Fonzarellis

Sweet!

Sucker? Looks great to me.

Really beautiful work! I'm envious.

I have been eyeballing all the beautiful work and talent of some of the folks on here when it comes to oak leaves and wanted to give it a try myself. I've been holding off until I got my knife work dialed in a bit more so I could make the tiny turns required to git er done. I was watching a video showing the use of lifters and I liked the end result quite a bit. Since I'm a bit strapped for cash after our Christmas spending spree, I decided what the heck, I can make these myself. I used a piece of stainless steel rod for the small one and an old screwdriver shank for the larger one. I cut the angles with a file and sharpened/polished it until it was razor sharp using various grits of wet/dry sandpaper to 2000 grit. A few strokes on the strop and they were ready to be baptized. I grabbed a piece of scrap, cased it and the next day went to work. Here' s how it turned out. I do have an oops on one of the edges and the acorns look a little lame to me. What I really liked was the detail brought out after I hit it with a little resist on the leaves and some antique stain. Not really happy with the pebble background but that's probably my inexperience cuz it looks like I over did it and sorta "beat down" the detail. For the sheath I'm making with this design, I may go back to a 6104 and 6898. The antique seems to take better. Any suggestions/critique?

Here is a wood pattern I converted to a B&W image if it helps.

Having a little experience in the graphics field, I wanted to offer my thoughts(2 cents worth)on this subject as well. All the programs mentioned (with the exception of Inkscape) are expensive to buy and can be daunting at best to use. If it needs to be vector graphics, for resizing without loss, then I would also recommend Inkscape as your best bet and it's free. For simple image manipulation I use Irfanview (also free) like slight resizing, cropping or rotating. For those of you who are inclined to more complex programs, may I suggest GIMP with is basically the free open source version of PS. I like to take a picture, posterise it to black and white or use one of the many tools or filters to create a linedrawing effect for use as patterns. For making the B&W images for tool impressions, the idea of creating a "brush" is intriguing. The brush can then be used to make circles, lines, patterns and even rotating brushes. I for one would love to see a repository for these images. Sure would make layout a lot easier. Spacing issues could easily be resolved to make your stamping come out even without the gaps at the end you sometimes get. Interesting idea.

I'm a dragon buff but a beginner when it comes to leathercraft. I was fooling around the other day with this and there is a vast difference between scales for fish, snakes and lizards. Since dragons are essentially a big lizard I was looking into this first. Surfing around here and on teh internet I found several samples and even tutorials for raised dragon scales by undercutting the point of each scale with an exacto knife then rolling the leather to make the scales sort of stand up. I had to give this a try so I found a pattern online, did a screen capture, scaled it to several different sizes then printed it out on some vellum. Transfered, cut and beveled each scale, used a lined shader and a decorative cut, then did the under cutting. Here are the results... No undercutting with undercutting I really was not satisfied with the result and will probably end up with some of the more high end tools suggested in the posts above for making dragon scales in the future. I did continue to experiment and end up with much different results using some of the more common tools. This was a small piece of scrap for doodles with the basic 6431 camoflage tool on one end and the 6855 mulefoot on the other. Not sure if I used the camoflage tool correctly but the result looks more like the scales you might see on a carp or some other large fish. ( Disregard the oak leaf doodles in the center, I was practicing with my el cheapo Tandy swivel knife after some sharpening and honing.) The mulefoot seems to yeild some very good results. I used a 6910 lined triagular shaped figure carving tool to add some lines but ended up following that with a lined shader and some decrative cuts. These look more like nonvenomous snake scales to me. Lizard and dragon scales woould be more pointed at the ends. Gonna need those other tools for that though. Fun to play around with for now.

On your next sheath you may also want to consider a 'dangler' set up. Use a stitching groover to recess the stitches on the inside of the sheath where the sheath loop attaches thereby eliminating the snap and reducing the chance of slicing through your stitching. The secondary belt loop is the only place you have a snap, a rivet and a ring. The dangler set up makes it easy to take on and off your belt but knife retention relies on a wet formed fit. It also allows the knife to ride a bit lower right where your hand is. Just google up dangler sheath if you are interested.

