Wood Carving Tools?

[electrathon]

I have been thinking about this and here is my thought. You are in a country differant than ours and likely have a few small unique items that we do not have here. We have stuff here hard for you to find. How about if you post a few things you have and might be willing to trade for something from one of us. Post a wish list and a surplus list. People likely will speak up and send you something and you send them something. Pass through customs as a gift, likely most items will have fairly low value. You will end up with a few tools and we will end up with something from you. Could be kind of fun.

Aaron

[Cyberthrasher]

That's a good idea Aaron. Personally I was thinking if he couldn't find an adjustable knife, he could pay me for it and I'd buy it and send it that way. I looked through my stash and none of them are adjustable

[shtoink]

That's a good idea Aaron. Personally I was thinking if he couldn't find an adjustable knife, he could pay me for it and I'd buy it and send it that way. I looked through my stash and none of them are adjustable

I have been following the development of this thread and thinking the exact same thing. I actually have some duplicates and such of some of my tools that have been waiting to be adopted out to a new home that will give them the proper love they deserve. Since I am making my own swivel knives now, I have ended up with extra adjustable ones from Craftool that will need new owners, too. I was actually thinking that if the tools were mixed in with other things, they might be less likely to get slapped with the higher tax rate. Maybe have it as a care package of sorts with tools as the bonus.

[St8LineGunsmith]

I use a woodworking V gouge for making folds just as an adjustable v gouge would be used for that same purpose

I dont have oblong punches but I do have wood working chisels and round hole punches that I use for making ob long holes in leather and they are very clean and look good so the answer to the question is yes woodworking tools can be used for leatherworking.

however that being said a v gouge would not be very well suited for the practical purpose of carving designs on the grain side of the leather.

keep practicing with your swivel knife it will eventually click.

a couple of good tips I can share would be to always keep the blade honed and never try to do any knife work on wet leather for it will make the blade drag.use an angled 1/4" filigree blade instead of a straight blade, ( it is easier to make tight curves and corners with an angled blade.and does not require as much presure to get the intended depth of the cut.

wait for the leather to absorb the casing water and dry , dont plunge the blade in so deep into the leather that it is difficult to maneuver the swivel knife bot not too shallow that the impression looks washed out.

everything else revolves around Practice, Practice, Practice... and this is one of these cases if you don't use it you loose it so stay in practice

another thing is if you go to www.springfieldleather.com they have stamps 999-L, 999-R and 301 that can aid in making clean straight and curved lines in your carvings until you get a good handle on the swivel knife.

Edited February 8, 2013 by St8LineGunsmith

[Hibernicus]

Well, I spent a while sharpening the swivel knife, and rigged up a sort of spacer to hold it at a more comfortable height. Tried to case the leather better as well. I'm not sure any of these things really succeeded, but I went ahead and made my first attempt at a carving anyway.

I guess it's a coaster or something

[Cyberthrasher]

Knife cuts look like they're working better for you. Did it feel more comfortable with the sharpened blade and additional height?

Looks like your casing was still a little too wet. Without going into all the details that make you wait overnight and stuff, I'd let it sit another 5 - 10 minutes and see if that's any better. If I get to do any practice tonight, I'll take a shot of what my Herman Oak looks like when it's "ready" after a quick case. Maybe that will help in judging the moisture content.

[Hibernicus]

Looks like your casing was still a little too wet. Without going into all the details that make you wait overnight and stuff, I'd let it sit another 5 - 10 minutes and see if that's any better.

Thanks, I'll try to keep that in mind on the next try. I think I still need to sharpen the blade a lot more.

[Cyberthrasher]

... I think I still need to sharpen the blade a lot more.

Scary sharp

between your knife and your casing, you shouldn't feel any resistance when cutting.

[Goosefish]

I just want to say that this thread has been extremely helpful! I also just picked up the Tandy beginner kit and was starting to think I was just sucky with the swivel knife, but now I think it's the knife. Are there better companies/brands for swivel knives? Also, the info about properly casing has been helpful too. I've been watching tutorials on YouTube and so far no one has mentioned doing anything other than lightly wetting the leather with the sponge and letting it dry a bit.

And the idea about trades is awesome.

[Cyberthrasher]

Are there better companies/brands for swivel knives?

There are LOTS of options. The two that are easiest to acquire are Barry King and LeatherWrangler's. The LW is a highly recommended extremely quality knife. I just can't afford one right now at $135. The Barry King knives are great knives and come in at about $50 with your choice of barrel size and blade. I have 1 BK complete swivel knife and blade, another angle blade I just bought to go into a Tandy barrel (another option for you if you can't afford the whole knife - just buy a blade from either one of them), and once I can justify/afford it I'll be buying one of the Leatherwrangler's SK-3....I'm kind of in a tool mode right now.