urlbee51 Report post Posted July 3 Hi All - I am new to leather working, and decided to focus on subjects that would make this a hobby more interesting, and creative for me. It was a slow start, and took a few days too decide no matter what my first try looks like, I should just get into it and enjoy. I haven't finished tool yet. It needs stars, shading and more. Do you think that my cuts with the swivel knife are too deep? Thank you for any input. Urlbee51 6-24 First leather practice Space Explorer.pdf Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mablung Report post Posted July 3 (edited) Is this a first or early effort? It looks very good. I’m not much of an artist, so I’ll leave the artistic comments to those with such ability. Your beveling overall looks good, although a bit choppy and inconsistent in depth. I’d bevel a bit more deeply and then use a matting tool to smooth out the edges. How large is your beveler? It looks like you were having trouble traversing some of the tighter curves, which may indicate you need a smaller one (I hate tight curves). Move the beveler 1/3 to 1/2 its width for each strike, and work at striking it with consistent force. Beveling is the heart of tooling. Those constructive (hopefully) criticisms aside, this really does look good. Keep it up! ETA: Idiot here just reread the title, where you say it’s your first practice piece. Great work! Edited July 3 by Mablung Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
urlbee51 Report post Posted July 3 Thank you Mablung for your comments. Much appreciated. Yes my beveling does need work. I was getting more comfortable using the beveler the more that I used it. Alot more practice needed. More specifically, I guess I also did not ask. Do you think that I am cutting too deeply with my swivel knife? Your comments are appreciated. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mablung Report post Posted July 3 The rule of thumb when learning to tool is generally to cut a depth of 1/3 to 1/2 the thickness of the leather. You’ll have to judge whether yours is that deep, but some of the cuts, like the ones around the moons/planets and the astronaut’s head look a little shallow. Curved cuts are tough. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wizcrafts Report post Posted July 4 @urlbee51 Please don't cross-post the same topic in different sections of the forum. This section is getting the answers you were seeking. I hid your other duplicate post. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ddat Report post Posted July 4 I like it. Pretty sweet. Better than the first tree I carved! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
