First Disappointment!

[Cozee]

As a novice (have yet to strike the first tool) to leather working/tooling, I have been doing a lot of reading. I like quality tools in all that I do and have gleaned that Barry King and Robert Beard are a couple of the best for leather tooling. To my dismay though, when visiting these web sites, unless you know exactly what you want, you are left holding the bag as there are no pictures to show the tool and or the pattern it makes. For me this is a bummer for if I am looking for something new or different, I have no idea what they are selling unless I already know what a given tool produces. I would think that for the time and effort they've already put into building good looking and user friendly sites, pictures would not have been that much more work to add.

Guess my money will go elsewhere for now.

Edited December 26, 2012 by Cozee

[benlilly1]

For starters, go to Tandy's website. The tools will be similar and they have lots of how-to videos. You will learn some basics that will get you started in the right direction. I only have Craft tool stamps and get along o.k. You might want to learn with the cheap ones first.

[hornm]

You won't see the actual tools on Barry's site but he has stamped impressions for all of them. Have you clicked on the listings (names of the various tools) at the bottom of the page?

http://www.barrykingtools.com/page3.htm The only other issue I've had is that the impressions aren't to scale so you'll have to do a little math in your head

benlilly1's note about tandy is good as well. They have a line of "Pro Series" tools coming out that are a small collection of the Sheridan types. You could download a pdf of the new catalog and get a little better idea of what the tools look like.

Horn

[Cozee]

First, my apologies go out to Barry as the computer I had been using to view his site for some reason was not allowing the photos to load up. Sorry Barry!!!! I picked up the Tandy Deluxe Set ($70 at Hobby Lobby) and yes, they will work for now but they do feel cheap. I have made my living with my hands all my life. To me, the feel of a tool in my hands is just as much a factor in creating quality work as is the tool itself and my ability. I have cheap tools and I have high dollar tools for all that I do. 9 times out of 10, the cheap tools still look new!!!! I will take a look at the new Tandy Pro Series.

[JLSleather]

Don't forget to consider the tools you already have. For cutting out leather, a $3 utility knife is as good as anything for puting a straight edge on a hide, and a $10 x-acto set cuts curves nicely.

[hornm]

First, my apologies go out to Barry as the computer I had been using to view his site for some reason was not allowing the photos to load up. Sorry Barry!!!! I picked up the Tandy Deluxe Set ($70 at Hobby Lobby) and yes, they will work for now but they do feel cheap. I have made my living with my hands all my life. To me, the feel of a tool in my hands is just as much a factor in creating quality work as is the tool itself and my ability. I have cheap tools and I have high dollar tools for all that I do. 9 times out of 10, the cheap tools still look new!!!! I will take a look at the new Tandy Pro Series.

Unless you have one of the gold or elite discounts through tandy the price may be an issue. I was suggesting more of an example as a visual aid. From looking at the 2013 catalog price guide the tandy "Pro" will be $26-27 a pop ( sorry don't remember exactly right off the top of my head). Then add in shipping unless you live near a tandy and well..... Barry's start around the $25 mark and with regular UPS ground the additional shipping ends up normally being cheaper.

[Randy Cornelius]

You make want to check out ebay for some of the older Craftool sets that are marked "Craftool USA" these are the older tools which are much better quality than the new Tandy tools. I have a lot of the older Craftools as well as Barry King.

[NVLeatherWorx]

@Cozee: You will find that with the tools that came in your starter set the impressions may not look as clean as those you will find from the numerous images within the galleries on this site and from across the web. The tools for the starter sets ARE NOT Craftool, they are a generic imitation that has not been very well refined. That is why I will always always suggest a list of starter tools for anyone who wants to get started in leatherwork and they can go to their local supplier and purchase them individually. The individual tool stock is much better (they are real Craftool) than the kit contents.

On the Pro Series, I checked with my local store yesterday on what the possible release time is on them and it appears that it may not be until the Spring, maybe later. However, I have had the same tools for over 40 years now (and they are ORIGINAL Craftool) and there is nothing that I can't accomplish with them. I do not own every tool that has been made as there is no need for them. I only use the smooth faced bevelers and shaders as that is what gives the most options in results. My current count is 6 bevelers, 5 pear shaders, 5 camouflage, 6 veiner, 3 background, 4 matting, 5 seeders, 6 figure carving, 2 border stamps and 1 basketweave. Add in the three swivel knives (each with a different blade) and all of my punches and I can fit all of this stuff into a wooden tool rack and have room left. It has been that way for as long as I have been doing leather and there is no reason for any of the other stuff.

