Carving graphics on leather

[Mattsbagger]

Try this. 

He has a bunch of videos.

 

[Colt W Knight]

2 hours ago, etchgirl said:

Thats what I want my graphic to look like! How do you do that?

 uou do that??

Exact same steps I laid out earlier. That piece just doesn't have contrasting dye or paint

[etchgirl]

OK. After going to Tandy MULTIPLE times, downloading and looking at MANY videos (especially Bruce Chaney videos), I found out several things: 

1. The leather was wrong. The leather I was using was some type of sealed leather. I remember buying it at Tandy a while back but never used it. I though it was a good piece of leather to use for a cover but not for carving. So,

 

2. I bought some veg tan and recut the cover. Spent all day yesterday carving and stamping into the veg tan and came up with this. I know come of the cuts are messed up, but this is the look I was looking for.

 

 

 

 

Edited June 18, 2017 by etchgirl
move text

[immiketoo]

EDIT  Just saw your most recent carving and its pretty good, especially compared to your first effort.  That said, I specialize in carving text and I did a video about it.

 

There is a lot to say about this, and frankly it's too much to type.  Casing is easy, but it has to be right.  Spray your leather or run it under the faucet twice until the surface goes dark.  Wait til it looks its normal color and that will put you in the ballpark.  For the carving, this might help you, if you don't mind taking the time.  http://www.learnleather.com/shop/carving-letters-michael-dale/

[etchgirl]

Thank you for the encouragement! 

[DJole]

3 hours ago, etchgirl said:

OK. After going to Tandy MULTIPLE times, downloading and looking at MANY videos (especially Bruce Chaney videos), I found out several things: 

1. The leather was wrong. The leather I was using was some type of sealed leather. I remember buying it at Tandy a while back but never used it. I though it was a good piece of leather to use for a cover but not for carving. So,

2. I bought some veg tan and recut the cover. Spent all day yesterday carving and stamping into the veg tan and came up with this. I know come of the cuts are messed up, but this is the look I was looking for.

That's looking so much better! You're getting the idea of the tools and how they work.
It's too bad that you started out with the wrong kind of leather. It must have been incredibly frustrating trying to figure out why it wasn't working right. 

Now it's just the "easy" matter of mastering the knife to create the smooth curved lines you want. That takes time, and a good knife with a sharp blade. It can be frustrating to know what you want, but not be able to get that look yet. 

[etchgirl]

22 minutes ago, DJole said:

That's looking so much better! You're getting the idea of the tools and how they work.
It's too bad that you started out with the wrong kind of leather. It must have been incredibly frustrating trying to figure out why it wasn't working right. 

Now it's just the "easy" matter of mastering the knife to create the smooth curved lines you want. That takes time, and a good knife with a sharp blade. It can be frustrating to know what you want, but not be able to get that look yet. 

I do have one question though: When I mentioned at Tandy that I wanted to use an xacto blade, the workers there said "don't use that! it will mess us your cuts". Well, I did use the xacto and the knife and they both worked well for me. Was this not a good idea?

[fredk]

The swivel knife blade used for leather cutting widens out so that it leaves more of a wide bevelled cut and its easier to control the depth of the cut. An xacto or scalpel blade produces a fine straight edged cut and its too easy to cut too deep with it.

That carving is looking much better. Get a modelling tool which has a ball on the end. Dampen your leather again then write around the edge of your letters etcetera with the ball of the modelling tool; it will help smooth out the lines

https://www.tandyleather.eu/en/product/craftool-pro-modeling-tools

 

[Colt W Knight]

Most folks use a swivel knife to carve leather. It has a thick blade that leaves a wider groove to set your beveled, and ball bearings to make cutting curves much easier. 

[DJole]

9 hours ago, etchgirl said:

I do have one question though: When I mentioned at Tandy that I wanted to use an xacto blade, the workers there said "don't use that! it will mess us your cuts". Well, I did use the xacto and the knife and they both worked well for me. Was this not a good idea?

I used an xacto blade when I was first starting. It worked okay, but the swivel knife is the right tool for the job. It makes better curves since it's easier to control (it's short and built to swivel, whereas my xacto knife is long and doesn't pivot the same way). Line depth is a lot more problematic with the xacto, also. 
The swivel knife does make wider lines, which certainly makes some modeling techniques work better, as others have mentioned here. 
So,yeah, you can "get by" with the xacto, but if you really want to see improvement, get a good swivel knife, learn to sharpen and strop it, case your leather properly, and then learn to cut those swoopy, curvy lines they are so good for. Some day I might even decide to spend the money to get a really nice one. 
A modeling tool is a good idea, too, as fredk mentioned above. The one I have used for years mostly is a "spoon" on one end and a pointy stick on the other. I rarely use a ball end, although I have one. 
Here is what mine looks like-- it's the top one of the three pictured below. 

 : 

Edited June 19, 2017 by DJole