CitizenKate

It looks like veg-tan. Does it absorb water easily? Kate

Cool - thanks. I'm sewing by hand. Kate

Yes, I would very much like to see that. I've been trying to make a cell phone holster very similar to the one you have made (except without that classy inlay), and I am kinda stumped on how to get the spring clip installed without making it really difficult to stitch the body together. Kate

Yes, the whole piece. As Tim mentioned, wipe the antique finish on the entire piece, then work it into the impressions, then wipe off only what is on the surface so that the impressions have more color. A dauber would be too small. A piece of wool, as Tim suggested, is good. You can also use a piece of cloth or sponge. Antique is generally used on dry leather. (Ja, das ganze Stück. Als Tim erwähnt, wischen Sie das Antik-Finish auf das gesamte Stück, dann arbeiten sie in den Eindrücken, dann wischen Sie nur, was die Oberfläche so, dass die Eindrücke mehr Farbe haben. Ein Schmierer wäre zu klein. Ein Stück Wolle, als Tim vorgeschlagen, ist gut. Sie können auch ein Stück Tuch oder Schwamm. Antik ist in der Regel auf die Trockenmasse Leder verwendet.) Kate

Hallo Katja, The one at Google Translate works about the best of any I have used. To answer your question, many of us use antique finish on the entire piece to emphasize the carving. That's what gives you the dark background and subtle shading in the shaped impressions in the leather. (Viele von uns benutzen Antik-Finish über das ganze Stück zu betonen, das Schnitzen. Das ist, was gibt Ihnen die dunklen Hintergrund und subtile Abstufungen in den geformten Eindrücke in das Leder.) I'm not sure what in Germany are available, but a number of our members in Germany. I'm sure they can help you find what you need. (Ich bin mir nicht sicher, was in Deutschland zur Verfügung, aber eine Reihe unserer Mitglieder in Deutschland. Ich bin sicher, sie können Ihnen helfen, zu finden, was Sie brauchen.) Welcome to LeatherWorker! Kate

Nice to meet you, Natalie. Can't wait to see some of your work! Kate

That confirms my own observations, Russ. And I really don't think it's so much leather vs everything else. It's a matter of determining what the pattern of consumer buying is, determining whether something can be produced in leather that is in line with that pattern, and whether or not it's something I care to produce. The medium could be a pattern (i.e., leather vs wood work, vs paper, vs soap, vs candles, etc.), but there are many others. The price range of most of what sells is a factor to take notice of. Maybe people are going after art that is more functional, rather than pieces that are purely art. Maybe toys are hot. Maybe jewelry. Maybe furniture. Maybe clothing. Maybe particular colors. Maybe a particular genre of art or craft. Most of them are niches that a leather artisan could easily fill, if they care to. Another thing worth noticing is, which booths are attracting large numbers of people who are stopping to look. That will give you some clues about what display methods work the best at a particular event. It doesn't necessarily mean their stuff is selling, but getting people to spend time in your booth is half the battle. Kate

Nice smooth edges, clean lines, and do I see a bit of airbrushing going on there, too? Hey, question: what are you using to clip on the cell phone, and how did you go about attaching it? Kate

Joe, try checking for Java updates. Kate

Golden. Thanks for showing us what you got. Kate

*sigh* Seeing your saddles makes me wish I still got to ride. It's gorgeous. Kate

Personally, I love vein and fat wrinkles, and finish the leather to accentuate them. But a lot of people like their leather nice and smooth, too. One way to smooth out any irregularities on the surface of the leather is glassing. Here is a link to a topic where the technique for doing that was discussed: http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=6593 Kate

Wow, that is really pink! Kate

After hearing about the new ones for over 2 years, I really am looking forward to finally seeing some of them. If they're even half as good as I've been hearing, I plan to replace all my existing CT stamps with the newer ones. Kate

I might take you up on that, Kevin. but tell me, what do you do with your tiniest leather scraps? Kate

I've seen some of the old Craftools, and agree that they are/were great tools. However, I think it would be a lot more helpful to the original poster to suggest tools that are currently available on the market. Kate

