Get smaller tools, they said.

[YinTx]

You'll do fine, they said.

Can only go up from here, right?  Not really a piece to show off, other than its the first time I've ever bar grounded something, and the bar grounder was smaller than the letter "B" on the quarter!  Still need to get a smaller knife, I think it might help a little.  As would a pair of magnifiers:  could barely see the ends of these things!  I did this on 3 oz Hermann Oak leather, might have been a bit heavy handed for as thin as it was.  Pointers always welcome so I can actually tool something nice!

 

YinTx

[LatigoAmigo]

That is amazing detail -- and beautiful.

[Fire88]

Those look fantastic. Where’d you get tools that small?

[YinTx]

52 minutes ago, LatigoAmigo said:

That is amazing detail -- and beautiful.

Thank you.  I've been staring at it all day, and up close, so I've been feeling like it was a bit of a mess.  Perhaps I need to step back and try to see the beauty in it some.  Change my perspective...

8 minutes ago, Fire88 said:

Those look fantastic. Where’d you get tools that small?

Thanks, all but one of them are Craft Tools, and the beveler is one of the new craft tool pro Sheridan style tools.  With the exception of the beveler, they were all in a collection that I purchased a number of years ago, and have just this August/September gotten the nerve to try out with any bit of seriousness.  The flowers can pretty much fit under my thumbprint, and the leaves are smaller than the quarter, so tiny tools are a must for this design.  I didn't even know I had a veiner that tiny, let alone the pear shaders!  Had to look really close to make sure it would work like a veiner, but it's an F tool, so I suppose it is not.  The bar grounder is a Kyoshin Elle tool.

YinTx

[Rossr]

Looks like great work to me.   I am just a self taught amateur But dont be so hard on yourself your work looks amazing and just keeps improving.  Just my opinion.

 

Ross

[plinkercases]

You have made it look like a lot meatier piece of leather than 3oz.... nice work. always a danger the lifter will go right through on the light stuff but you found the perfect balance it seems.

[YinTx]

15 hours ago, plinkercases said:

You have made it look like a lot meatier piece of leather than 3oz.... nice work. always a danger the lifter will go right through on the light stuff but you found the perfect balance it seems.

I thought I was going to punch through just beveling!  Now that it has dried, seems like it might work ok for a wallet back after all, but don't know how long it will last before something gives way.  Thanks for the compliment.  One of the things I don't like about some of the tooling works I see on Etsy, etc are the shallow looking carvings, so I am always trying to get as much depth as I can, but I think it has more to do with the design and the coloring that gives perception of depth.  All I can do is study and try to get better.

15 hours ago, Rossr said:

Looks like great work to me.   I am just a self taught amateur But dont be so hard on yourself your work looks amazing and just keeps improving.  Just my opinion.

 

Ross

Thanks Ross.  I am a self taught amateur as well, but I did sleep at the Holiday Inn last night.   My wife keeps complaining about how nice the stuff in the scrap bin is and that I should sell it...I keep adding to it.  LOL.

Also, for those interested, the tiny tools in question:

I have no idea how old or new they are.  Top one is new, the Craftool Pro beveler.  Second one is the bar grounder (A101) from Kyoshin Elle.  The rest are Craftool USA.  I believe the F925 is being closed out by Tandy, but is on sale right now for all of $2.99.

YinTx

[garypl]

8 minutes ago, YinTx said:

I thought I was going to punch through just beveling!  Now that it has dried, seems like it might work ok for a wallet back after all, but don't know how long it will last before something gives way.  Thanks for the compliment.  One of the things I don't like about some of the tooling works I see on Etsy, etc are the shallow looking carvings, so I am always trying to get as much depth as I can, but I think it has more to do with the design and the coloring that gives perception of depth.  All I can do is study and try to get better.

Thanks Ross.  I am a self taught amateur as well, but I did sleep at the Holiday Inn last night.   My wife keeps complaining about how nice the stuff in the scrap bin is and that I should sell it...I keep adding to it.  LOL.

Also, for those interested, the tiny tools in question:

I have no idea how old or new they are.  Top one is new, the Craftool Pro beveler.  Second one is the bar grounder (A101) from Kyoshin Elle.  The rest are Craftool USA.  I believe the F925 is being closed out by Tandy, but is on sale right now for all of $2.99.

YinTx

Re: concern about using the carved piece as a wallet back - what about laminating a piece of very thin pigskin to it to help hold it together?

Gary

[YinTx]

4 minutes ago, garypl said:

what about laminating a piece of very thin pigskin

I really thought about that but... will it wrinkle when the wallet is opened/closed 1000 times?  And I don't really have any thin thin pigskin...or kangaroo... and I have to be done by Christmas Eve... or am I worrying about it too much ?

YinTx

[garypl]

I used pigskin to line a checkbook cover that I use all the time - haven't opened/closed it 1000 times yet, but shows no sign of wrinkling.  

[YinTx]

Can you share a photo?  How thick is it?  I am trying to keep this wallet really thin, so that is why I am using 2 and 3 oz leather. I have used some softy pig skin that was vegetable tanned on some checkbook covers and some bible covers I just finished, but it wrecks edges and is fairly heavy.

YinTx

[Mjolnir]

I thinik you just figured out how to make leather cost effective! Micro tooling.

now tool a grain of rice

[YinTx]

lol, dont know about cost effective, that took me half a day to tool!  I imagine that rice didn't get done in five minutes!  I think its best if I let the rice art experts do their thing and stick to my leather..

YinTx

[garypl]

2 hours ago, YinTx said:

Can you share a photo?  How thick is it?  I am trying to keep this wallet really thin, so that is why I am using 2 and 3 oz leather. I have used some softy pig skin that was vegetable tanned on some checkbook covers and some bible covers I just finished, but it wrecks edges and is fairly heavy.

YinTx

I believe I used 1-2 oz pigskin

[YinTx]

Come to think of it, I do have some of that leather.  I might try it on the wallet that came out really thin from the tooling, and see if I like it or not.  It isn't my favorite leather, but this might prove to be a purpose for it.

YinTx

[YinTx]

I opted to keep it simple this time around, and not lined.  I will make another and line it to see how it comes out.  Until then, the final version can be seen here:

YinTx