials I've seen all seem to be USA based. I've tried looking on the "LE Prevo" site, where I have purchased my tools from, but they don't seem to sell sharpening / stopping tools. Any help on this would be great. Many thanks Alan

Excellent tutorial, many thanks. I'm looking at getting into leather working and hoping to make things like these, but all the different leathers is confusing at the moment, kips, shoulders, etc. What leather did you use to make this bag?