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There is a lot of good information in the Journal and I definitely recomend subscribing. It's full of tips and "how to" articles. You will also see a variety of suppliers that you may not be aware of. It's a great publication. My book is about drawing tooling patterns. I am not one of those people with natural drawing skills. I have always struggled with designing patterns and this book details a mechanical progression that I use to come up with tooling patterns.

Thanks Horrrk and ACarver! I appreciate your comments very much! ACarver....did you get the info you needed on the book?

You're most welcome, Mike, I hope it helps! Bobby

I'd like to "second" everything Chris said. I've had the good fortune to try out a number of burnishers made of various materials from a number of makers, and I definitely prefer those that Chris made (and now Ed LaBarre). I was unaware of what finish Chris used, but I knew they were finished and they sure work well. Unfinished wood works, but I don't think it works as well. I have a full set of unfinished burnishers and discovered they scorched pretty easily. In all fairness, I also don't think the wood was tight grained and hard either. But I was able to get a good finish by slowing everything down which lengthened the process significantlly, by the way. Burnishing is the result of abraission and heat combined. We often use slicking agents to help control both the amount of heat and abraission and to provide a more durable finished surface. But burnishing can be accomplished very nicely with steel, glass or nylon burnishers. I do my burnishing with canvas and then do a final finish with wood. I happen to think that Chris' (Ed's) wood burnishers are the best on the market and still my personal favorites. For what ever it's worth, that's my opinion, anyway!

Steve, After a build up like that, I can't not respond, but I wouldn't know where to start except to say thanks very much and where should I send the check? We had a good group this year and you did very well. Thanks again for your support!!! Bobby

My answer might have been different a couple of years ago, however, I'm not sure that blade thickness concerns me as much now. I think the answer depends a lot on what you will be tooling. If you are cutting skirting leather, I would opt for the thicker blade. However, when cutting in thinner leather the blade thickness has less impact. Here's the thing. Both blades will make the exact same width cut, up to the thickness of the thinner blade. So if you are going to cut deeper that the thickness of the thinner blade you might want a thicker one. But if you are cutting in 5 oz leather, you will never bury your blade deep enough into the leather to benefit by the thicker blade. There has definitely been a trend toward thinner blades, largely due to the more refined patterns we are tooling now. All that said, the thicker blade may be a more versatile one, but the thinner blades are definitely easier to cut with. You may benefit by learning more proper technique starting out with the thicker blade, but I wouldn't criticize anyone for using the thinner one. Sounds like a complicated answer....sorry, but I hope it helps! Bobby

Nice job of tooling! I do agree with Ferg, though, the elements tuck under your borders just a little too far. It's done with petals, a lot, and is generally accepted, but, in my opinion, when you use larger elements like scrolls flowers and leaves, etc., we just want them to touch the border. I have done what you did here many times, and every time I do it, I wish I hadn't, LOL! Anyway, really nice job. Looks great!

Depending on the size of the mallet, you can definitely get by with one. Many of us started out with mallets before mauls were available. If you decide you want to pursue the craft, then you can look at upgrading to a maul. Hope this helps! Bobby

I definitely recommend starting with a professional knife and blade! Henley, Chuck Smith, Bob Beard, Leather Wranglers and Barry King all make excellent products. I use Beard, Henley and LW the most, but any of those would be a good choice! I feel strongly that a beginner should start out with a 1/2" barrel and a 3/8" straight blade. I prefer the hollow ground blades. If you will learn to use that set-up, it makes it easy to go to a specialty knife later on. However, if you start out with a 1/4" angled blade, which I consider a specialty blade, you are apt to pick up a lot of bad habits with regard to proper knife technique and your cutting will suffer! Wayne Jueske, Barry King and Ed LaBarre all make excellent mauls. I prefer the LaBarre mauls (Bear Man) because I like their balance and handle design. The face material in the Jueske and LaBarre mauls will not flake onto your leather, but they cost more than Barry's maul, so you have to weigh the trade off there. All are good serviceable mauls. I prefer to tool with a 16 oz maul, however, a 20 oz maul might be more versatile for a first maul when it comes to performing tasks other than tooling. Hope this helps!! Bobby

