I Bought The Basic Tandy Tooling Kit. This Is My First Attempt

[Redochre]

I would really appreciate some newbie tips. I'll be tooling on 2mm cheap tooling side from tandy

Edited November 4, 2014 by Redochre

[Bob Blea]

Not bad Redochre, but I do see a couple of things. First, your cuts don't appear to be very deep so you are not getting much depth to your carving. Your beveling is leaving lots of tool marks. That may be because the leather is too wet when you are carving it, or it might be the beveller itself. The tools in the beginners kits are notoriously bad (or so you hear, no experience myself) so it might just be the qualify of that beveller in the picture making it hard for you to make a smooth bevel. You used the veiner in the leaves properly and so to with the shader in the flower petals, so you've got quite a bit going for you here. Good job on the edges of the leaves with the saw tooth effect, just need practice and some matting to hide the tool marks from the backgrounder. Overall a good start, just keep practicing!

[mlapaglia]

2mm = 5/6 oz leather so thats a good thickness to start with. looks like the leather is way too wet. wet it and then let it come back to almost its original color. Thats when its the right level of water. It should feel cool to your cheek but not damp. Strop your swivel knife and dont be afraid to make a deeper cut.

Its a good start. With a little practice you will surprise your self and impress others.

[Redochre]

Thank you for the feed back guys.

I was wrong about the thickness, its 3/4 oz not 5/6oz. I shall take everything you said on board, I am a little nervous about cutting deeper though.

The tools aren't the best quality, the swivel blade needed a lot of work until it felt nice going through the leather. Mostly though the oil marks are down to operater error.

Here's another piece I did before I read the replies

[Redochre]

Also thank you for the encouragement I'm loving this carving stuff so far, I'm not a fan of the Sheridan style though, I can certainly respect the craftsmanship but its not my taste.

[tboyce]

Stropping your swivel knife will help with that feeling that the knife is dragging through the leather. I agree with the other comments about the moisture content of your leather. Proper casing is an art form and you can read all you want but you'll just have to keep at it until you find what's right for you. Also, I've found that running my beveller over the strop board helps to polish it and get rid of some of those marks but nothing beats a good matting tool.

All in all, I'd give you an A+ considering this is a first effort. It won't take long before you've mastered this

[mlapaglia]

Thank you for the feed back guys.

I was wrong about the thickness, its 3/4 oz not 5/6oz. I shall take everything you said on board, I am a little nervous about cutting deeper though.

The tools aren't the best quality, the swivel blade needed a lot of work until it felt nice going through the leather. Mostly though the oil marks are down to operater error.

Here's another piece I did before I read the replies

That is much better. the leather was close to optimum dampness. You can tell by the burnishing on the shading and the perception of depth. Once you master the skills pick your style and have a blast doing it.

You will do well

[Colt W Knight]

I still can't do floral very well, but one tip. When you do those leaves with jagged edges, don't swivel knife around the edges, Just use the stamp to make the serrations.

Good solid base like a piece of granite or marble makes a big difference as well.

Edited November 9, 2014 by Colt W Knight

[Redochre]

Thank you for the tips colt, at the moment I just can't afford to get a piece of granite.

Tboyce I took your advice.... I should of checked first... The tools that come with the kit are plated, it came off almost instantly & revealed a bronze colour....

[Redochre]

I had a piece of 5mm scrap to play with.... Wow, heavier leather is much nicer to use!