Beginner Leather Tools Only - Tooling a Floral Pattern

I attempted to tool a floral pattern with nothing but the swivel knife and stamps that came in my beginner leathercraft kit. I purchased the kit over two years ago when I first started working with leather. I was surprised that the ending result came out as good as it did! These are the tools that I built a foundation on and have upgraded from over time. My style has developed more around my current tools, so it was somewhat challenging to go back to this older set. With that being said, it is not necessary to have the most expensive, upper level tools in order to produce high quality work. Better tools are a luxury and can make the overall task easier, but it is important to have the skills to make anything work. When I first started leathercraft it was very tempting to spend all my money on the newest shiny tools and equipment; however, I believe that learning how to work with the basics first ended up helping me know which tools I needed to upgrade to and made me appreciate them much more. Let me know what you think in the comments and please make sure to subscribe to my channel if you want to see more content like this!
Tandy Leathercraft Kits
tandyleather.com/collections/...
Springfield Leather Company Starter Leathercraft Kits
www.springfieldleather.com/sh...
My Website
girtyleatherco.com/
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[@tahiaali_handmadecrochet2728]

Many thanks

[@jameskleist9176]

Thank you for making the video. I had an opportunity to have started about 50 years ago and today I would be teaching you but life changes and my craft changed to making garments instead. So now you are teaching me the leather tooling art.

[@Lee-fp2ri]

Tape gets so expensive when backing your leather, plus it can be a pain to remove after tooling. Switch to "shelf liner" found in kitchen department at dollar tree. Comes in larger rolls, peels off beautifully after tooling. Give it a try and it will change your leathercraft!!! Been working with leather for 16 years and this is one of the greatest tips I've learned.

[@Girtyleatherco]

That’s interesting, I haven’t heard about that yet but I may have to give it a try soon! Thank you for the info

[@stevencampbell13]

Never thought about that
My wall is line with blue tape
Thanks for the info

[@bugelux]

Hi, I'm a beginner in leather craft - what is the reason for backing the leather please? to turn/slide it around easier during tooling?

[@Lee-fp2ri]

@@bugelux Leather has "plasticity" and when it is wet it can be "molded" or stretched to different degrees. So when a craftsmans tools on wet leather, usually there is a specific size the piece has been cut too. To prevent stretching beyond this set size, the back, flesh side, or nappy side of the leather is bound with some sort of material. There are many ways to accomplish this and most of it is personal preference. You can rubber cement the back of your piece to cardboard and tool it. You can tape the back with painters tape or some use packaging tape. And you can also use shelf liner. If you are considering getting into the craft. Look into the Leather Crafters and Saddlers Journal. It is a great source of information for crafters of every experience level.

[@NicholasReguin]

Man the swivel knife at the end made such a huge difference!

[@Girtyleatherco]

Decorative cuts definitely add a lot of extra detail and flow in the end!

[@harrycombs2724]

Proof you can make pretty floral leather designs for not so much money invested. Great Video!

[@nicoletillilie2131]

Thank you!

[@stephenhoelscher]

Love this

[@dannymarkgraf34]

great video.

[@darrenjattan4277]

GREAT TEACHING BRO 👍👏👏👏👏👏 GREAT TEACHING. TROPHY FOR YOU ⭐🏆. AND WHAT I LIKE ABOUT YOU EXPLAIN EVERY SINGLE TOOLS WHAT IT FOR. THANKS

[@patrickbrown551]

Thanks I learned something

[@kcg3927]

Both are very nice work.
👍🏽👍🏽

[@Girtyleatherco]

Thank you!

[@sloth_e]

Ok. Im convinced now. Ive been making with leather for a couple of years but carving never really appealed to me. Its not a big thing here in Australia. For some reason in the last month or so all ive been drawn to is carving vids on yt and insta. I think it started when people started wanting celtic and viking designs on a belt? Ive got a couple of basic stamps like that but Ive never even done basket stamps even. But these stamps looked pretty cool and sparked a deeper interest in this other side of leather craft. A new challenge to take on with leather.
I just ordered some basic basket stamps and saw a beginner carving kit where i buy my supplies. I think ill order that kit too and see how i go. Thanks for tipping the scales for me 🤙

[@Girtyleatherco]

That’s awesome! I’m glad to have helped out some. Tooling definitely takes quite a bit of time to start figuring out, but it can get addicting (or annoying) very quick! It seems like people either love the process or hate it. Feel free to reach out with any questions anytime!

[@VE_leather_co]

Turned out good for a beginners set man.

[@Girtyleatherco]

I appreciate that man!

[@jhammond2237]

❤❤❤❤❤

[@NMiller_]

They look great! I almost always see tooling used for floral patterns. Can you show other styles?

[@Girtyleatherco]

Definitely! I will try to incorporate different designs in future videos

[@wayneminor5559]

Just watching and learning. Thank you for your videos. So does the swivel knife part the leather as it cuts to form a channel? It doesn't appear to remove material. Thanks again.

[@Girtyleatherco]

Yes that is correct! No material is removed when using a swivel knife. That’s a good question

[@doproductions2869]

Look great. Can you share what brand leather your using. Much appreciated

[@Girtyleatherco]

I appreciate it, all of the vegetable tanned leather I use to tool on will be Hermann Oak. It is what I personally prefer

[@stevencampbell13]

Lol
Barry King will BREAK YOU !!!
If I could I’d buy a tool a week
Lol

[@peteshour768]

Thank you for giving the tool numbers.

[@Girtyleatherco]

No problem! Thank you for watching

[@anibal_cuero_de_arte]

Compré en Etsy tu patron de 4 belts , pero cómo haces el pétalo grande ,la 🌿 grande de uno de ellos por favor haz un video de ese cinturón 👍👍👍👍🤠

[@Girtyleatherco]

I’m sorry but I don’t know what you are referring to. I don’t sell anything on Etsy. At this point in time the only patterns I offer are a set of 3 belt patterns on my website.

[@nealmclain6316]

Great video. How does one learn to draw the patterns

[@Girtyleatherco]

There are a few other makers on UA-cam that have videos and courses available. Books, classes, and a lot of practice!

[@mawyw33]

Do you have a limk to the pattern? Thanks. Great video (:

[@Girtyleatherco]

Sorry, but no, I drew the pattern by hand directly onto the leather before making the video. I might do a build along video in the future and make the pattern available for that project

[@sandjleather]

Great videos! I see a few Arkansas stickers. You in Arkansas?

[@Girtyleatherco]

I’m in Oklahoma but right on the border!