Celtic wolf for a valet

[arashikage]

This is my first attempt at tooling. It's a split tail wolf from the the book "Learn to Draw Celtic Designs." It's an insert for a valet that will be a gift. It's about 4.5" x 4.5"

Lessons Learned:
Start with something simpler
I need more tools, the Craftool basic 7 stamps were not enough for this
I need to slow down on my tracing and cutting
I need to play around with antiquing more, background didn't get as dark as I hoped

Overall for my first time tooling it's not as bad as I had expected.

[Northmount]

Good start.  I know you didn't ask for a critique, but here goes anyhow!  Sharpen and strop your swivel knife so it is easier for you to follow the lines.  When you think it is sharp enough, sharpen it some more.  Strop after every few cuts.  Make sure your leather is not to wet.  Knife drags a lot when the leather is too wet.  It should be practically back to its original colour when it is dry enough.  Take your time with your cutting.  Pull towards you.  Don't get in a big hurry.

Hope this helps.

Tom

[arashikage]

14 minutes ago, Northmount said:

Good start.  I know you didn't ask for a critique, but here goes anyhow!  Sharpen and strop your swivel knife so it is easier for you to follow the lines.  When you think it is sharp enough, sharpen it some more.  Strop after every few cuts.  Make sure your leather is not to wet.  Knife drags a lot when the leather is too wet.  It should be practically back to its original colour when it is dry enough.  Take your time with your cutting.  Pull towards you.  Don't get in a big hurry.

Hope this helps.

Tom

Thanks @Northmount! I did strop the blade a lot. Probably not enough though. The leather may have been a little on the too wet side. I tried to let it come back to original color. I found that only having the large blade from Tandy made it hard for me to get into the tight curves.

In hindsight I also think that there were some areas that I should have perhaps hit with a modeling spoon (not that I have one) instead of the beveler. The middle of the body for example.

[DJole]

I suspect that nearly every beginning leather-worker bites off more than he/she can chew with the first few projects!  It's just human nature, I suspect.

The stitching is good for a first time project, and the tooling is pretty good for first time, too! You just need some practice time.

2 hours ago, arashikage said:

 I found that only having the large blade from Tandy made it hard for me to get into the tight curves.
In hindsight I also think that there were some areas that I should have perhaps hit with a modeling spoon (not that I have one) instead of the beveler. The middle of the body for example.

Which large Tandy blade are you referring to?  

Are you using the flat one, pictured attached to the knife itself, or one of the angled blades? 
Getting the leather casing right does help a lot-- it takes some time and experience to figure that out. Too wet, and the leather is mush, and won't hold any design. Too dry, and it won't take any design, and cutting is difficult.

It will also take some time to get the feel for making smooth curved lines -- as others on the forum point out, repetition is key here. The common advice goes like this: doing 10 small projects (drink coaster or luggage tag size, for example) helps you develop proper technique and tool use. They are also quick, and don't waste a lot of expensive leather. 

Your bevelling lines look like you've figured out how to "walk" the tool, which is a big struggle for many beginners. But your bevel seems to be too steep, like a V shape instead of like this:
 
See how the one side of the bevel (away from the cut line) fades out? That's what the tool is meant to do, adding dimension rather than just deepening the cut line. 

Like  you, I noticed that some of my designs required a smaller bevel tool than the basic kit has. I also, over time, added a larger figure bevel and a textured bevel. Not all at once, but for specific projects. 

A modeling spoon is pretty useful, too, as you note.

Your backgrounding should also fade out at the edges, like the beveled lines. The tool should be rotated so that no discrete tool makes (the pointed oval shape)  can be seen. A lot of places are fine here, but the upper left has the tool marks visible.

You might find Stohlman's  book-- Leathercraft Tools: how to use them-- useful to understand what the tools are meant to do.-Is it still a free PDF download? 

[arashikage]

20 minutes ago, DJole said:

I suspect that nearly every beginning leather-worker bites off more than he/she can chew with the first few projects!  It's just human nature, I suspect.

The stitching is good for a first time project, and the tooling is pretty good for first time, too! You just need some practice time.

Thanks! Just to clarify not my first project, just my first tooling. 
 

20 minutes ago, DJole said:

Are you using the flat one, pictured attached to the knife itself, or one of the angled blades? 
Getting the leather casing right does help a lot-- it takes some time and experience to figure that out. Too wet, and the leather is mush, and won't hold any design. Too dry, and it won't take any design, and cutting is difficult.

I have the flat one attached to the knife. So it's pretty bulky at times. 
 

20 minutes ago, DJole said:

Your bevelling lines look like you've figured out how to "walk" the tool, which is a big struggle for many beginners. But your bevel seems to be too steep, like a V shape instead of like this:
See how the one side of the bevel (away from the cut line) fades out? That's what the tool is meant to do, adding dimension rather than just deepening the cut line. 

Like  you, I noticed that some of my designs required a smaller bevel tool than the basic kit has. I also, over time, added a larger figure bevel and a textured bevel. Not all at once, but for specific projects. 

A modeling spoon is pretty useful, too, as you note.

Your backgrounding should also fade out at the edges, like the beveled lines. The tool should be rotated so that no discrete tool makes (the pointed oval shape)  can be seen. A lot of places are fine here, but the upper left has the tool marks visible.

You might find Stohlman's  book-- Leathercraft Tools: how to use them-- useful to understand what the tools are meant to do.-Is it still a free PDF download? 

I bet it was partly how I was holding the tool. I also think I brought the background too close to the figure. I had noticed the tool marks but was getting lazy having only the tiny oval background to work with. I was concerned about making that area look mushy if I did too much around it also.

That Stohlman book is still available for free. It's one of the few I haven't downloaded yet. I'll add it to my list.

Thanks for the advise. I will keep this in mind on the next projects.

Edited October 22, 2019 by arashikage

[DJole]

7 minutes ago, arashikage said:

I have the flat one attached to the knife. So it's pretty bulky at times. 

I bet it was partly how I was holding the tool. I also think I brought the background too close to the figure. I had noticed the tool marks but was getting lazy having only the tiny oval background to work with. I was concerned about making that area look mushy if I did too much around it also.

That Stohlman book is still available for free. It's one of the few I haven't downloaded yet. I'll add it to my list.

Thanks for the advise. I will keep this in mind on the next projects.

I actually hardly ever use the flat blade in my swivel knife! I find that for me, the angle blade works for me and the designs I do. I do have a flat blade-- I should mount it and practice with it, I suspect!

I know which tiny backgrounding tool you mean! I got a bigger one for the reason you listed, and to speed up the process of a big background area. 
That's way of tools, isn't it? Add another one, and another, and another, as you suddenly realize you need them. Of course, I find that I only use 5 or 6 tools for 90% of what I do. A couple ones (like the basketweave) I haven't used in years.

You should also get Leather Crafting by Tony Laier -- it explains the basics of how to use the beveller, backgrounder and other tools. Pretty clear instructions and good illustrations. 
It's a free download, too. (It's basically an updated version of a Stohlman manual from the 60s.)