How Do I Bevel Smoothly

[aquinn1989]

Hi i am working on making leather fire helmet shields and had a few questions. Made my first one the other day but having a hard time with the beveling with it leaving alot of uneven marks. Any suggestions on how much to wet down the leather or how to start so that its more even? not sure if im wetting the leather to much or possible not cutting my lines deep enough before i bevel? Any suggestions/ tips would be great thanks!

[camano ridge]

Looks like you have a few things going on there. Looks like maybe the leather was a little wet. Are you just wetting your leather or are you actually casing it. Casing is a process of wetting the leather then letting it dry till it has the right moisture content. Get your leather wet then let it dry until the color is mostly back to normal. There is a very good tutorial on casing leather by Hide Pounder http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=19121%C2'> I would take some scrap leather cut and bevel some lines and practice beveling until you have learned to walk the beveler smoothly. Practice, Practice, Practice, and when your done with that practice some more. What kind of mallet or maul are you using? What type of surface are you tooling on? You need a good solid surface and work platform to tool on. If you do end up with chatter (the bumpy, wavy effect). Go back over lightly with your beveler to smooth it out or use the spoon end of a modeling tool to smooth your bevel out.

Edited April 16, 2015 by camano ridge

[LNLeather]

Casing Leather

by hidepounder,

[aquinn1989]

Hi thanks for the reply. I was using a sponge to wet the leather, letting it turn back to its natural color before i began tooling it. I was curious if there are any videos showing how to walk the beveler smoothly so it does not leave the marks like it did in my project. I am tooling on a granite slab, im using a 9oz mallet from tandy leather and mostly using a B203 beveler. thanks for any pointers and ill check out that info about casing the leather thanks!

[dirtclod]

Hold the beveler straight up and down about a 16 or so of a inch off the leather start with tapping / hitting it and move the beveler a small amount each time and you will have a smooth bevel. Something as small as the shield i would just wet it like you did and wait till looks about dry and start working. When the moisture is just right the tool will leave a dark mark.

On you shield it looks like you set the beveler down each time and thats what made the tracks.

[LNLeather]

Hi again, I have collected some tips over the years - from others - and thought I might share some...

* try beveling in the opposite direction than you usually do. It not only helps to learn how to tool both directions, but you may also find your tooling is cleaner going 'backwards'. I found out lately by doing this that my beveling is cleaner when I go left to right instead of right to left even though the latter feels more natural.

* The other thing that you could be doing is pushing the tool downward on the leather as you are tooling this causes the tool to catch on the leather as you move it along the cut. Try holding it a hair off of the surface of the leather, this will take some practice but keep it up and you will have it down in no time.

* When you are done take the beveler, and use it like a modeling tool by running it over the section you did to iron out the highs, and lows. Don't hit it, just slide it over by hand.

Also, there is a plastic beveler available from Springfield Leather that fits in a swivel knife handle that works well for long & straight lines

Blade Plastic Beveler

Hope this helps

Edited April 17, 2015 by LNLeather

[firestormhcg]

Looks to me that your leather was too wet, or not wet enough. Getting the proper moisture content in the leather is critical and takes time to learn. As for the marks, it just takes practice. You basically always want the beveler moving and that hammer tapping constantly. I basically grab my beveler and have it floating above the leather about a 16th of an inch, every tap should smack it down but your fingers should bring it right back up like a spring to that 16th of an inch. Walk it around your cuts, rather then move it. Good luck! It takes practice and is frustrating at times, but you'll get it!

[aquinn1989]

Cool thank you all for the tips and helpful information. Been a busy week and havent had time to sit down and practice some more but look forward to giving it some more work this week. Thank you all and ill post another picture of my next project soon!

[sic4531]

Helmet shields are what I do. Dampen the leather while cutting with the swivel knife, it makes carving go smoother and ensures your depth. When stamping, have your leather on a thick stone surface. I have a 1.5 inch piece of granite counter remnant thats about 10x10". having a good work bench standing on concrete or hardwood floor makes a difference in transferring your energy from the mallet. Getting smooth beveling does take a lot of practice, but starts with good leather, as well as properly casing the leather. Think of it like needing to get the leather wet to the depth you want the stamp or bevel to be. I thoroughly wet the face of the leather, then let it almost dry. I use a piece of plastic wrap to keep the moisture content of the rest of the leather until I'm ready to start embossing that section. I have a 12 oz mallet and a 2.5 lb deadblow mallet. I prefer the deadblow mallet, I can choke up or down as needed to provide the force I want. Tap a lot while slowly moving the beveler. I'd say you should have tapped the tool three times once you have moved it the width of the bevel face. If you want your impressions to be deeper, try a heavier mallet or maul, rather than striking harder with a lighter mallet. I've found that leads to staggered impressions. If you have some uneven marks despite your best efforts, go back with the beveler by hand, tilt it to the left or right, apply firm pressure, and rub it over the uneven spots, kind of like burnishing. That can smooth out some lines and make the impression cleaner looking. Most of all, take your time, and don't do too much at once. Getting fatigued or frustrated can really set you back, and its easy to do once you are starting out. If you need help or have questions specifically pertaining to helmet shields drop me a message, I'm happy to help.

[silverwingit]

One thing I found out real quickly from my saddle-maker mentor. I was having all sorts of problems with my beveling until he showed me that my swivel knife cuts needed to be much deeper. Only then do you have a "ledge" deep enough to follow with the sharp side of your beveller tool.

Once you have a good, deep swivel knife cut you need to put your beveller deep into that cut and follow it closely but leave your beveller tool just a smidgen above the leather. Then when you strike the beveller sharply it will bounce off the leather for a brief moment. That's when you time your move of the tool a slight distance and repeat the cycle. You will develop a rhythm with this that will let you move smoothly along your cut.

Eventually, as was said earlier, with enough practice you will get nice, smooth beveled edge.

Keep at it!

Michelle

[Mel99]

I have been working leather for two months now and I just figured out how to case my leather and what it looks like when it is properly cased. I wet the leather down in a sink and then throw it into a plastic bag over night and then in the morning I pull it out of the bag and let it dry out till it is just starting to come back to its original color. Man is there a big difference in my carving and tooling. I also switched to Herman Oak grade (B) tooling leather which is way better then the Tandy Leather. 
I would like to ask though in the beveling, which side of the line do I bevel on when beveling? I’m asking this question on your thread because it looks to me like you are having the same issue of not knowing which line to bevel, which direction.

Edited January 11, 2020 by Mel99