What Are The Basic Tools For Sheridan Style Work?

[iknowshaun]

Hi all,

I'm pretty new to leathercraft, I've made some belts and watched my father make bags and sandals alot but he doesn't really get into too much design work.

I'm looking to buy some tools that will allow me to do Sheridan style patterning but also my own designs, I've been reading alot of threads, comparing Tandy, Barry King and other makers and although I've picked up alot I'm still a little unsure.

I draw and paint alot and I'm a tattooist by trade but would like to get into leathercraft in the same way so from experience I know that buying the best tools you can up front can save you money in the long run.... but man there seems to be alot of different tools, there's like 5 different size bevellers, grounders, numerous veiners etc... obviously I can't afford to buy all of them so my question is to those who do alot of Sheridan tooling, what would be the basic set of tools you'd need to start off with for belts and wallets, maybe a few small shoulder bags? I can build on my tools slowly but since I'd be ordering from the US and I'm in the UK I'd like to get as much as I can afford with every purchase to save on postage.

Any help would be much appreciated. I could buy Tandy items but from reading alot of the posts the general consensus is that they're kinda entry level or of average quality? On another note, do different suppliers have different naming conventions, eg Tandy have a pear shaped shader but it looks like these equate to bevellers on the Barry King site?

I'd be really grateful for any advice you can offer me.

Thanks

Shaun

[NadineS]

Hi Shaun,

I'm new to and I have did some practice with the Tandy kit and tools. I order some Barry King tools and I realy like them. There is a size list on his website http://www.barrykingtools.com/sizelist.htm for Sheridan work.

[iknowshaun]

Thanks NadineS, I saw the sizelist you mentioned but it seemed like alot of tools, I guess they're all invaluable in creating these patterns, I just don't want to buy things I won't need at the moment but it's kind of a catch22 because I don't know enough about the leather tooling to know what is needed to do the tasks I want..

Thanks

Shaun

[Bob Blea]

Hi Shaun, and welcome to the forum. I do a lot of floral carving, and I highly recommend Barry King's tools. They will make Sheridan style floral carving much less frustrating for you. As far as a recommendation for starting out, the most important tools you will want are the bevelers. I started off with a number 1 and 2 checkered beveler, and have added smaller ones and smooth ones over the years, but I still primarily use those sizes. The beveler is the tool you will use the most so it's worth it to have good ones right off the bat.

Traditionally everything in Sheridan style is bargrounded, and Barry does have a wide selection of sizes. I bought the #30's first, and I only bought the 3 hole and 5 hole bargrounders. I work small and tend to have small background areas so these small bargrounders work for me, you might want a little bigger size like a #27. However, it's OK to use a background tool to matt the area (like the Tandy A104) and it's a lot easier. Bargrounders can be frustratingly hard to use well.

Undershot bevelers, or Lifters as Barry King lists them, are almost essential too, for that scalloped look that Sheridan style gets on the flower petals and leaves. I bought one initially (think it was his #2) but later got the next size smaller too.

Pear Shaders and Thumbprints are close to the same thing, but the Thumbprint is shaped a little differently and it traditionally what is used in Sheridan style. I think I have the first four sizes of horizontally lined thumbprints from Barry, though I started off just with size #1. Many carvers would tell you that you should have a variety of sizes of thumbprints to match the size of the flower petal scallop you are using it in, but you can get almost the same effect if you learn to walk your tool a bit. Starting off with just the one size can be made to work. Thumbprints are designed so one end is a bit smaller than the other, so by tipping the tool you effectively get two different (but close) size shading tools. When you buy the next size thumbprint below a size #1, you get two sizes of thumbprint below the #1, if that makes sense.

I would also recommend getting at least one of Barry's veiners. They are much thinner than the standard Tandy ones and (IMO) leave a much better impression. If you can afford it, I also recommend getting a center shader and leaf liner. Both of these tools are important to getting the look of flowers and leaves that you see in Sheridan style, particularly the center shader. It's used to bevel around a flower center stamp and gives a great look of depth to the flower center. And, if you have room in your budget, good flower center stamps make your work look better. Again, Barry has a wide selection of them.

To me those would be essential carving tools, but there is one other thing I would recommend: a good swivel knife. The swivel knife is the basis of all the rest of the carving and if it's not sharp and easy to use, the rest of the carving suffers. Barry makes a good knife, but you can also get one of his swivel knife blades that will fit in a Tandy knife, so that could cut down on your costs. A Barry King blade will hold an edge better than the Tandy one, so just getting that blade would probably make your life easier just like having his bevelers would.

I know this sounds like a blatant ad for Barry King, but I don't work for him, just have a lot of his tools. I think the world of them and wouldn't be able to do the carving I do without them. And, he's a great guy to do business with. This is just my opinions, and others will probably differ.

Bob

[bruce johnson]

I just sold a set of the 17 recommended stamps that Barry King put together for a guy. Other than maybe splitting the difference and using a 5 rather than a 3 and 7 hole bargrounder I thought they all served a purpose and would do a compete traditional Sheridan pattern.

[iknowshaun]

Wow, thank you very much Bob and Bruce for your words and experience.

Bob, you've made things alot easier for me thank you, I was really in two minds as to whether to get the Barry King tools but I think my mind is made up. Thanks for the tips and knowledge on Sheridan style work, I can't wait to get some patterns down and learn from there. It seems that leathercraft will be a never ending learning process which is great. I'm going to try and get all the tools you suggested and hopefully will post some progress shots for critique in the near future.

Thank you very much

Shaun

[Bob Blea]

Glad I could help Shaun. By the way, I got my bargrounders backward. I bought the #27 first and just recently got the #30 which is bigger. Also, I was assuming that you had a few basic Tandy tools already, like a camoflage and mules feet. They do perform some important jobs too. They add details to the vines and flower petals. I've been getting by with my Tandy camoflages and mules foots, but I had some older Tandy tools made back when they still had good impressions. If you don't have any of these tools, you might want to add them to your list. Like Bruce said above, all the tools on the recommended list has their use.

Also, if you can get a copy, order the book 'Sheridan Style Carving' by Bill Gardner and Clinton Fay. It's a great book that shows how this style is done by masters. They show you step by step and they show you all the standard tools and how they are used.

Bob

[iknowshaun]

Hi Bob, thanks again for your advice, I have a few tools, Craftools that my dad used to use so I've been practising with them but they don't have everything needed for bevelling, more decorative stamps. I will definitely buy that book, they actually have it on the Tandy site in the UK so I'll be sure to get my hands on it.

Thanks again for all your help.

Cheers

Shaun

[silverwingit]

FYI, the Barry King "Recommended Size List" tools can be bought as a set at a special price. I purchased my "Small to Medium" set consisting of 18 terrific tools for $400.

Great way to get started with some high-quality tools.

Also, beware of the King Tools booth at leather shows. I was like a kid in a candy store and dropped another $800 on Barry tools last show I attended.

Michelle

[iknowshaun]

Thanks Michelle, yeah I bet, easy to do, wish they had some of those shows here though

Thanks

Shaun

[Bob Blea]

Be glad you don't Shaun. Michelle's story is far too easy to repeat at Barry's booth. Believe me I've been there, several times!

Bob

[iknowshaun]

Ha ha, well I've just spent over 500 bucks on tools and a swivel knife, I think I'll be stalking the postman soon! thanks again to all of you for your advice.

Cheers

Shaun

[Bob Blea]

Very cool! You won't be disappointed.