My 1St Leather Working Attempt:)

[NoahFett]

I received a Tandy Leather beginners kit for Christmas and this is the first project in the kit. Leather was already cut so all I did was tool it. I definitely need more practice with my swivel knife and I couldn't "walk" the beveler because my piece wanted to slide. Also, on some of my cuts, the leather wanted to "raise up" (not sure how to explain it) and I was wondering if there is a way to prevent this? Let me know what you think;)

[x101airborne]

That is pretty awesome for your first try!

Way to go!

[NoahFett]

That is pretty awesome for your first try!

Way to go!

Thanks airborne! I really appreciate it! I watched a bunch of youtube videos, which really helped.

Edited December 30, 2015 by NoahFett

[corkscrew]

Noah, Make sure your knife blade is very sharp and smooth, use a strop. Hold the blade perpendicular to the leather and try varying the pressure on it until you get a even smooth cut. Case the leather and let dry out until it's just damp feeling. Glue the leather to a bigger piece of cardboard with rubber cement. This will allow you to rest your tool hand palm on it while walking the tool and keep the piece from moving around too much. Nice looking first project! Tom

[tboyce]

Good work! You should do well with this hobby. Welcome!

[Bob Blea]

I think it looks pretty good. It looks like you've got the moisture content of your leather right because you are getting good burnishing. I agree with corkscrew about sharpening your knife and practicing making smooth cuts. That will help you. Also, learning to walk a beveller takes time and gluing the project down will help hold it still, but even on larger projects it will still take practice to get a smooth bevel. Great effort for a first project though! Welcome to the forum.

Bob

[TheModifier]

Noah, find a smooth bottomed weight to hold you piece still while you tool it. For practice, Tandy sells remnants in a bag that have LOTS of good pieces (even ones you can hand cut more key fobs with. The raising is actually from holding your swivel knife on an angle then tooling with the beveler which lifts the cuts. If you look into modling tools on the Tandy website you can manipulate the cased leather a little.

And btw, yours turned out far better than mine. Keep up the good work.

Edited December 30, 2015 by TheModifier

[NoahFett]

Noah, Make sure your knife blade is very sharp and smooth, use a strop. Hold the blade perpendicular to the leather and try varying the pressure on it until you get a even smooth cut. Case the leather and let dry out until it's just damp feeling. Glue the leather to a bigger piece of cardboard with rubber cement. This will allow you to rest your tool hand palm on it while walking the tool and keep the piece from moving around too much. Nice looking first project! Tom

A fellow Marylander! Thanks for the advice corkscrew. The cardboard is a great idea! And thanks for the kind words:)

Good work! You should do well with this hobby. Welcome!

Thanks!

I think it looks pretty good. It looks like you've got the moisture content of your leather right because you are getting good burnishing. I agree with corkscrew about sharpening your knife and practicing making smooth cuts. That will help you. Also, learning to walk a beveller takes time and gluing the project down will help hold it still, but even on larger projects it will still take practice to get a smooth bevel. Great effort for a first project though! Welcome to the forum.

Bob

Thanks Bob! I have another round piece that came with the kit and will have to practice on it;)

Noah, find a smooth bottomed weight to hold you piece still while you tool it. For practice, Tandy sells remnants in a bag that have LOTS of good pieces (even ones you can hand cut more key fobs with. The raising is actually from holding your swivel knife on an angle then tooling with the beveler which lifts the cuts. If you look into modling tools on the Tandy website you can manipulate the cased leather a little.

And btw, yours turned out far better than mine. Keep up the good work.

Thanks! I'll have to check out those scrap pieces. I saw some bags of scrap at Michaels, but wasn't sure if it was the right type of leather for tooling. Thanks for the advice;)