Tooling Letters

[shedhunter]

What type of beveler  should I use when doing letters? I have a tough time with them and also am not sure how to shade around them.

 

[Rohn]

That looks really nice.  Letters are a pain in the neck for me too, so I can't help you with your question. But I think you did a great job on it.

[Bob Blea]

I think you did pretty good.  Letters can be a challenge.  For my lettering I use figure bevellers and I usually need my smallest ones to get smooth beveling in the tight corners.  Also, you will probably want to use a modeling spoon to smooth everything out and touch up any imperfections. For letters like your blue ones I would then matte down the leather around the letters to remove the beveling halo.  It makes the letters look like they stand up above the leathers surface. Spend a lot of time on this and get it as smooth as possible for best effect.

If you are going to background like you did around the HV, I would still use my smooth figure bevellers to carve the letters and then I would use whatever background tool I wanted.  How you do that area is up to your style, and what you did around the HV looks OK.  I would probably use a checkered backgrounder around the letters and gently fade that out as I moved away from the letters, but that is just my preference.  What you did works too. 

Hope this helps,

Bob

[immiketoo]

I’m glad you asked this.  Lettering is a specialty of mine.  Yours are quite good so far but you can make them better.  

The good:  clean beveling, even spacing and the thickness and serifs are consistent throughout your lettering.

you asked about what bevelers to use.  I use a variety depending on the look I want, but the ones in the picture are the main go-to for all letters.  They are steep bevelers and figure bevelers and  their sizes allow me to make crisp impressions no matter the size of the font.

For you, I’d suggest you invest in a good modeling spoon or a set of figure bevelers.  Right now, yours look like they’re pushed down into the  leather.  As if you put a heavy weight on a soft pillow.  The spoon can remove the bevel ridge and make the letters appear to sit on top of the surface of the leather.  Figure bevelers further this appearance by compressing the surrounding leather smoothly.

top pic: lettering done as described 

pic two:  figure bevelers

pic three:  Peter Main modeling spoons

pic four:  my main lettering tools.  Steep, figure and checkered bevelers

 

[KingsCountyLeather]

@immiketoo your work is beautiful!

I’ve done very little tooling but may in the future. Since there are a lot of LW here learning the art of tooling... have you thought about doing a video of you working on a piece? Like an instructional type of video? I’d love to see that.

[immiketoo]

So now that I am on my computer an not my phone, I see that Bob said the same thing I did.  Sorry Bob!  You're right on and I don't mean to take anything away form what you said.  

[immiketoo]

2 minutes ago, KingsCountyLeather said:

@immiketoo your work is beautiful!

I’ve done very little tooling but may in the future. Since there are a lot of LW here learning the art of tooling... have you thought about doing a video of you working on a piece? Like an instructional type of video? I’d love to see that.

Its funny you mention that.  I actually have a website with a video class on lettering.  www.learnleather.com.  Its not free, but the prices are reasonable and there is a TON of good content about carving.  Here is one of the free videos I have done.  Please check it out...

 

[immiketoo]

Incidentally,  here is the finished piece from above.

[KingsCountyLeather]

I feel like we’re hijacking @shedhunter thread but I hope he doesn’t think so and takes it as more information for him.

i watched your video and was very impressed! I actually remember reading a conversation you and another LW had about charging for information... While I’m new to Leather crafting and I need soo much information and I haven’t figures out which direction I’m heading in the craft yet, I scower the internet for free content. I pay for very little yet and anything I learn I’m happy to pass on to anyone who will listen. If I end up heading in the direction of tooling I would be very happy to pay for your expertise and expierence in leather tooling. Thank you.

[immiketoo]

Sorry for the hijack!  Yes paid content can be contentious topic to some.  The reality is this.  Its all out there for 'free' if you're willing to spend the time to search for the good stuff and money to buy the books where all the free information is.  Then, you need to apply that reading or viewing to leather.  What I can tell you is this.  Take Al Stohlman's figure carving finesse book.  I bought it year one.  20 bucks at Tandy.  I read it.  I tried the techniques.  My carving looked nothing like Al's.  Then I practiced for a year.  Read it again and I was amazed at how much more I got out of the book when I had more experience.  Then I read it again a year later and again another year later.  Each time I got more and more out of it because I had grown as a tooler.  

