25 year old Project of Firsts

[gtwister09]

When discussing leatherwork with a newcomer, they were somewhat put off by the following three perceptions.

(1) You would need lots of tools ,

(2) you need lots of premade designs to tool and

(3) lack of encouragement and criticism.

I pulled out something that I thought could make a couple of points to them concerning creating your own designs and also that it didn’t require a large number of tools. By showing it to them I hoped to offer them encouragement and also to show how you could use critical thought to evaluate your own work. Showing them some of your first works in tooling and design can serve to encourage newcomers when they seem so overwhelmed by the whole process. I likewise hope that sharing the experience with the forum that it may encourage other newcomers as well.

Project of Firsts

What I pulled out was a Bible cover that I created for my wife 25 years ago. It was a project of many firsts. It was the first Bible cover I ever did, first tooling design that I ever created, the first attempt at tooling roses as well as the first quilting that I had tried. It was probably the 7th or 8th tooling project that I had done.

Evaluations of Design and Tooling

You will quickly notice that there are many issues with the design and execution. There is quite a bit of negative space that could have been better utilized. A few places could have had a better flow. Several of the roses are not up to par. Several of the stems are thick. The edges of the rose leaves are all poorly executed. Likewise the leave veins are not well executed. The quilting is not squarely executed. There is also a mistake where attempting to double bevel to create a more quilted effect. Some of the backgrounding is not consistent. Some roses and stems carry too far into the lacing area. There are a lot of smaller mistakes as well.

Looking at your own work through a critical eye can only serve to make you better. Reading and studying others work is another way to get better…of course practicing is ALWAYS a good way to get better. Taking courses from others is also a great way to take your work to another level.

Small Number of Tools

At the time that I worked on this I only had the 14 tools listed below and a utility knife. Here are the tools listed below.

Tools

• 1 medium checkered beveler
  
• 1 small smooth figure carving beveler
  
• 1 wiggler veiner
  
• 1 smooth veiner
  
• 1 medium camouflage
  
• 1 small camouflage
  
• 1 medium vertically lined pear shader
  
• 1 medium smooth pear shader
  
• 1 lined seeder
  
• 1 coarse checkered background tool
  
• 1 Swivel knife with angled ruby blade
  
• 1 rawhide mallet
  
• 3 prong punch
  
• #2 edger
  

I used both bevellers, smooth viener, medium vertically lined pear shader, backgrounder, lined seeder, swivel knife, mallet, 3 prong punch and #2 edger. As I said earlier they could have been better executed but you can make do with a smaller number of tools. Several tools would have been nice like a hair blade for the stems, a double beveler for the quilt and maybe a pointed figure beveler for leaf edges if you didn’t use a swivel knife. A single slit punch or maybe a round punch for the corners would also have been nice. A maul would have been nice to have as well.

The point is that you can do a project with a small investment in a very small number of tools. It allows you to see if this is something that you want to continue to invest in.

Even though the work was less than stellar it still encouraged them to try to create their own designs even though they only have 20-30 tools. As with everything the more you practice (both tooling and design) the better you become.

After 25 years one of the things that you will notice is the oils from hands has slightly stained the cover as it was carried.

Regards,

Ben

Edited May 19, 2008 by gtwister09

[bluebeard]

When discussing leatherwork with a newcomer, they were somewhat put off by the following three perceptions.

(1) You would need lots of tools ,

(2) you need lots of premade designs to tool and

(3) lack of encouragement and criticism.

I pulled out something that I thought could make a couple of points to them concerning creating your own designs and also that it didn't require a large number of tools. By showing it to them I hoped to offer them encouragement and also to show how you could use critical thought to evaluate your own work. Showing them some of your first works in tooling and design can serve to encourage newcomers when they seem so overwhelmed by the whole process. I likewise hope that sharing the experience with the forum that it may encourage other newcomers as well.

Project of Firsts

What I pulled out was a Bible cover that I created for my wife 25 years ago. It was a project of many firsts. It was the first Bible cover I ever did, first tooling design that I ever created, the first attempt at tooling roses as well as the first quilting that I had tried. It was probably the 7th or 8th tooling project that I had done.

Evaluations of Design and Tooling

You will quickly notice that there are many issues with the design and execution. There is quite a bit of negative space that could have been better utilized. A few places could have had a better flow. Several of the roses are not up to par. Several of the stems are thick. The edges of the rose leaves are all poorly executed. Likewise the leave veins are not well executed. The quilting is not squarely executed. There is also a mistake where attempting to double bevel to create a more quilted effect. Some of the backgrounding is not consistent. Some roses and stems carry too far into the lacing area. There are a lot of smaller mistakes as well.

Looking at your own work through a critical eye can only serve to make you better. Reading and studying others work is another way to get better…of course practicing is ALWAYS a good way to get better. Taking courses from others is also a great way to take your work to another level.

Small Number of Tools

At the time that I worked on this I only had the 14 tools listed below and a utility knife. Here are the tools listed below.

Tools

• 1 medium checkered beveler

• 1 small smooth figure carving beveler

• 1 wiggler veiner

• 1 smooth veiner

• 1 medium camouflage

• 1 small camouflage

• 1 medium vertically lined pear shader

• 1 medium smooth pear shader

• 1 lined seeder

• 1 coarse checkered background tool

• 1 Swivel knife with angled ruby blade

• 1 rawhide mallet

• 3 prong punch

• #2 edger

I used both bevellers, smooth viener, medium vertically lined pear shader, backgrounder, lined seeder, swivel knife, mallet, 3 prong punch and #2 edger. As I said earlier they could have been better executed but you can make do with a smaller number of tools. Several tools would have been nice like a hair blade for the stems, a double beveler for the quilt and maybe a pointed figure beveler for leaf edges if you didn't use a swivel knife. A single slit punch or maybe a round punch for the corners would also have been nice. A maul would have been nice to have as well.

The point is that you can do a project with a small investment in a very small number of tools. It allows you to see if this is something that you want to continue to invest in.

Even though the work was less than stellar it still encouraged them to try to create their own designs even though they only have 20-30 tools. As with everything the more you practice (both tooling and design) the better you become.

After 25 years one of the things that you will notice is the oils from hands has slightly stained the cover as it was carried.

Regards,

Ben

Nice word there mate...good to see your 25 year old work...I pray that are lord jesus blessed you and your all thru those years.. i thought that one of your first would be that you actually read the good book... as for the oil stains... thats a good sign mate...good on ya...

a brother in christ... bluebeard

[JohnBarton]

Thanks for the nice encouragement.

I feel the same way when I look back at the stuff I did 20 years ago and think about the tools I had then. My first cue case was made with a hacksaw, sandpaper, a roll (literally) of duct tape, a borrowed home sewing machine, and super glue.

I confess to being a toolaholic and having occasional thoughts of "we would be so great if we just had 'that' tool". I believe a good set of tools and the right tools are important but they in no way make one an artist. I know that there are people out there who can do more with one single stamp than I can dream of in twenty lifetimes. I tell everyone I work with this all the time, "make the best of what we have".

I am a big believer in finding alternative ways to use ordinary objects. As far as just deciding to start no matter what you have and what your level is - Confucious said that a journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step.