1st Leather Carving Attempt

[Nic.]

I've done quite a bit of tooling, but never carving and figured I'd try to learn how to do it! I played around with a few different things before this, but this was my first completed carving. I wanted to make a valet tray type thing, but thought it would be interesting to do something a little different and make a round one- and figured a pie pan would make a good circular mold. I know I still have a lot to learn (obviously) but I was hoping to get advice on ways to improve. Im still learning how to properly bevel and background (this project has taught me that I need to buy smaller bevelers. After I did the carving and molding it to the shape of the pie pan, it wouldnt dry (its been in the 40's and raining here) so in all my wisdom I figured I'd put it in the oven on low and dry it out. That worked really well.... until I forgot about it. Now its a little, er, cooked and I have some work to do to straighten it out as well as some finish work. I'd appreciate any advice on how to improve!

 

[Kalibr906]

It looks really nice and makes me want to try my hand at some leathery type stuff.

 

[Nic.]

It looks really nice and makes me want to try my hand at some leathery type stuff.

Thank you!

 

[Horsewright]

Nic that baking can be tough. I do two hours on sheaths and holsters at 175 degrees One hour right side up, flip, half hour face down and then flip and do another half hour face up. But thats after everything is done. Probably your best bet would of been wrap your leather in a wool blanket and come back the next day.I have forgotten in the past and made jerky out of some sheaths. Left em in over night. Ya wanna hear some bad words before coffee, wipe out a batch of 20 or so sheaths by making jerky out of em. Only advice I can offer is set an alarm. Actually how about getting some ProCarv? Add it to your water and you will be able to tool and to mold with out having to get your leather so wet. I've really become a big believer in this product. I use to use a lot of antique and I've really grown away from it over the years. I've just found it too contrasty and waxy. Try mixing about 1 to 10 ratio of Highlighter to BagKote (that ratio can be adjusted but I like a lightish brown wash). Do your project with a coat of BagKote first with an old t shirt stretched tight over two fingers as the applicator. The idea is to just hit the high areas you don't want the BagKote down in your tooling. After its dry use a foamy brush to wash your mixture over the carving area. Do only a very small area and wipe with a paper towel immediately. Then do another small area etc. Resist the temptation to do a larger area. Small wipe, small wipe, small wipe is the secret. Ya'll find that this wash really does highlight your tooling without hiding some of it as the antique can. Small bevellers are key for small areas and inside curves but I like larger ones for straight lines and outside curves. Practice and then practice some more. Study good tooling too. Nichole found that very helpful when she was learning. Think about what makes good tooling good tooling and then how can I incorporate that into my work. Both of these holsters had that wash applied as described. See how it accents the tooling without overwhelming it.

You're doing good keep er up!!

 

[Nic.]

Always such a wealth of information from you Dave! Yep, illbe sure to set the timer next time. Lesson learned. I've never even heard of pro carve- I'll have to look into it! And that dying technique sounds really neat, I'll have to give it a try. I do something similar with my basketweave tooled stuff- but typically have a much darker reddish tone. Very neat, thank you!