All good suggestions. I never intended this to be one person's perspective, just offering to help compile and organize. You got the ball rolling. My thoughts and ideas were just that, but only mine after all. We absolutely need as many as possible to contribute to the thought process to produce a viable format that the majority of folks can live with. There are already threads and pinned threads for "Beginner mistakes" and "tips & tricks" we might want to include by simply moving them over under one main heading like the one you chose for this thread. Subdivide that into categories or areas of interest like you suggested and we're off to a flying start. Perhaps a poll is in order. Your thoughts? Gotta go help my daughter move so won't be able to respond till later this evening or in the morning. Till then...

Just in the minutes following my last post I began to rough out an outline and came to the same conclusion....this could take months! Having had a few moment to think about how to go about this, it occurs to me that the most helpful things to a beginner such as myself would be as follows: The OP's start by listing basic tools was spot on and was at the top of my outline. The foremost was a glossery of terms so that a new could understand what was being talked about in various posts. Consider for a moment what I call 'churchspeak' with regard to new believers. Same difference. The pinned post would I think be more basic like the first few pages of a "Beginning Leathercraft" book might contain... Glossary of Leathercraft Terminology Leather Selecton – parts of a cowhide, thickness, types of leather, quality, & project planning Categories - leather carving & stamping, bags and satchels, wet forming, etc., etc. Under leather carving and stamping could include these basics like your roadmap division suggestion. Casing your leather – preparation, maintaining moisture, tooling time Basic Leather Tools – Ruler, marble, mallet or maul, knife, awl, square, Additional Tools –stylus, edge beveler, groover, stitching wheel, rivet setter, snap setter, burnisher, punches, thread needles, lacing needles…. Carving & Stamping Tools Categories - Floral, borders, gometric design, and figurecarving Basic Floral Styles - Classic Western, Sheridan, Spanish, etc. Perhaps a separate pin for Basic Tool Use How to use a swivel knife, a beveler, a shader, backgrounder, etc. Another for Stiching how-tos and types. Gotta me a lot more than you and I who might wish to contribute to this project. How about we let the OP keep this thread as a separate one and we move this discussion to a separate thread on creating this outline and how we might sub-divide it?

I think I may have inadvertently hijacked this thread and for that I apologize to the OP. I would like to address a few points from northmount's post above if I may. "perhaps you could take it upon yourself to put together a list with links of all the topics that a new person would be interested in." What a great idea, but not sure if I am qualified to do so. Being a newb with only limited knowledge in a few areas. I would not know where to begin with compiling references for beginners in other facets of leathercraft like making bags and satchels for instance. "I added links to your previous post to aid any others that might be following this thread or come across it later, whether they are of interest to you or not. I think it is good form for posters to link to other posts instead of just making a list, especially when the poster already knows where the answers are located. The search function works well too." Ouch! It is difficult at best to know the intent when something is simply typed and is the single most reason I don't text on my phone. Too easy to misinterpret feelings or intent. I spologise for my inability to accurately convey my thoughts. Perhaps it narrow minded of me to think you were trying to help me with adding the links and in retrospect I appreciate your doing so for the reasons you stated. I will take your criticism under advisement and consider myself chastised for the "bad form". As far as using the search function, I'm not sure what exactly would I search for without a glossary of terms to help me. If there is one I would definitely appreciate the link to that and I'm sure other newbs would as well. I have only made it to the fifties in the pages of this 'how to' forum and I will make a note of anything I think would be appropriate for adding to this post. "Hope you are interested in helping others find their way around this site. You may expand this thread, and we can pin this or a new thread if it turns out to provide a roadmap that will be helpful to many others. Don't restrict it to just tooling and carving." I am, indeed, interested in helping others, and this 'road map' you mentioned is a great idea and was actually my intent when posting my 'list' of things to include . I was, however, asking the pros for help in adding to the list of things to include and would help narrow down any effort to use the search function. I apologize if I came across as a smarta$$. If you feel it is inappropriate to add to the list without the links, I would welcome anyone to PM me with additions to the list and I will be happy to do the leg work and compile it as I do, as stated, have the time. This seems like a worthwhile undertaking that would help a lot of folks. I think that was the OP's intent in starting this thread. The question remains...what to include?

