Leb Report post Posted November 15, 2015 (edited) Hi everyone, I'm new to leatherwork, and would have normally chosen a craft where there is more room for error, because of my sloppy nature. However, due to my current location, leatherwork is the only feasible craft I can do (seems like getting a cheap workshop/garage for blacksmithing purposes in UK city is nearly impossible at an affordable price...). Anyway, I bought P.Burnett's leather carving bundle and have been trying to go through the excercises, however, I find them rather difficult. I attach an attempt to carve and tool the "deer excercise" from lesson 1, and would appreciate if anyone could advise what's the most likely reason for it looking bad? Some info: -No artsy background, so don't really have a feel for "lines of beuty". -I use a cheap straight swivel knife blade in a cheap swivel knife (one on ebay for ~£5). I wonder how much better would it be to use the angled blade (tiwst cuts are a bit of a pain with the straight knife). -I had to modify the swivel knife a little bit, it was not spining smoothly, but was getting stuck ~ 1/4 revolution. This swivel knife had 2 6mm bearings, one of which I had to remove, but now the knife spins really well (I hope it is meant to be spining freely and not get stuck ~ 1/4 rev !) -When beveling, I try do overlap 1/2-1/3 at each step, and try to do the "jackhammer" (I hold the beveler very lightly, just touching the leather and let it rebound as best as I can). -For casing, I try to do the quick casing described in Lesson 1. -I strop the blade regularly, but I'm not sure if it is sharp enough - if I cut deeply, the leather seems to "wrinkle" a little bit at the edges... Cheers,Leb Edited November 15, 2015 by Leb Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jaymack Report post Posted November 15, 2015 Looks like a good start. Everything that you say your are doing all makes sense to me. I have one of Paul's lessons on carving a Kestrel. I learned a lot from it. I almost always go over my beveling more than once to remove any tooling marks and lines. I suggest to use as wide of a beveler as you can and to use the smaller ones for tight areas and curves. In Paul's Kestrel lesson he explains how to modify some of the tools for the lesson. My first question is, what are you using as a base to do your carving and tooling? Make sure it is solid and use a piece of smooth marble or granite. The fact that you found this website tells me you are on the right track. I have learned most everything that I know from this excellent site. I spent a long time lurking/learning before I started into leatherwork. I'm still lurking and learning. John Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Leb Report post Posted November 15, 2015 Hi John, and thanks for the reply and suggestions! >My first question is, what are you using as a base to do your carving and tooling? Make sure it is solid and use a piece of smooth marble or granite. I wansn't able to get granite/marble yet, so I am using a ~10kg sledgehammer head (it's smoothish, but not as smooth as marble/granite would be). I cover it with a layer of cling film.Cheers,Leb Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jaymack Report post Posted November 15, 2015 (edited) Leb, When I was getting my setup started, I went to 2 places to get some granite/marble: The first was a custom kitchen countertop shop. I asked to buy the section where they cut out the opening for the sink. He gave me a beautiful 1 inch thick piece for free. I also went to a local grave stone maker and asked if he had any broken pieces. He had a smaller stone where he had made a mistake and he gave it to me at no cost as well. It is 4 inches thick and I use it when I need to punch holes in leather. Once I got a little better at tooling I made both of them a checkbook cover, and by coincidence had a deer's head carved into it! They were both thrilled. John Edited November 15, 2015 by Jaymack Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
