Trouble carving

[PapaWolf]

I have been having some trouble carving just in general. I am thinking that maybe I starting to cut too early or maybe too late after casing the leather. I am stropping my swivel knife. It just seems to jerk sometimes and the leather kind of bunches up on the edges of the cut if you know what I mean. Any thoughts?

[Duke]

what I tell people is to wet your leather, and then wait for the face of the leather to turn back to the original color, and then place the back side of your hand agianst it. if it feels cool to the touch, you know its ready. if it feels room temp, case it agian. also, for every 10 cuts you do with your swivel knife, you will want to strop it. do the same number of "draws" on both sides.hope this helps.

[kseidel]

You don't have to wait so long to cut the pattern with the swivel knife. The knife will have a tendancy to drag and stick more when the leather is drier. If too wet, the surface will not be firm and will wrinkle from the presure of the blade. One of the most common causes is the knife blade having micro grooves from the whet stone. Polish with a cutting compound untill the blade is completely smooth. Inspect the edge under magnification.

Keith