I have big meaty paws myself and looked for a solution early on in my foray into the leather world. what I did was go to a local pharmacy and purchase a few pieces of different diameter surgical tubing sold by the foot. I bought enough to cut it up in about 2 1/2" to 3" pieces to slip over each tool. Works for me....

+1 on the Al Stohlman books. There are several tools that make grass and as a newb, I've have been playing around with some just here lately. The 6926, 6917, 6933,6916 & 6918 tools Tandy sells will all make decent grass depending on how coarse or how distant you want it to look. Leaning the tool toward the tip ( and even using the very tip itself) seems to yield the best results along with working from background to foreground and not in neat little rows, unless of course that is what you want. Just play around with a couple of the tools next time you are in Tandy if one is close by.

Thanks for posting this. I have little to do but surf this site and have seen all of those. I was simply saying those are the first things that came to mind and if one were to include them in a compiled list, then the the link should be included to make it simpler for the beginner. Wasn't particularly asking for the link, only that it should be included in any listing of basic tips. I would like to see a lot more contribution here if some of you "pros" could offer what you think is important for a newb to learn/practice at first to save a lot of heartache and disappointment when starting out.

If you are going to cover basics I would think you would have to include the obvious ones as well. 1. Selecting the right leather for your project (veg tanned for tooling, thicknesses, terminology with regard to cuts & grades, etc.) Tanage types, leather definitions, thickness vs application, different cuts 2. Properly casing your leather (link to tutorial) I always did it wrong before and worked it way too wet. 3. Sharpen your swivel knife before you use it (link to sharpening) (and another) I struggled with this one before reading about it here. 4. Basic knife use (link to tutorial 5. Basic beveling (link to tutorial) I'm sure there are a few more but from a newbie point of view these are the things I would have wanted to read before I invested a dime. Should be a "sticky", as they are sometimes referred to, entitled something like "So you want to learn how to do leather work" or "Ten things every beginner should know". I probably spent four or five weeks searching out answers and maybe a week or two actually tooling and practicing before doing my first project. Great idea DavidL!

Thanks for the kind words. When you can devote 12 hours a day to tutorials, videos and trying different techniques, it's a tad easier than for most folks. Still have a long way to go. My goal is to eventually be able to market my skills to the bushcraft community. Just a hobby for now. I also really want to get into figure carving but that seams to be a whole other world compared to stamping borders or patterns and doing floral work. Like they say when learning a new language, total immersion is the best teacher so being retired ain't half bad.

Was doodling around with different tools and designs and ended up gifting these to some close friends. Lots of errors but then this was intended to be a learning experience both for tooling and finishing. Love this antique gel!

Noob here. Only been at this for a few weeks. Haven't done any leatherwork since cub scouts and I'm gonna be 66 in March. Little something for the wife this Christmas since I cut the darn thing out backwards. She's a lefty so it's all good. Had a hard time with the stain and need to get one of those "two hair" brushes for the next time I try stains. All edges and inside were coated with a mixture of natural beeswax and neatsfoot oil then hand burnished with antler time. Knife is hand made from a edger blade.

Thanks for the ID....I think. Lot of change for two stamps.

Found this pic while surfing depicting two stamps. Anyone able to ID these for me or perhaps provide a source.

Hello all. Newb here. I collect dragons so I wanted to add Midieval dragons are different altogether from asian dragons and don't have the long skinny horns, feeler looking hairs,frilly stuff, or whatever you call it, around the face. The look more like lizards or dinosaurs than chinese dragons and usually have the larger wing structure. Asian dragons also have the long, snakelike bodys whereas teh Midieval dragons have stockier bodys. think T-REX with a smaller elongated head and wings. Sorry I have no pics. Still need to figure out how to upload.