Finger Carving

[Spinner]

I have seen a couple of times the awesome finger carvings of Bob (hidepounder) and others, specifically of birds and floral designs. In telling a newer leatherworker about them she became intrigued and asked where she could get practice patterns. Unfortunately I haven't had call for them yet so I haven't drawn any up (and quite frankly not sure how good they would be) and so I wonder, does anyone know of a source book for patterns or on designing your own?

I'm pretty adept with pen & paper but I didn't know much about the theory behind them to get started.

Thanks,

Chris

[Hilly]

I have seen a couple of times the awesome finger carvings of Bob (hidepounder) and others, specifically of birds and floral designs. In telling a newer leatherworker about them she became intrigued and asked where she could get practice patterns. Unfortunately I haven't had call for them yet so I haven't drawn any up (and quite frankly not sure how good they would be) and so I wonder, does anyone know of a source book for patterns or on designing your own?

I'm pretty adept with pen & paper but I didn't know much about the theory behind them to get started.

Thanks,

Chris

The Leather Crafter and Saddlers Journal has a monthly article called "swivel knife finesse", which is often some sort of finger carving. You might look at a bunch of back issues...

[Spinner]

Thanks Hilly, I hadn't seen any in the few issues I have so I may have to track down a better collection.

[BIGGUNDOCTOR]

Most of my finger carvings don't use a pattern. They are the standard straight slash , and normally centerd on the fingertip.

[stelhrse]

Most of my finger carvings don't use a pattern. They are the standard straight slash , and normally centerd on the fingertip.

Good Morning. Please forgive my ignorance here as I am very new to leather crafting but I thought all carving methods were the same. What is the diffenence between "normal" carving and finger carving? Thanks.

[Spinner]

Good Morning. Please forgive my ignorance here as I am very new to leather crafting but I thought all carving methods were the same. What is the diffenence between "normal" carving and finger carving? Thanks.

Finger carving is simply creating line drawings on the leather with no tooling, just the cuts. Here is a great, recent example of finger carving that BearMan did on a journal shown in this topic post: http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=27297&st=0&p=171948entry171948

[dirtclod]

Finger carving in the leather world is like pen striping in the custom paint world. That finishing touch to great piece of work. Or it it's way to me anyway.

[stelhrse]

Finger carving in the leather world is like pen striping in the custom paint world. That finishing touch to great piece of work. Or it it's way to me anyway.

I see. Makes sense how you all explained it. Thanks.

[rustyriggin]

Thanks Hilly, I hadn't seen any in the few issues I have so I may have to track down a better collection.

The patterns are usually just a page or 2 from the back.

[BearMan]

Hi Spinner, While I appreciate your comments about my attempts at finger carving,,, I feel we should show what a true Finger Carving Master can do. Here are a few pictures of just a few things that Bob Park (hidepounder) has done. Bob is a true inspiration to us all. Ed the "BearMan"

[Spinner]

Thanks Rusty, I'll look again.

Hi Spinner, While I appreciate your comments about my attempts at finger carving,,, I feel we should show what a true Finger Carving Master can do. Here are a few pictures of just a few things that Bob Park (hidepounder) has done. Bob is a true inspiration to us all. Ed the "BearMan"

Hey Ed,

I had seen Bob's work before but was having trouble finding the examples I was thinking of since it's usually part of a bigger picture. Yours was the most recent picture I saw and stand by my comment of it being a very nice example.

Thanks for finding more examples, I appreciate it. My goal is not to copy but to study the style in depth so as to create some of my own to share.

[TwinOaks]

As far as practice patterns go.....they are in every newspaper and magazine that has pictures. To study the style, you need only to look at it. To practice the style, you need to become adept with the swivel knife. That means that the knife and your hand create what your eye sees. The ONLY way to get to that point is practice. Run some black and white copies of pictures, transfer them, and 'draw' them w/ the swivel knife. The purpose is to train your hand, so why not use a multitude of straight and curved lines? Nobody ever said that carvings and finger cuts on leather HAD to be a certain style.