If I find a way to do it, I'll shout it from the [expletive deleted] mountaintop! Kate

Hidecrafter has a good line of bevelers in their Pro Crafters tool collection which are just under $10 ea. - very good quality for the money. And of course, any of Barry King's tools are superb and also well worth the money. They run about $25-30 ea. Kate

To me, the larger issue is finding a use for my leather crumbs. I used to have a large pile of fairly large leather pieces leftover from my game boards that I had to find uses for. I have expanded my product line to include smaller and smaller items in order to convert the remnants into some income. But now I've got a couple of bins full of pieces that are so small or skinny that there really is nothing else I could make with them, which is why I call them crumbs. If I could find a good way to grind them up, then I would be able turn 100% of the leather I buy into something I can sell. Kate

Hi Brandon, We had a discussion about this a while back... click here to see what I do. A very simple way to use transparencies for pattern transfer is to print your design on the transparency with an ink jet printer, lay the printout face-down on dry leather, and rub the design into the leather with a modeling spoon. Wait about 15 minutes, then case your leather and carve. When you're done transferring the image onto the leather, you can just wipe off the remaining ink with a soft cloth and re-use the transparency numerous times. I have one transparency I think I've re-used about 20 times so far. The fact that you can re-use the transparencies means one pack of them will last you a very long time. Aaron, an ink-jet printout will make a smeary mess on wet leather, but on dry leather, it does a very nice job of reproducing the image, and you can re-use the sheet you printed on.

Thanks for the great post, Angster! This needs to be pinned... Kate

Just to clarify a little further on moisture content, the surface is somewhat dry, but you can tell by the burnish that the core of the leather is fairly moist. If the core is too dry, you will get track marks, no matter how perfect your strokes are. (I don't have any theory to explain why that happens, just know from experience.) And of course, the photos were taken about a half-hour after the work was done, so they were dryer in the photos than they were when I did the beveling. On the other hand, you will know it is too wet if you don't see any burnishing (darkening effect) in the impressions. Kate

Richard mentioned tool quality as a factor, and just thought I'd re-post this photo I shot of two of my bevelers, one of the common "mass-produced" bevelers, and one of the "better" bevelers, so you can see the difference. I really believe that, when you are at a point in your craft where you're ready to start investing in "better" tools, your bevelers are one of the first things you should consider upgrading. A better beveler does make a difference, and makes good beveling much easier. The better bevelers have side-edges that have been rounded and shaped to lift off the leather more gradually around the sides, rather than coming to an abrupt end, which is what those track marks are. That being said, does this mean the only way to bevel well is with designer tools? Nah. A better beveler does make it easier, but either way, you will want to develop the skill to make a good bevel, regardless of what tool you use. In my own work, although I do love my nicer bevelers, I have found that the skills I have developed in working with the tool have made a bigger difference. Here is a little photo demo I put together a while back the difference between poor beveling (along with some common causes) and what "better" beveling should look like. It does help to be able to recognize the difference. Since this was intended for my students, who were given Craftool bevelers to use, this was done with a Craftool beveler, and I think it demonstrates that you can produce decent work with even the least expensive tools. One thing I didn't point out in the photos is, the first one was done in one pass, the second in two. Others have mentioned this, but the first example is also what you get if you try for too much depth on your first pass. Kate

I second Kathy's advice. And here is the list of tips I share with my students: Getting rid of track marks: - Make sure the overlap between impressions is at least 2/3 the width of the toe. This way, any given point along the line is struck at least three times by the tool. - Make sure the leather has the right amount of moisture. If it is too dry, track marks will abound, no matter how perfect your strokes are, and they will be very difficult to flatten down even after adding enough moisture. - Avoid striking the tool too hard; more specifically, avoid allowing the sharp side-edges of most bevelers make an impression in the leather. - If track marks are present on one side of the impressions, it is possible the beveler is not perfectly square across the bottom. Try leaning the tool slightly to keep the tool face level on the surface of the leather. (This is an exception to the rule about holding the tool straight up.) - Make extra passes over the track marks to flatten them down as much as possible and gain more depth.

Good to see you again, Peter. Welcome back. Kate