Carving

S

Salolan

Joined
Feb 27, 2013
Messages
730
I know being this is a knife/sheath site we spend most of the time talking about functionality. I sat down this weekend and made my first ever attempt at carving and tooling. I know most of us dabble in stamping whether it be basketweaves, geometrics or even just borders but I was curious as to how many practice carving.

I know the oak leaves are likely cliche, but I dug out my daughter's 4-H Forestry project and drew myself some Pin Oak leaves for a pattern. This is my first time using a swivel knife.
msROSMu.jpg


...and here after I played with the beveler and veiner for a bit.
GeFOplC.jpg


I certainly have a long way to go but we have to start somewhere.
Thanks for looking,
Chris
 
that's very nice. I would now try different shading and "rounding" effects surrounding the carving to show yourself what is possible, as well as, problematic for you.

very nice though:thumbup:
 
I think it is a very nice start. it is certainly not easy to master these techniques immediately. I think that you will succeed, good job!:thumbup:
 
A very good start! The swivel knife is one of the more difficult tools to master, looks like you have the hands to get it down. :)

I love carving leather, its a quiet time that I dont get enough of in the day.
 
Nice work!

I want to try carving again but I detest my knife. It's a relic left over from a kit I bought several years ago. Total junk.

Look at some of those reusable patterns from Tandy. The first one I did I was very proud of. Carving is one of those things where most people can't tell if you did a great job unless they have something to compare it to. :)
 
Omega Leather Works said:
Nice work!

I want to try carving again but I detest my knife. It's a relic left over from a kit I bought several years ago. Total junk.

Look at some of those reusable patterns from Tandy. The first one I did I was very proud of. Carving is one of those things where most people can't tell if you did a great job unless they have something to compare it to. :)
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I use this one and love it:

http://www.tandyleatherfactory.com/en-usd/search/searchresults/8004-00.aspx

.....but with this blade:

http://www.tandyleatherfactory.com/en-usd/search/searchresults/8014-00.aspx
 
Thank you for the encouragement fellas. So many skills to hone, so few hours in the day. :(

I'm not really a "flowery" type of guy but it seems those types of patterns will likely yield the most practice. I've also thought about trying to replicate some of the patterns that are done on the how to videos on youtube. That way I do have a standard to which to grade myself.

Druid, I think I too would like your knife set up. I'll have to look into that ergo handled knife. Anyone here swear by the ceramic blades?

Chris
 
Only bad thing I've read about the ceramic and ruby blades are that they can break if dropped. Obviously the benefit is that they stay sharp. My question is, how much maintenance does a regular blade need?
 
Salolan said:
Thank you for the encouragement fellas. So many skills to hone, so few hours in the day. :(

I'm not really a "flowery" type of guy but it seems those types of patterns will likely yield the most practice. I've also thought about trying to replicate some of the patterns that are done on the how to videos on youtube. That way I do have a standard to which to grade myself.

Druid, I think I too would like your knife set up. I'll have to look into that ergo handled knife. Anyone here swear by the ceramic blades?

Chris
Click to expand...

welcome to my [and everyone here's] world bud...LOL.. work, wife, kids, crafts and the occasional defecation :foot:.....lol.

Not sure what you mean "flowery" but if you mean a "Sheridan" style....nope, that's huge in cowboy land. Oak leaves are great practice and look great for anyone in the "outdoorsey" type of hobby...

That knife is awesome. It's very limber in the fingers and the bearings are very smooth. A micro drop of oil once a month or so and it's never failed me. There are 3 steel blade styles...a 90* and two of the 45*. The 90* is a bit difficult for a novice to work with because it requires you to tilt the knife to an odd angle to achieve the cut. The 45* blade I linked you to is for 'fine' work and there's another that's less "pointy" for general work. The 45* blades are easier [IMO] to work with because you can keep the knife vertical - and is why I posted that style for you.


Omega Leather Works said:
Only bad thing I've read about the ceramic and ruby blades are that they can break if dropped. Obviously the benefit is that they stay sharp. My question is, how much maintenance does a regular blade need?
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Yes to both. Ceramic is "self sharpening" because as you use it, the blade 'sheds' minute layers of ceramic in the plane of the bevel. It almost guarantees that it's always sharp. But as you surmised, ceramic is brittle and will snap if dropped or smacked hard. For this reason alone, I never bought the ceramic blades [broke a Boker ceramic folder once and that did-in ceramic blades for me].

