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(Actually calling myself a newbie is a misnomer as I just order some supplies yesterday and have yet to do anything.) Is "leather carving" and "leather tooling" the same thing? Are you actually carving away any material in "carving" or are you just smooshing down the leather? I didn't think I was interested in doing any of that "fancy stuff," but seeing some of the beautiful and original work on here makes me eager to try it all. My first project is going to be a relatively plain double layer dog collar decorated with a few rivets. One layer is going to be dyed black and one tan. Maybe my next one will have some carving/ tooling. Thanks!

Hello, I am new to this forum and very happy to have this resource available to me. I am having problems using my Groover that I got at Tandys. I am making double loop western holsters. I have made 3 already and they have turned out better than I thought they would. The problem I am having is when I try to groove a decorative border around the pouch part of the holster. I can do the left and right and bottom borders ok, but when I try to groove the border at the top of where the trigger recurve is I never can seem to get it right. It is never a nice curved line and when I go over it again sometimes it grooves outside of the first groove line and then it really looks like hell. Other holsters I have looked at seem perfect. I have figured out that It is almost impossible to keep the tool exactly parallel to the edge as I did on the first pass. I must be twisting my hand or something. Anyway it is very frustrating. I am almost ready to give up and just wet the leather and use a pair of dividers to see if it comes out any better. Or draw a line and use a swivel cutter or something. Does anyone have any suggestions? Thanks.

howdy, y'all, I'm Wulf Zeiler. Some folks in the SCA, Kingdom of Ansteorra (Oklahoma & Texas), know me as THL Bjoulf Jahrnhamr, and I've been a leather crafter, bladesmith, and armorer most of my life. About 7 years ago I moved to Australia and got married, and now I'm starting a small custom leather shop here in Adelaide. In my time, I've done it ALL in leather, from saddlemaking to leather combat armor.You name the tool, i've probably made a case for it. Holsters and scabbards, particularly left handed versions, vests, chaps, wallets, belts, handbags, fetish gear, and many others too numerous to list. I've worked at everything in tooling and embossing from Stohlman-style western traditional to customized Celtic knotwork and zoomorphics. I've made cases for cell phones, Ebook readers, saddle bags, tool rolls, moccasins and sandals of all kinds, you name it, I've probably already made one. If I haven't, gove me the details and specs and I'll give it a try. I'm an old school, 'see it in your head, then make it with your hands' crafter, and there's nothing I won't take a shot at. I was born in America, last lived in Jacksonville, FL, and am now a citizen of Australia.

I have been teaching myself to tool for the past few years in my spare time and have been making some progress recently, however I am struggling with decorative swivel knife cuts! I can't get them to look smooth and flow with the design (see picture). I have used two different blades, the one in the picture is a small angled blade. I always make sure they are sharp and stropped before I used them. Any suggestions on which knife blade to use and techniques that help to make them look professional would be greatly appreciated! I feel like everytime I try to add them I ruin my designs! It is getting very frustrating! Thanks!

After being away from leatherworking for more than 20 years, I've decided to get back into it as a form of sanity maintenance. (At present, the jury is still dilberating as to whether I made the right decision.) As a firearm journalist by profession, my primary interest in leatherworking is making holsters. In addition, part of my interest stems from my disability. Being wheelchair bound, most of the strong-side holsters I've reviewed, don't suit someone like me who's contantly seated. Since there don't seem to be any leatherworking classes in my area, I've had to rely primarily on how-to books and Internet forums, tutorials/videos for guidence. Despite a lack of strength and fine-motor skills due to both my disability and arthitus, I'm having fun and, in the end I suspose that's all that matters With the long-but-necessary back story out of the way, I'm curious to know if there are any really good books you can recommend on either the subject of holster making or carving/tooling? I say "really good," because I've come across some books, such as Al Stoehlman's "How To Make Holsters" lacking with regard to detailed explanation. I'm also been entertaining the idea of trying my hand at tooling. Given my unique set of circumstances, however, I'm uncertain about it. Nonetheless, my hope is that there are some others out there, who, while they may or no share a physical disability, may also rely on similar instruction venue for their instruction, enough to recommend some must-have books on making holsters—including a introduction to carving/tooling so I can undertand the process, in order to determine if it's something I'd like to pursue. Thanks, Bob Boyd

Looking for a tooling pattern for a holster or knife sheath that is a spider web. I've been searching everywhere I can think of and am coming up with nothing. Any help is appreciated!

godday, i live in kenya which is great whenit comes to enjoying the outdoors. i usually bring quality veg tan leather back with me from trips abroad. but i have not yet found anything workable locally (seems all leather goes into shoe production). i was lately sold veg tan leather which might work for machine stamping, but it is too soft, soaks right up, when i try to tool it and the pattern wont catch or stay. any ideas if its possible to treat it myself for acceptable results? also, it is grey in color. any ideas on how to bleach it? cheers, steven

I'm about to attempt adding dye to vegtanned leather for the 1st time. I'm having trouble finding info on when to dye the leather. Is this to be done after the tooling is complete and if so will there be any chance of losing the stamped details? Also should the leather need to be deglazed to accept the dye? I'm starting w/ pre-cut leather wristband blanks and will be using Fiebing's Grey Leather Dye with hopes of achieving a simple solid color.

