Cactusman

Want to start doing some leather sculpting along with the tooling on some ladies bags. Will cork filling stay stable with a 2 oz leather backing?

I struggle getting a highly diluted color across a wide background. Streaks appear where strokes overlap. If I leave my leather without color when I put on a coat of oil, the leather takes on a slightly pink/flesh color. Not a good look for my pieces.

So I have typically finished pieces with antiquing and Resoline. Now, I am doing some purses and bags where I think there will be too much wear on the Resoline finish to stand up well over time. Right or wrong? I like dying, oiling, and almost always antiquing. Before antique I use Pro Resist. So, how to get to a wax finish instead… and is that the way to go? Thought?

Thanks for the feedback. Border can work if I just do it on those two short sides. I”ll try a semi-dry soft modeling spoon first. This background area will be red… I may shift to burgundy to hide this better and put more focus on the eagle (whose feathers will be dyed various colors in various shades. All a great experiment in doodling with a knife. Again, thank you.

Finished eagle, ready for dye after cut to shape for jacket. Had to, just had to mess up and put a big scratch on the background. Any suggestions for fix, minimize? I don’t want to background the whole piece so looking for help. David

Thanks to all for your input. Appreciated!

Looking for best way to apply white to leather projects. Generally I am a fan of Fiebing’s Pro dyes… and Leather Dyes. Light colors, they are a challenge. I tried a shoe dye and a light wash, but not happy with the results. Suggestions?

I tape the fleshside before tooling. Once finished when I remove the tape the fibers are loose no longer a tight even surface. Hasn’t been a big deal … I slick it with gum and move on… until started doing bags. Now, I want a nice nice nice finished feel/look and not sure I am getting everything out of slicking that I can or want. Why are the fibers so loose at the end of the tooling process when I pull the tape off? Other than lining the leather, how best to finish the flesh side? Thanks, David

Started 3 years ago on retirement. Having a great time learning, mostly by trial and error... lots of those. Joining to learn smarter... by learning from others, too.