ClayB helps a student

[fleabitpokey]

Thank you Clay for showing us how to achieve such great results.

I have a couple questions...first,what weight is the leather used? can any weight be used?

casing...how wet is the leather? is it all the way back to color or a bit wetter?

to make the pointed hair beveler, will most any beveler due to file?

you said hair blade,is it something you made ?

Again thank you. Stephanie

[ClayB]

Thank you Clay for showing us how to achieve such great results.

I have a couple questions...first,what weight is the leather used? can any weight be used?

casing...how wet is the leather? is it all the way back to color or a bit wetter?

to make the pointed hair beveler, will most any beveler due to file?

you said hair blade,is it something you made ?

Again thank you. Stephanie

Hi Stephanie,

Sometimes it seems to be easier to try and show the process than trying to explain it. I hope seeing the pictures helps people see how I do it, not necessarily the right way or the only way to do it.

I used 5-6 oz leather but you can what ever weight leather fits the project. On thinner leather, you have to be careful not to cut through it with your knife, or stamp through it with your tools. On really thin leather, 3 oz or less, instead of using a beveler and a mallet, you can do most of the beveling with a modeling too. Attaching the leather to a piece of cardboard with rubber cement will help when carving thin leather. It seems to give the leather some cusion allows for deeper stamping without going through. It also keeps the leather from stretching out of shape.

Casing depends a lot on the leather you are using. I have been using Herman Oak lately for tooling on and it seems to be pretty easy to case. I can just wet it down with a sponge, let it start to come back to color and start carving in a matter of minutes. That works on small things like the cougar. If I am going to be working on a larger picture that is going to take several hours or more, I will usually soak the leather front and back, let it start to come back to color, and then place it in a plastic bag in the refrigerator overnight. I think that allows the moisture to get more even, and it seems to stay at the right moisture longer. As I carve and the leather starts to dry out, I will wipe the leather down with a damp sponge. Moisture content will make a big difference in you carving, but unfortunatly, it's something that you pretty much have to learn through experience, and it can be different with each piece of leather.

The pointed beveler I used is a craftool F902. It's made to do the hair like I showed, but usually they are pretty thick at the pointed end. They just work a lot better if you file them down to a sharp point. You could do the same thing with any smooth beveler, it would just take more work to shape it. Craftool also has a F902-2 which is the same shape but has lines on it. That would work just as well, maybe better. I have a tool similar to that one made by Bob Beard that I really like, but for the demo I tried to use the tools that most people have, or can get easily.

The hair blade I used is available through Tandy or Hidecrafter. It is a special blade with several lines on it that you put in a swivel knife. They come in a fine and a coarse. I think the one I use is fine. Tandy carries another version that is held like a pencil with a fine blade on one end and a coarse blade on the other. If you don't have either of these, you can get a similar effect by using a lined beveler or other lined tool and dragging it across your work to give the hair effect. When doing hair, pay attention to length. Don't make hair go all the way across the body, but do it in short strokes paying attention to direction changes.

Hope that helps some.

Clay

[fleabitpokey]

Hi Stephanie,

Sometimes it seems to be easier to try and show the process than trying to explain it. I hope seeing the pictures helps people see how I do it, not necessarily the right way or the only way to do it.

I used 5-6 oz leather but you can what ever weight leather fits the project. On thinner leather, you have to be careful not to cut through it with your knife, or stamp through it with your tools. On really thin leather, 3 oz or less, instead of using a beveler and a mallet, you can do most of the beveling with a modeling too. Attaching the leather to a piece of cardboard with rubber cement will help when carving thin leather. It seems to give the leather some cusion allows for deeper stamping without going through. It also keeps the leather from stretching out of shape.

Casing depends a lot on the leather you are using. I have been using Herman Oak lately for tooling on and it seems to be pretty easy to case. I can just wet it down with a sponge, let it start to come back to color and start carving in a matter of minutes. That works on small things like the cougar. If I am going to be working on a larger picture that is going to take several hours or more, I will usually soak the leather front and back, let it start to come back to color, and then place it in a plastic bag in the refrigerator overnight. I think that allows the moisture to get more even, and it seems to stay at the right moisture longer. As I carve and the leather starts to dry out, I will wipe the leather down with a damp sponge. Moisture content will make a big difference in you carving, but unfortunatly, it's something that you pretty much have to learn through experience, and it can be different with each piece of leather.

The pointed beveler I used is a craftool F902. It's made to do the hair like I showed, but usually they are pretty thick at the pointed end. They just work a lot better if you file them down to a sharp point. You could do the same thing with any smooth beveler, it would just take more work to shape it. Craftool also has a F902-2 which is the same shape but has lines on it. That would work just as well, maybe better. I have a tool similar to that one made by Bob Beard that I really like, but for the demo I tried to use the tools that most people have, or can get easily.

The hair blade I used is available through Tandy or Hidecrafter. It is a special blade with several lines on it that you put in a swivel knife. They come in a fine and a coarse. I think the one I use is fine. Tandy carries another version that is held like a pencil with a fine blade on one end and a coarse blade on the other. If you don't have either of these, you can get a similar effect by using a lined beveler or other lined tool and dragging it across your work to give the hair effect. When doing hair, pay attention to length. Don't make hair go all the way across the body, but do it in short strokes paying attention to direction changes.

Hope that helps some.

Clay

Thank you Clay, I am printing this so I don't lose it. I also went to your site. Beautiful work there. I will return so I can take it all in. Thanks Stephanie