I am making a duffle bag and would like to have the ends done completely in SHeridan style. the bag is going to be 12" tall X 14" wide X 23" long...... HOwever, I have not quite figured out the technique to laying out my own patters. And, yes, I do have the Sheridan Style Carving book, which is a lot of help with some really great information. SO, if you'd like to help me out, let me know. Thanks ahead of time!

Tandy has some 9-10 oz. CLASSIC BLACK GLAZED DOUBLE SHOULDERS on sale.They say these are great for making belts and I want to make a few belts. I'm a novice just starting out, understand. But I want to tool and stamp the belts and paint and seal the work as well. The black glazed shoulders sound great since the dye goes all the way through the leather and the size seems thick enough for a good belt. My rookie question is; can glazed leather be tooled, stamped, painted and sealed? Thanks for your help. Jim

Hi, lovelies! After joining the April Challenge, Cheryl asked me to step in for Q this month. Welcome to the May Challenge; Figure Carving! I’m going change things up a little and actually give you a choice between a few different reference photos to study and work from – A full body nude, or Anatomy (hand, foot, arm, etc.) The whole point of the challenge is to mold and manipulate the leather to fit within the contours of whatever design/ photo you’ve picked. For example; I would take a thin (2 oz or so) piece of leather, case, cut and mold before attaching the leather to another, more thicker piece. (Photos and more detailed example to come a bit later.) Here’s the catch; you’re only allowed certain tools to work with: Swivel Knife Beveler - Be it regular or carving/smooth. Modeling Spoon/Tool Dye (If wanted) & Glue Photos: [Photo 1] [Photo 2 - You may pick one of the six photos.] [Photo 3] [Photo 4] That's it for now, let me know of your thoughts and I'll be posting my own images tomorrow, as well as answer any questions! ~Rae.

Hi all I'm practicing some tooling/stamping and doing some celtic knots. I current have two lines about 2mm apart and I need to bevel in betwen them. The problem I'm having is that the bevel I have is so wide from front to back, so when I bevel down the side of line one, the back of the bevel flattens the other line, meaning I don't get a crisp bevel. I'm currently using the starting Bevel - B197 Can anyone recommend which bevel - or an alternative way I can bevel small areas? I've orderd a B935 which is about 1/2 the width, but the depth front to back is the same as the B197, so I'm going to have the same problem. A couple images of the current bookmarks I've done (first go BTW). http://www.mazdrak.c...rk/DSCF1580.JPG http://www.mazdrak.c...rk/DSCF1584.JPG Many thanks

dumb question. Can you tool veg tanned horse? What are the pros and cons?

Hi Everyone - So I worked for this company using Horween veg-tanned leather (HF, Essex, Dublin) + I wanted to start exploring leather working on my own time. I purchased a side of Tooling/Carving Leather from WC, since I've read that this type of leather is used a lot for belts/handles and that's what I'm looking to make. When I got the leather, I was surprised by how rigid it is. When you knock on it, it sounds like you're knocking on cardboard. And since I'm new to carving leather, I wanted to ask if this is what its supposed to be like when you get it straight from the tannery?

I have been contemplating this for a while and finally got it done. This was a first for me to use the Copic markers for colouring the flowers and leaves. It was a learning experience as they behave a lot differently on leather than on smooth cardstock. I used the brown hilite to pull the colours together.

I'm a novice at leaherwork, carving and tooling, having made a few wallets, belts, and such for myself and family. My grandson has asked me to make him a custom wallet with something "cool" on it. At age 12, I know he wouldn't want want a bulky wallet, he want's something rather thin. So, I'm thinking of something simple, stitched rather than laced, so that it will fold and be rather flat. Which weight leather would be a good ballance between weight (thickness) and strength and wearability? I want a quality leather that will last, but something that will also carve and tool. I know I have to be careful carving thin leather. What are recommendations? Also, where could I buy just enough for a few wallets, not a whole side? I welcome any advice whatsoever. ... Tim

I've always loved the smell of leather. Perhaps it has something to do with the leather jacket my father always wore when I was a child. But the scent evokes feelings of strength and caring. My first leather tooling project was a pair of hidden message cuffs, I have a few pics in my gallery. I admit to being intimidated by the leather blank! My design ended up being very simple and just a test of the materials for me, a familiarizing process. Once completed, I had a list of things I had learned the hard way. (But that's how I like it.) • fingernails • layout • spellcheck • Despite the multiple mistakes and corrections, I deemed them acceptable in their initial purpose - a gift. I shipped them out May 7th and have not seen or heard of them since And those, my friends, are my tooling tears. (Certified mail all the way next time.)