Sharpening the steel blades is really nothing. If you can sharpen an edge on an ax or machete, you can do this with ease. They don't really dull all that often for me - I've done...probably....60? 70? different pieces that were carved...some very large and most medium to quite a few small. I've only sharpened my blade twice. Use a fine stone [with oil/water] to sharpen the blade but KEEP THE ORIGINAL EDGE PROFILE - and make SURE you finish the blade up on a ceramic stone and strop. You want the bevels as polished as possible so they glide through the heaviest and most difficult leathers.
 
Chris I have used booth the ceramic and the ruby blades. They are mostly a swear at, not a swear by deal. Have 2 of the Barry King knives and 4 or 5 blades. Highly recommended. Just regular striaght blades no angled ones. I've messed with angled ones in the past and can't seem to get the preciceness of the varainace in a single cut that I need. Same deal with the ceramic, yeah it was sharp but it was not a fine, precise cut.

Sheridan style is what is "in" right now and has been for 15-20 years. Problaby not going away. There is a California style which is tighter more flowers not as much background. I have a video (cowboy deal not about leathercraft) where Jeremiah Watt explains the diference between the two styles and goes onto say thay he feels that the reason that the flower carving became popular is that it is so difficult to do well. An interesting thought by an acknowledged master saddlemaker, bit and spurmaker and silversmith. Quien Sabe?

Good carving is: practice, practice, practice and good observational skills. Get good tools. A petal lifter goes along ways in "popping' an oak leaf. Thicker leather is easier to carve than thinner leather, allows you to bring the depth out better. Design is probably the hardest part for most carvers. A good design is proportional and most of the time (not always but most) has a beginning and an end. Study good carving. The internet is a valuable source Look at lots of images. Pretty soon you'll be able to tell what is good from great carving and not so good. There is a lot of not so good out there to look at too.

Using those oak leaves like you did is cool. Years ago I had a custom saddle made. The saddle maker came up to the ranch that I had at the time and wandered around and pulled some oak leaves off a tree. Took them back and flattened them in a book. He then used these as the template for the oak leaf carving on the saddle. Came out pretty cool. He liked it so well he added it to the styles of carving he did and that you could order. He called it The Tehachapi Mountain Oak. My son has that saddle now. He uses it for starting colts and for when he rides as a pickup man at ranch rodeos.
 
Thank you fellas. I'll have to look into getting a better swivel knife. I also need to spend more time familiarizing myself with the styles now that I know what they are called.:o

I think the hardest part of this hole thing for me will be convincing myself to practice on perfectly good leather.:eek:

Chris
 
Oh yea, you hit the nail on the head. The worst part of that practice is the use of something you'd rather not waste. Necessary evil.

One thing I did for my cheaper swivel knives was to cut some sheep skin (fur on) and glue that in the saddle of the knife. Makes a ton of difference in the feel and response of the knife. Also a good quality oil in the pivot, I used a silicone based lubricant and it moves like silk. Grip tape or some other means of making the barrel thicker helps me, but that is personal choice not all encompassing. Some like thinner knives.

As above, again not all encompassing, I prefer the 1/4" blades, both angled and flat. On really small work like sheaths and belts it works so much better than those wide blades. But, the learning curve is much wider as the likelihood of a misstep is much easier with the smaller "filagree" blades. The wide blades are much more forgiving.
 
Dwayne, those are some excellent tips on modding the knife. The yolk on mine is pretty thin and uncomfortable. Barrel could be thicker too. The biggest problem with mine is that the thing falls apart at the pivot, the barrel and blade literally fall off the yolk portion when you lift the tool. :(
 
Horsewright said:
Chris I have used booth the ceramic and the ruby blades. They are mostly a swear at, not a swear by deal. Have 2 of the Barry King knives and 4 or 5 blades. Highly recommended. Just regular striaght blades no angled ones. I've messed with angled ones in the past and can't seem to get the preciceness of the varainace in a single cut that I need. Same deal with the ceramic, yeah it was sharp but it was not a fine, precise cut.

Sheridan style is what is "in" right now and has been for 15-20 years. Problaby not going away. There is a California style which is tighter more flowers not as much background. I have a video (cowboy deal not about leathercraft) where Jeremiah Watt explains the diference between the two styles and goes onto say thay he feels that the reason that the flower carving became popular is that it is so difficult to do well. An interesting thought by an acknowledged master saddlemaker, bit and spurmaker and silversmith. Quien Sabe?
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Interesting how carver's experiences vary! I learned to carve on an 3/8" angled blade. Now any straight blade never feels right to me. For the exact same reason you mentioned. Precision...