[BearMan]

Good Morning Spinner,

There are several finger carving Masters, Bob being one of the best. There are as many different finger carving styles. Here are a couple more, from a couple more Great carvers. The first is a knife sheath from Al Gould. The next is a saddle done by Rick Bean. Both are great example of what can be done. I have years & Years of practice, before I can come even close,,, but I'm trying!!

Ed the "BearMan"

[gtwister09]

This brings up a point on how to better navigate and utilize leatherworker.net resources.... If you know who does the work then go to their profile and many times there will be examples of their work and even gallery photos. For example here's Bob's aka...hidepounder.

Bob's Profile

Regards,

Ben

[joquarter]

Thanks for the explanation, also never heard about finger carving.

But I'm fond of the results.

[Hilly]

I could be wrong here, but I think THIS might also count as finger carving?

[GrampaJoel]

</h3>

<h3>Hilly

I could be wrong here, but I think THIS might also count as finger carving?

Yeah it does!! I'd say that is the most beautiful saddle bag I have seen!

[Tina]

I have seen a couple of times the awesome finger carvings of Bob (hidepounder) and others, specifically of birds and floral designs. In telling a newer leatherworker about them she became intrigued and asked where she could get practice patterns. Unfortunately I haven't had call for them yet so I haven't drawn any up (and quite frankly not sure how good they would be) and so I wonder, does anyone know of a source book for patterns or on designing your own?

I'm pretty adept with pen & paper but I didn't know much about the theory behind them to get started.

Thanks,

Chris

Go to google image search and paste in:

Victorian Calligraphy

Now you should have some more pattern options :-)

[Spinner]

That's an excellent one too Hilly, thanks.

I'll check out that Google Tina, thanks for bringing that up.

[Spinner]

Found another good example done awhile back by Bobocat:

[hidepounder]

Go to google image search and paste in:

Victorian Calligraphy

Now you should have some more pattern options :-)

Tina....that is a great tip for anyone who wants to find images to practice using their swivel knife. I often google "Line Art" to find images for inspiration but the "Victorian Calligraphy" search is even better! Another source of inspiration for these types of patterns can be found on many of the gun engraving sites. It's a lot more fun to practice cutting some of these images than to just practice the same old cuts over and over....although sometimes making repeatitive cuts is what is necessary to master a particular manuever.

[hidepounder]

Hey Ed,

I had seen Bob's work before but was having trouble finding the examples I was thinking of since it's usually part of a bigger picture. Yours was the most recent picture I saw and stand by my comment of it being a very nice example.

Spinner.....I would like to echo your sentiments about Ed's finger carving. He does a beautiful job....comparable to the very best.

Bobby

Edited November 11, 2010 by hidepounder

[reddevil76]

Just found this old thread. I'm curious, there are some very broad cuts in finger carving, after trying out straight hollow ground, angled, angled hollow ground, straight blades, I still could not get the cuts like what i see??

Also, the lines I cut does not have the deep brown colour like those in the pictures. I assume after finger cutting, the masters doesn't use hi-lites to darken the cuts?

[TwinOaks]

The width of the cut can be varied by the depth of the cut, AND by drawing the blade at a slight angle.......think of cars "drifting" around curves. And you are correct- the cuts are either hi-lited or antiqued to darken them.

[hidepounder]

Also, the lines I cut does not have the deep brown colour like those in the pictures. I assume after finger cutting, the masters doesn't use hi-lites to darken the cuts?

Mike is right, the examples that you are looking at have been antiqued or Hi-Lited or at a minimum finished with NeatLac (at least the examples of my work are). That is why they look dark.

With regard to the depth of cut there are a couple of things to look at. First, the leather needs to properly cased to aid in keeping the cuts open. Secondly you swivel knife must be sharp. That is the biggest problem that I see over and over again. The leather worker thinks their knife is sharp when it isn't. Lastly the thickness of the swivel knife blade makes a difference as does the angle at which the blade is ground. A thin blade or a blade sharpened at a steep angle will not lay the cut open like a thick blade or a blade sharpened at a flat angle.

Hope this helps....

Bobby