Wood Carving Tools?

[Hibernicus]

I will look up how to sharpen the blade correctly. I am used to wood carving tools being supplied razor sharp...I guess it didnt really occur to me that the leatherwork knife would be supplied unsharpened.Ill experiment with casing and sharpening and see if I can get any better results. Seems a bit uncharitable to provide a beginner kit with a blunt knife. If I didnt already have sharpening equipment it would be useless to me without laying out another bunch of cash for whetstones. Now I might have to order another knife. The one you linked me to would could cost me €45 ($60) with shipping and import tax. This hobby is starting to get very expensive, very fast. Not sure I can afford it.

[electrathon]

Back to the beginning. When you are tooling you do not want to remove the leather, just push it around. Using the gouge you are removing it an dthis will make it hard to do the rest of the tooling nicely.

If you were sewing and wanted to use a stitch grove you are right in line. What you are doing will work well.

You need to sharpen your knife, they usually arrive dull. Also if you like leatherwork save up and buy a better quality knife.

[Hibernicus]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I guess I've got a long road of sharpening and learning and experimenting to do before I get to make a start on the wallet and other projects in the beginners kit. Looks like I better order some more leather and get to work trying to figure it out. I'll be back if I ever get the hang of it. Thanks again.

[Cyberthrasher]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I guess I've got a long road of sharpening and learning and experimenting to do before I get to make a start on the wallet and other projects in the beginners kit. Looks like I better order some more leather and get to work trying to figure it out. I'll be back if I ever get the hang of it. Thanks again.

I agree about the knife and the fact that it arrives dull. As far as I know, Tandy are the only ones that do that. Just hang in there and don't give up. You already have the experience sharpening, so that shouldn't be an issue for you. Do you have any saddle shops around? Maybe one of them has an old adjustable knife they'd be willing to part with for a good price. Heck, if I had an extra I'd just send you one for the shipping cost if that would keep you going easier. All I have right now are the standard non-adjustable, but I'll look anyway to see if one slipped by me

You are in Ireland right? I can look around and see if I can find someone cheaper to buy from. I know we have a few UK members here, so one of them might no some different places for materials.

[Matt S]

Hibernicus, where are you ordering from? Remember the UK is not far away from you and we have excellent mail-order stores like Le Prevo, Tandy UK, Metropolitan Leather, JT Bachelors etc. and our countries both being in the EU there is no import taxes.

[Hibernicus]

Hibernicus, where are you ordering from? Remember the UK is not far away from you and we have excellent mail-order stores like Le Prevo, Tandy UK, Metropolitan Leather, JT Bachelors etc. and our countries both being in the EU there is no import taxes.

I ordered from Tandy UK. They charge a huge rate to ship to Ireland. I believe I paid over £30 (€35) in shipping on the beginner kit plus a bag of scrap leather (50% of the order price). Ireland charges import tax on 'commercial' imports - which can sometimes include tools depending on the opinion of the customs officer who signs off on it. Its somewhat of a lottery as it is not always applied, but I regularly buy tools from Germany (also EU) and have been charged import tax on many of the orders. I'll check out the other suppliers you have mentioned, maybe the can give me a better deal. I'm starting to think Tandy is somewhat of a scam, but I've found in the past that many UK businesses charge full international rates to ship to Ireland.

[Cyberthrasher]

I'm starting to think Tandy is somewhat of a scam, but I've found in the past that many UK businesses charge full international rates to ship to Ireland.

Tandy's good to get you started, and they do rely on the fact that they're a global company. A lot of people end up saying "I didn't think there was anything but Tandy". Would ebay incur as many import taxes (depending on the seller)?

[Hibernicus]

I think the best thing I can do now is to see if I can achieve any results with what I already have from Tandy. You know what they say about a workman who blames his tools I just thought it would be a little easier to get started. Anyway I'll see where it takes me. Thanks for the encouragement and advice everyone.

[Northmount]

One use for some wood carving tools is to use a wide gouge to cut nice round inside or outside corners. Straight chisels also for cutting slits.

Tom

[Cyberthrasher]

I think the best thing I can do now is to see if I can achieve any results with what I already have from Tandy. You know what they say about a workman who blames his tools I just thought it would be a little easier to get started. Anyway I'll see where it takes me. Thanks for the encouragement and advice everyone.

Yeah, I think first thing is first, get that swivel blade SHARP!! You'll have to strop it frequently, but at least it will cut once you get a proper edge on it.

I think that alone will get rid of a lot of your problems. Then you can sell a few things and make up the money to get a better one, and then some more and more and more