Now, take into account that not everyone has the time or resources to follow that path.  There are wonderful tutorials here, and I have learned from them as well, along with solid advice from the members here.  The paid part is where the instructors I use have decades of experience in their respective areas of expertise.  Many of them are Stohlman award winners or industry leaders in their own right.  They are professionals.   Each of them can distill their years of experience into highly focused segments where you the viewer gets exactly what you need to help you make that next jump that took them years to figure out.

Sharing what we have learned is essential for the craft to grow and flourish.  I probably have 15 private conversations with people on FB or LW at any given time where I am sharing information specific to their needs.  I don't mind at all.  However, to do a comprehensive video on a topic that takes an hour to an hour and a half requires a considerable amount of work.  As an example, the video I shared above is like 15 minutes, but the processing took an hour or more.  The longer the class, the more work it is to edit and process.  

There will always be folks who don't want to pay for knowledge.  That's ok.  There are many paths to enlightenment, as they say.  
 

[KingsCountyLeather]

1 hour ago, immiketoo said:

Sorry for the hijack!  Yes paid content can be contentious topic to some.  The reality is this.  Its all out there for 'free' if you're willing to spend the time to search for the good stuff and money to buy the books where all the free information is.  Then, you need to apply that reading or viewing to leather.  What I can tell you is this.  Take Al Stohlman's figure carving finesse book.  I bought it year one.  20 bucks at Tandy.  I read it.  I tried the techniques.  My carving looked nothing like Al's.  Then I practiced for a year.  Read it again and I was amazed at how much more I got out of the book when I had more experience.  Then I read it again a year later and again another year later.  Each time I got more and more out of it because I had grown as a tooler.  

Now, take into account that not everyone has the time or resources to follow that path.  There are wonderful tutorials here, and I have learned from them as well, along with solid advice from the members here.  The paid part is where the instructors I use have decades of experience in their respective areas of expertise.  Many of them are Stohlman award winners or industry leaders in their own right.  They are professionals.   Each of them can distill their years of experience into highly focused segments where you the viewer gets exactly what you need to help you make that next jump that took them years to figure out.

Sharing what we have learned is essential for the craft to grow and flourish.  I probably have 15 private conversations with people on FB or LW at any given time where I am sharing information specific to their needs.  I don't mind at all.  However, to do a comprehensive video on a topic that takes an hour to an hour and a half requires a considerable amount of work.  As an example, the video I shared above is like 15 minutes, but the processing took an hour or more.  The longer the class, the more work it is to edit and process.  

There will always be folks who don't want to pay for knowledge.  That's ok.  There are many paths to enlightenment, as they say.  
 

Well said. Thank you.

[immiketoo]

You're welcome.  Also, feel free to ask me any questions you might have about tooling or whatever.  I am happy to help.

 

[Squilchuck]

All great info! One question: After you trace the lettering from the pattern, do you first cut the letter outline w a swivel knife, then proceed w bevelers?  Or, are you using bevelers or modeling tools to outline letters? --John

[immiketoo]

1 hour ago, Squilchuck said:

All great info! One question: After you trace the lettering from the pattern, do you first cut the letter outline w a swivel knife, then proceed w bevelers?  Or, are you using bevelers or modeling tools to outline letters? --John

For me it depends on the size of the lettering.  Larger then half inch, I cut.  Smaller I only bevel.

[shedhunter]

I appreciate all the help and information!!

[Lionhammer]

Are the bevelers you recommend available through Tandy?

[immiketoo]

On 6/22/2018 at 3:38 AM, Lionhammer said:

Are the bevelers you recommend available through Tandy?

No sir.  You can find them only from Robert Beard.  However, you can get decent figure beveler and checkered beveler from other sources.  Barry King and old, pre-letter craft from Bruce Johnson are an excellent place to start for less expansive tools.