engtrk

Yes I use the beveler. For the type of carving I do for the shields I don't need any other carving tools (besides the swivel knife). Most of the detail comes from the painting

what an absolutely amazing machine! I need to look into one of those for the future.

Hello all! It has been a while since I've posted. Here are just a few of the recent fire helmet shields I have done. The first one goes on my personal helmet, and has an interchangeable center (Velcro) depending which station I am at. The second and third are the first hand carved shields I have made. Please feel free to critique and leave tips, I am always looking to get better!

Schultzt I have made quite a few white shields. I just make sure the leather is very clean, use the deglazer, and roll on the Angelus paint with a 2" foam roller. I usually use 3 coats, and then at least 2 coats of the Angelus paint finisher. And I always finish with a wax or shoe polish

Hello slimcut I too make helmet shields although i havent posted any pictures in a while. Your work looks top notch. Very unique desigin. I especially like the chiefs shield. The tooling with ths paint really gives an authentic gold leaf feel. Keep up the good work!

Wow those "scales" look absolutely amazing! How did you get that effect? Is that a stamp or carving? The gold color looks really great also. Great job!

Thanks cyberthrasher. I have never heard of burning them down. Learn something new every day. I will try this in the future

OK I know I haven't had any replies, however I think I have found a solution. I thought about sanding off the finish (and the fibers along with it) but I was thinking that sand paper may be too harsh for the Brian of the leather. So I tried one of the those green scotch brite pads for cleaning dishes. It worked great! I ad to touch up some of the dye, and paint as well. Re-finish ( with a sponge) and it is good as new. I just wanted to post this for anyone else in the future that may come across this problem

OK I need some help. I have just completed a helmet shield for a customer. I used tan kote for the finish as usual. The problem is that I have all sorts of fibers that dried in the finish that I didn't notice when it was still wet. I suspect this is because I used a wool dauber. I have always used a small sponge and for some reason I decided to use the dauber this time. Has anyone else run into this problem? Is there anyway I can fix this without starting over? I am not giving this shield to the customer like it is so I need to either fix it or start over. Any help is greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance!

Hello all, I have been here for a few months now and made a few threads and posts, however, i never posted an introduction. Better late than never i guess. I am 24 year old and i started working with leather earlier this year. So far i am having a blast making things, and learning new things. I think i have picked most stuff fairly quickly, and continue trying to hone my skills and learn new techniques. I am a firefighter and "specialize" in making fire service gear such as leather fire helmet shields, glove and radio straps, ect. I have made quite a few shields and other items for other people. I have been getting a lot of requests from people i know personally, so i decided to make myself a website and see where this may take me. Thank you all for reading my ramble, and if you get a chance, check out my site and let me know what you think. Show me a link to your sites and i will check them out as well. I am always looking for critiques about anything i do, and always trying to improve. http://leatherfire.com Regards, engtrk

How did you cut those letter so precise and small? they really look good. is it still holding up pretty well being epoxied on? and if so, what kind of epoxy did you use?

I checked out your website, looks like you got the hang of it pretty quick. you do some nice work!

Have you made any progress? i would like to see how the project, or any other helmet shields have turned out.

looking good! The flames on the shield are very cool. Have you done any other helmet shields?

Thank you all for the responses! There are a few things I will be trying now. Rivercity- he likes the look of painted on "stitching", plus he wants it in gold and I do not have gold thread. See my example pics below. The first on is painted gold thread, the second is actual stitching in black.