I am not a hobby crafter, I have a full-fledges business and I do everything by hand. There are no sewing machines or anything else mechanical in my shop and there never will be. It is always nice to look at the new stuff but then you have stand back and ask yourself, "does it do anything that I can't already do with what I have?" and more often than not the answer is a resounding "nope".

If you are just getting started then stick with the Craftool line for now, just don't buy anymore starter type kits. And, if you get into it really deep, the first thing I would do is to replace each of the tools that came in the starter kit with the real Craftool version, you WILL see a difference. The other thing I would recommend is to define "what" your artistic style is going to be (vintage, Steampunk, Sheridan, etc.) and tailor your tools to meet that objective.

Welcome to this wonderful craft and I hope to see some of your work posted soon.

[Chief31794]

One thing to note is that unless all you want to do is sheridan carving, basket weave and certain borders then Barry King won't be a good source, he is an excellent source for Sheridan Tools, basket weave and borders and has a sample list on his site with recommended tools and sizes for that type of Carving. I have his tools for Sheridan, have some old Tandy Tools from the good old days, but Beard will be your source for any other types of stamps if you want to get beyond Tandy, procrafters has a line of tools as well, I don't know much about them but they get good reviews. Keep in mind that Robert Beard tools start at about $50.00 and go up into the hundreds for single stamps, Barry King stamps run $25-$55. The new pro line from Tandy (~$18 for Elite/Business Accounts) is predominately Sheridan type tools so they will be priced at about what Barry King gets for his and the same basic types (I'd prefer the Barry King), they haven't released any pro line on figure carving that I'm aware of.

Welcome to the forum.

[Cozee]

@Cozee: You will find that with the tools that came in your starter set the impressions may not look as clean as those you will find from the numerous images within the galleries on this site and from across the web. The tools for the starter sets ARE NOT Craftool, they are a generic imitation that has not been very well refined. That is why I will always always suggest a list of starter tools for anyone who wants to get started in leatherwork and they can go to their local supplier and purchase them individually. The individual tool stock is much better (they are real Craftool) than the kit contents.

On the Pro Series, I checked with my local store yesterday on what the possible release time is on them and it appears that it may not be until the Spring, maybe later. However, I have had the same tools for over 40 years now (and they are ORIGINAL Craftool) and there is nothing that I can't accomplish with them. I do not own every tool that has been made as there is no need for them. I only use the smooth faced bevelers and shaders as that is what gives the most options in results. My current count is 6 bevelers, 5 pear shaders, 5 camouflage, 6 veiner, 3 background, 4 matting, 5 seeders, 6 figure carving, 2 border stamps and 1 basketweave. Add in the three swivel knives (each with a different blade) and all of my punches and I can fit all of this stuff into a wooden tool rack and have room left. It has been that way for as long as I have been doing leather and there is no reason for any of the other stuff.

I am not a hobby crafter, I have a full-fledges business and I do everything by hand. There are no sewing machines or anything else mechanical in my shop and there never will be. It is always nice to look at the new stuff but then you have stand back and ask yourself, "does it do anything that I can't already do with what I have?" and more often than not the answer is a resounding "nope".

If you are just getting started then stick with the Craftool line for now, just don't buy anymore starter type kits. And, if you get into it really deep, the first thing I would do is to replace each of the tools that came in the starter kit with the real Craftool version, you WILL see a difference. The other thing I would recommend is to define "what" your artistic style is going to be (vintage, Steampunk, Sheridan, etc.) and tailor your tools to meet that objective.

Welcome to this wonderful craft and I hope to see some of your work posted soon.

Thanks for the insight and advice. I'm still doing a lot of reading here and around the web. Looking at a lot of pictures and watching vids. As for defining my "artistic style" well, I don't know that there is a name for it. I have been airbrushing in one way, shape or form for nearly 41 years now. Throughout most of the 90's I airbrushed thousands of t-shirts at events throughout Illinois and Indiana. And from the early 2000's I started doing motorcycle skins, helmets and other odd ball items till about 3 years ago. I slowed way down on the amount of work I do and only do so when I feel like it. Never did have my own specific style as I always did my best to give the customer what they wanted and did everything from human and animal portraits and life like scenes to cartoons, grafitti, and sign work. The leather work I am hoping to do will be centered in the motorcycle world as I am a biker and have been riding as long as I have been airbrushing.

And as for tools themselves, the kit I have was a Christmas present and can see that the stamps in it are marginal at best. I am sure that before long I will be making my own tools.

Edited December 28, 2012 by Cozee

[NVLeatherWorx]

The bike world, especially seats and gear, is becoming a very large market right now. That is your style, just go with it and always keep learning. I am sure that we will see a great many things from this one.