Thanks capster, Tina, Dave and Clair! I sure appreciate all your kind comments! The color issue isn't that big of a deal with me. I have learned through getting my book published that controlling colors can be very difficult. I suspect the panel was scanned/photographed by the printer and then returned to the Journal before a comparison was done. That's the case with my photo as well. I took pictures and then rushed off to get the panel in the mail and I know from experience that when I take photos, I don't get the settings right and then I have to manipulate the photo to try to compensate for my lack of photography skills, so my photo is a little off also. There is also the problem of color interpretation between the screen and the printer itself. There are just so many variables! But I have to tell you that I'm just shallow enough that I love hearing that you like my version better, LOL!! Bobby

Thanks so much Bob! It means a lot to know that you enjoy the book and are getting something out of it. I've been getting a lot of good reviews and it's very gratifying!! Thanks again! Bobby

Thanks so much for the plug David! You don't know how tickled I am that you like the book. Means a lot! Bobby

Thanks Northmount! Good luck with the lizards! They are out of my comfort zone too! Hi Bev and thanks! I will be teaching at both the Wickenburg and Sheridan shows!

Thanks Colman! Hi Crystal! Thanks and I'm really glad you like the book!!!!

Thanks Chris!!

Thanks dallyguy! I don't do elements like the lizard very often, but have a lot of fun with them when I do. I might start doing a little more of that. Would you believe I used a soldering iron to create the coloring on it's back. An experiment which come out okay but sure could have gone wrong, LOL! Thanks Aaron! It will ship today. I'm confident it will help you so please let me know what you think. Thanks Heika! Thanks, chromedome, and thanks for your order! It will go out today. Please let know what you think. Hi Rudi!! I'm really glad to know you are enjoying the book! You're going to have to post some pictures so we can see how your doing! Thanks again Rudi!

Hi Aaron and thanks! I wrote a book about drawing floral patterns. Flyer 2 (orders).pdf

Thanks Ed!! I'm not very good at getting the white balance correct on my camera so my photo is off color also.

Here is a panel I tooled for the LC&SJ cover as well as a shot of the cover itself. Thought you might enjoy seeing the before and after. There are some color differences between the two photos. I think the original is somewhere in the middle. Hope you enjoy and of course all comments are welcome!! Thanks for looking! Bobby PS. I have lots of copies of my new book in case anyone is interested!!

That's priceless!! And about the best definition for paranoid that I've ever heard!!!!

Just a word of caution. The rubber cement is going to stick to the back of the leather and you will have a sticky residue when you're finished. If you are going to line the the piec, then the residue doesn't matter because it will be covered up. However, if you intend for the flesh side to remain exposed then it would be advisable to use shelf paper or packing tape to control stretch, as they can be removed without much residual glue. Some people apply the shelf paper or packing tape and then glue ti all down to the acrylic. Your option..... Hope this helps! Bobby

Hi Phil! The method I use to back cased leather is to glue it, using ruber cement, to a piece of acrylic. I like the acrylic to be at least 1/4" thick. Using this method allows me to cover the leather with plastic wrap and then exposing only as much leather as I can tool in one sitting. If the residue of the glue on the back of the leather creates a problem for you, you can apply shelf lining to the back of the leather ILO gluing to acrylic. When using the shelf lining I find I cannot apply it to cased leather as easily as gluing to acrylic. However, once the shelf lining is in place water can be added to the surface of the leather and then the entire piece can be covered with plastic wrap, where again, you would only expose an area large enough to tool in one sitting. Some people like to use packing tape ILO of shelf liner, and either can applied and then be glued to a piece of acrylic if you are so disposed. Hope this helps! Bobby

I agree with everyone else......let this one go. A customer comes to you for your expertise. If they feel it's necessary to coach you through the process you will never satisfy them because they have no respect for what you have to offer. Sometimes "passing" will save you time and money!! Bobby

Beautifully done, Bruce!! I would really like to see that some time. I agree with Bison, OKC should take notice!! Bobby

Hi Lorenzo! I never use edge dye. I only use Fiebings spirit based dye (alcohol). It is quickly absorbed and dries much faster which helps to reduce the possibility of getting wet dye on my hands and transferring it somewhere where I don't want it. I have never been happy with edge dyes and I don't use edge coatings. Hope this helps! Bobby