Recommended figure carving tools? (and color question)

[Sofaspud]

I have had trouble drawing stars since kindergarten.  I just bought a star stamp that is close to an inch in diameter to do a Texas flag. (I will take all the help I can get.)  The only suggestion I have for the moon is the trie and true one: practice,  practice,  practice. 

[caitobrien519]

I tried again last night and tonight, and I feel like I'm making some progress. The larger star was easier for me to manage with the swivel knife. I also made sure my cuts were deeper, and it was easier for me to bevel the sides of the stars. I really lost control of the swivel knife a few times when carving the moon last night, so it did not bevel as nicely as I had hoped. I feel like I'm not getting much of a burnished look when I am beveling. Do I need to hit the beveller with more force? I am using a wooden board as my tooling surface now since I don't have a marble or granite slab- is the hardness of the tooling surface that essential?  

[DJole]

4 hours ago, caitobrien519 said:

I tried again last night and tonight, and I feel like I'm making some progress. The larger star was easier for me to manage with the swivel knife. I also made sure my cuts were deeper, and it was easier for me to bevel the sides of the stars. I really lost control of the swivel knife a few times when carving the moon last night, so it did not bevel as nicely as I had hoped. I feel like I'm not getting much of a burnished look when I am beveling. Do I need to hit the beveller with more force? I am using a wooden board as my tooling surface now since I don't have a marble or granite slab- is the hardness of the tooling surface that essential?  

Looking at the bottom right star, I think you are holding your bevel at too sharp of an angle. It looks like you are just widening the cut line, with not much of a bevel. Instead, the beveling tool should be flatter, so it creates a more gradual slope away from the cut, giving the star a "raised" appearance. If you have a modeling spoon, you can smooth those cut edges, and you can use it to smooth the beveled surface as well.

[DJole]

10 hours ago, caitobrien519 said:

Thank you everyone! I am attaching a photo of the supplies I have so far. I did end up buying the B200 beveller (smooth).

I have a swivel knife but I think I need a lot more practice making nice clean cuts. I have sharpened it on 600 grit sandpaper and I have stropped it with white jeweler's rouge on the rough side of some scrap leather. So far, I feel like the leather on either side of the cut kind of bunches up when I'm making the cut, then really bunches up when I start using the beveller. I am guessing this is because my leather is too wet, does this sound right? I am also having a hard time getting the beveller to move at a steady pace and to hold the swivel knife line. I think part of that may be that I might not be cutting deeply enough. 

I thought that the Cova Color was an acrylic paint- it is water based, though. Are there spirit based acrylic paints that I would have better luck using?  

Yes, you are right -- your leather may indeed have been too wet when you tried to use the beveller on it. There are a lot of threads on this forum about casing leather and figuring out when it's right for tooling.
You should experiment with different cut depths, depending on the thickness (the weight) of the leather and the design, to see what works best. 

Cova color is an acrylic paint, which is water based. What you were talking about earlier is a water based dye (the Eco-Flo yellow). A dye permeates the material underneath its surface. The water or alcohol or oil (depending on the dye type) seeps into the leather, and then the liquid evaporates, leaving the pigment behind, below the surface of the leather, where it can't rub off.  Paint merely adheres to the surface of the leather. When acrylic paint is applied, the water evaporates, leaving the plastic pigment on the surface of the leather, where it can be rubbed off over time.  
So to answer your question, acrylic paint is water based, and coats the surface of your leather. You put a few coats of paint on the leather (letting them dry in between) until you get the color strength you want, and then you use some sort of finish to protect the paint. Cova acrylic should work just fine. And if it rubs off over time, you can re-paint it. 

[Northmount]

Looks like your casing is improving.  Too wet and the leather is mushy.  The swivel knife drags.  Stamping gets sort of blob like instead of burnishing and turning a deeper brown.

You need a hard surface behind your leather while you are stamping.  When I started 55 years ago, I had no option of getting a piece of granite or marble.  I used 1/4" Masonite hardboard on a solid table with pipe frame and legs.  For up to 8/9 oz leather it worked okay.  Wood itself, depending on species is not likely hard enough.

Some proponents of sharpening your swivel knife will tell you that you should strop on a hard surface rather than the backside of leather, since the leather deforms and tends to round over the sharp edge you are trying for.  I use a piece of 3/4" MDF.  Have one for red rouge and one for white stropping compound.  I use a diamond sharpening plate labeled as extra fine if I need to remove any scratches from rougher stones or whatever, then of course follow that with red, then white stropping.

Whether you use paints or dyes, make sure you allow adequate time for drying between coats.  Also before applying any finish or layers of finish.  No less than 4 hours, some behave better at 8 hours.  When using dye, I sometimes dampen the leather slightly first as it helps stop the dye from suddenly seeping beyond the brush.

Tom

[caitobrien519]

On ‎6‎/‎27‎/‎2017 at 4:55 PM, Mattsbagger said:

Top is oxblood bottom 2 are Mahagony. Definitely practice and experiment. 

I ordered a couple of other Fiebing's dyes- I got Mahogany and Burgundy. I am using a Lycra bodysuit rather than trying to craft one of those out of leather, and the Lycra is a brighter red than the catsuit used in the show, so I am thinking that a blend of 2 or more of the Oxblood, Burgundy, and Mahogany may be the way to go. The color does not need to match the body suit exactly, but I think it will look better if it's closer to that color. I will certainly test out the colors on some scrap as you and DJole suggested, and I'll also test the Cova Color over the dye after giving the dye time to dry completely. Northmount, I was not sure what MDF was, so I googled it, and realized that's what I am currently using as my tooling surface!  I found a granite company in the area and hope to get a piece tomorrow, so I can repurpose that MDF as my stropping surface. Thanks for the tip! 

Edited June 29, 2017 by caitobrien519
Additional info

[Mattsbagger]

Countertop places have cutouts for sinks for little to nothing. At Habitat for Humanity they usually have them too. Got a 12X18 for $2.00.

[caitobrien519]

Awesome! There is a Habitat for Humanity ReStore close to me- I will give that a try if the granite place tries to price gouge me! 

[caitobrien519]

I got a nice slab of granite for FREEEEEE from a local granite shop! (Design Works in Sarasota for anyone in this area!) I am experimenting with mixing colors to match my bodysuit. On this test piece, Oxblood is on the widest end, Burgundy in the middle, and a mix of 2 part (2ml) Oxblood to 1 part (1 ml) Burgundy on the pointy end. I am pretty happy with how closely this mix matches the more blood-red color of the body suit. 

[kiwican]

Seems like things are progressing well. Keep going!