mattie411 Report post Posted May 6, 2009 hey there all, Im just beggining to get into leather work and my first project was recovering my motorcycle seat, ive got every cut out and a design marked onto my leather (its old english style letters, "LAURIN") What is the best way to tool these letters? ive got all the basic tools just looking for some advice on getting the letters to look best. Thanks in advance. -Matt Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mulefool Report post Posted May 6, 2009 Anyway you could post a pic of the name in Old English? In general when I have carved names I usually just cut out the outline and then bevel around it, depending on how it looks I might background around it. I have also cut out the outline and then recessed the letters by beveling the letter itself instead of around it. You might run into problems with things like really sharp serifs on the letters so it would be good to see it and then make suggestions. Chris Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DG Leather Report post Posted May 6, 2009 Anyway you could post a pic of the name in Old English? In general when I have carved names I usually just cut out the outline and then bevel around it, depending on how it looks I might background around it. I have also cut out the outline and then recessed the letters by beveling the letter itself instead of around it. You might run into problems with things like really sharp serifs on the letters so it would be good to see it and then make suggestions. Chris I just stylus my letters on through the paper on soft cased leather...then swivel knife the letters and bevel around the letters then i matt the outline as well for texture afterwards...... one thing i wanna try is to bevel inside the letters rather than around them and do like pyramid style bevels on letters..... hope this helps some.... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mattie411 Report post Posted May 7, 2009 Anyway you could post a pic of the name in Old English? In general when I have carved names I usually just cut out the outline and then bevel around it, depending on how it looks I might background around it. I have also cut out the outline and then recessed the letters by beveling the letter itself instead of around it. You might run into problems with things like really sharp serifs on the letters so it would be good to see it and then make suggestions. Chris Here is the best pic i can get. right now there are just on there from a stylus... haven't swivel knifed them yet... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mulefool Report post Posted May 7, 2009 (edited) Some of those letters have some pretty thin lines on them. (I'm thinking the inside lines in the "U", and the uprights on the "N") If you cut the outline with a swivel knife and then bevel very deeply, you might have some problems with such a thin little piece of leather sticking up. I would probably do a practice piece of one of the letters with the thinnest lines to see how it works out. You might be able to modify the letters some by widening those out or even eliminating them altogether if possible. Chris Edited May 7, 2009 by mulefool Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TwinOaks Report post Posted May 7, 2009 For the fine detail on the font, you might consider doing this in the inverted style. That's where you swivel knife cut the outlines, then tool inside the letters to compress the leather. Considering that this is a seat, you may find that the details last longer that way...but take a look at some of Roger's work on seats- he doesn't seem to have any problem with details. It'd also give you a good idea of what was possible. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kevinhopkins Report post Posted May 8, 2009 If you do the inverted style, which is nice, make sure you have a few pointed bevelers, such as 941,902, 976, etc. They'll be a tremendous help. If you're beveling around the outside, I think I'd find myself using either a 935, or a 936, depending on whether or not you want texture. It'll be a tad bit tedious.... Kevin Hopkins Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
