Pumpman

I really like the look.

Very nice

Howdy from west Texas.

Glad to have another Texan where are you from?

Some of the best places in Texas are the ones nobody has heard of. I have been through there many times. Congrats on your Craigslist find. I have been searching for a deal like that. Welcome from a fellow newb.

The Eco-flo stain. Not a huge fan.

Ok here are a couple of examples (sorry for the delay I've been busy). The first one is a coaster that I just threw together to antique. As you can see it is a mess. The second one is the first carving I ever attempted so I tried to antique it. Then after numerous try's to salvage it, I just let the antique set until it was completely black. Electrathon: yes all of my tools are Tandy or craftool and are all chromed smooth I try to make deep impressions on everything I do but I'm not sure that my tools will allow the tooling to be sharp enough. Is there a way to dull the finish on my tools to allow for a sharper tooling mark? I would truly appreciate the help. I have now learned to properly bevel the internals of my project, thanks to this forum, such as the backgrounder on my stems and flowers in my floral piece. I will post some pictures of my recent projects soon (they have gotten much better) thanks in advance for all of the responses and advice.

Thank you for all of your replies. Fiebings seems to be a much better product. I'm truly having buyers remorse on all of my Eco-flow purchases. I will post some pictures tomorrow when I have some more time. I will also be grabbing an air brush very soon. Thanks again.

Very nice are the buckles handmade? If so by whom? If not where did you find them?

I was told at Tandy to use super sheen as a resist to antique only the tooled areas of my project. So after applying one coat of super sheen I applied a hefty amount of Eco-flow antique black, I let it sit, I then wiped it off. Absolutely no black was on my piece, tooled or not. Thinking I applied too much super sheen I backed off on the amount on another piece of leather needless to say this piece is now completely black. What exactly I'm I doing incorrectly. Or is there another way to get the same effect with a dark background and a natural foreground? Please help I'm tired of wasting time and money by ruining my projects. Thanks in advance.

Chive on! And nice work

Thank you all for the responses I have learned a great amount in my short period of time. I am going to finish this one as is, and I will turn around and make a new one shortly. Quick question is there a special technique for beveling in tight spaces or just tools that I need to purchase? Thanks in advance! Cheers and Merry Christmas.

Ok I see what you mean thanks

That is what I thought but the pattern I am going off of is exactly how I have it?

Some of you may have already seen this in the critique section, but being new I just discovered this topic. I'm learning so many things from all of you, so thanks, here is my second attempt at floral carving. Please let me know what you think. As soon as I get this project dyed and assembled I will post more pictures. #2 start #2 cleaning tracks and finishing beveling. I'm going to try and get all the tracks out then dye and assemble the portfolio.