The Idea That Got Me Started

[sharkeyfinn]

i got into leathercraft because of my dear old dad, we do archery at the weekends in the summer in my garden.

my dad who is in his late 70's ,made himself a longbow during the winter, and he used it all this summer.

the reason for the cat in the design,is that i had a cat who use to come into my garden and watch us shoot,she would always sit in font of the target,so many a trip was had to move her out of the way, ha ha , while we were shooting this summer my dad turned to me and said " i miss that cat" which sadly i lost at the end of last summer.

i was going to get someone to make me an armguard with a cat design on it, but then i thought why not give it a try, so here is my vert first attempt barring the kits i got from tandy that were included in the starter set.

i have a couple of questions if i may.

firstly as you can see by the tail, im not too good at small area curves,swerves and spirals, is there a particular method that you all use or is it purely down to practise?

secondly, on the halo around the cat(and probably else where too) it seems like the swivel knife went in a bit too deep,

if there are any hints and tips of all natures,please feel free to let me know and although i want honest opinions.......be nice ;-)

[Cogs]

sharkeyfinn, You certainly gave that a good try and did a great job for your first attempt! Your suspicions are right... practice, practice. I like your design on this one. From here, you'll just get better and better!

Bill

[sinpac]

Great story Sharkeyfinn,

I like the look of the cat and I might suggest making your swivel knife cuts deeper. It will give you more depth to your carving.

Chris

[Ronin19587]

Some work with a modeling tool would give the cars face a little more definition, or you could try a hair texture, looks good though

Cats*

[dentat2]

the halo your seeing is only on one side of the cut. its not because you went to deep with the swivel knife its from cutting with an angle. the knife just under cut the leather. try to keep it straight up instead of tilting the swivel knife. its a problem i still have so im pretty familiar with it lol. i agree with sinpac make your cuts deeper to add depth. another thing is make sure your leather is cased really well (wet) and keep your swivel knife really sharp. love to see some pics of the long bow your dad made. ive always wanted to try making one myself

[Coho]

Haha, cute idea ! A silouhetted kitteh !

[sharkeyfinn]

thanks all ;-)

dentat i will get some up soon hopefully

[dwillar]

Mighty fine job! I expect the cat is pretty happy with your efforts.