As for Sheridan versus California style... I was never good enough to carve either. Too tight of curves.. But of the two I like the backgrounding of Sheridan. Gives the work a little more opportunity for color contrasting.
 
I feel like I can't mention this often enough, thanks to all of you who let us learn more about this craft and for sharing your wealth of experience.
I have a long way to go, as I haven't even tried stamping let alone carving (except for some simple geometric lines).
Thus far however this forum has made the experience of stepping into the world of leather crafting a truly enjoyable one.
 
I had made a leather quiver a couple years ago. I decided for practice I would disassemble it and fancy it up a bit.
Before alterations..
bMH3Jgd.jpg


Here it is, 3 1/2 hours into it (2 hours just on the basket weave, yeah, I'm probably slow). Don't mind the holes and the sorry remnants of the old stitching, I have some creative cover ups to do. I still need to do the back grounding as well.
ESrRnzL.jpg


Should I dye it or leave it natural?

Any tips or critiques are welcome.
Chris

Edited to add that I tried stamping the border before the weve as Dave said he does. I think I like it.
 
Really cool work, hill style quiver? Personally I'd try some antique finish on it. Of course you could just treat it with your normal finish procedure and let time take it's course.
 
Salolan said:
I had made a leather quiver a couple years ago. I decided for practice I would disassemble it and fancy it up a bit.
Before alterations..

Here it is, 3 1/2 hours into it (2 hours just on the basket weave, yeah, I'm probably slow). Don't mind the holes and the sorry remnants of the old stitching, I have some creative cover ups to do. I still need to do the back grounding as well.

Should I dye it or leave it natural?

Any tips or critiques are welcome.
Chris

Edited to add that I tried stamping the border before the weve as Dave said he does. I think I like it.
Click to expand...

That's a very handsome piece dude. And don't beat yourself up on "I'm probably slow" because if I were a customer buying something, I'd rather wait and have it done well than have you rush it and have it look like poop. When doing this type of thing, "quality over quantity" needs to be a priority. Keep going the way you are, it looks great. Don't rush your work.

Dye vs natural: That's completely up to you or the customer. If it were me carving it for me, I'd probably dye it three different shades of brown.

1. Oak leaves are one color [slightly darker than the natural leather color]
2. border around the leaves a darker color...perhaps 2-3 shades darker than the leaves
3. basketweave the third color, very dark or antiqued.

...and leave the stitch border [where the quiver comes together] the natural color. On that section alone, I'd hit personally it with Dr. Jackson's hide rejuvenator so it stays supple for the stitching that keeps it together.

When completely dry, I'd waterproof the entire thing with beeswax [exterior only].........but note that the beeswax will darken all the leather, the dye and tooling marks...so whatever colors you use will appear darker still with the waxing. That's something you will have to learn to "envision" prior to doing it and it's by trial and error.

Melt pure beeswax [yellow OR white] and thinly brush it on. When the piece is completely "painted" hit it with a heat gun on LOW [or hair dryer on HIGH] so it absorbs into the leather. For this, go to walmart and buy a small crock pot. Put the wax in that and dedicate that crock pot to ONLY that. Same with the applicator brush and do NOT use those "foam applicators." Use a nice or decent camel hair paintbrush or sponge.

Best way to "envision" wax finished products is take all your smaller scraps and start carving, tooling and dying...and adding the beeswax to HALF the 'finished' test piece. On the flesh side, write down the colors and type of dye so you have a reference when planning projects. Pop a hole into the scraps and put a string through it so you have "swatches" to view. That lets you see what it looks like before and after waxing.

You can get yellow OR white beeswax on Amazon. I get 2 lbs for $35 at a clip and it lasts pretty long. Search "bulk beeswax"
 
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vilePossum said:
Really cool work, hill style quiver? Personally I'd try some antique finish on it. Of course you could just treat it with your normal finish procedure and let time take it's course.
Click to expand...

No, my intention is for it to be a hip quiver. I had thought about adding a small D-ring to the bottom though so I could add a strap to wear it over the shoulder or across the back if I ever wanted to.

Thank you much for the tips Druid. I am thinking I need to finish up the backgrounding and reassess the dye or not to dye question. I was really kicking myself about half way through the basketweave. You can't see it from the photo, but it has a diamond pattern in the center of the stamp and is my favorite one to use. I really should have used my larger stamp on this size of project. I guess I gave me more practice this way though along with annoying the wife all the more! :eek:

Chris
 
It's really cool, I like it a lot. Being able to make my own archery equipment was my second reason to try leather crafting, besides the sheaths.
 
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