Have you struggled with the core showing on your leather carving? Want to refine your beveling process? This video shows you how to add techniques to your carving arsenal.
As a self-taught beginner at leatherwork this is one of the most useful instruction videos I have seen for a while. I am already seeing an improvement on tooling projects. Thank you!
Awesome. One of the most confusing pieces of info out there is the old adage to cut 1/3 to half way through the leather with your knife. All this ever did for me was make my work look bad, so I stopped doing it. Glad it helped you!
Jeff Allen I am glad this helped. That 1/3 info generally applies to thicker leather for a different, possible out dated carving style. It’s great on floral or western styles, but for more modern styles, portraits or lettering, it causes more problems than it solves. Give this a try and I expect you’ll like the results!
This is extremely valuable for doing his style of tooling and embossing. Or if you are just doing floral style carving & using a simple clear finish or wax and where you may not desire a leather "core" to be visible. I would still swivel cut fairly deep if you are doing floral style carving and using an antique paste because then there will just be antique in all of your cuts and stamped impressions. My thought though is that if you're doing Western, Mexican, AKA traditional carving, avoid making your swivel knife cuts too shallow. Especially also...your decorative cuts should begin fairly deep and just fade out toward the end of your cuts. Stay Safe leather folks!
Thank you! You’re asking about how to carve? There are many videos on the website already! Learnleather.com is the place to go. If you have a specific request, let me know!
Wow this is so useful, I have struggled with this and thought the core looks horrible especially the outside edges of small flowers. I’m trying this today and feel lucky because of the small number of Bob Beard tools I have, B3 is one of them. Thank you so much
Wicked man. Might have just changed the game for me. I do lots of animal skulls and more tattoo/flash style carving. And I've noticed the depth of my cut is really throughing off the end result.
If you look at any kind of artwork, even things that are only line art, you won’t find heavy lines that distract from the subject matter. Same goes for leather. Most of the time, you shouldn’t see the lines. You should have to look for them. Not have them looking at you 😀
this video is so useful...the only video explaining this topic...as a beginner I tried cutting into leather but it looked awful...I always get deep cuts but not wide enough...thank you so much for this and for showing us your art
I LOVE THIS!!!!! As a beginner I didn't like the way my tooling looked even though I tried so hard to do it the way everybody told me to (cut half-way, etc.) I started experimenting on my own and found that if I approach leather tooling the same way I have other kinds of art I have done in the past it works well for me. As it turns out, it's pretty much identical to your 'cut less, bevel more' style. I can't tell you how happy I am to see this since everybody has been telling me I'm doing it wrong! I learned to just ignore everybody and do it my way. If people don't see me doing it, they like the finished result. (Too funny!). Thanks for posting this tutorial. I feel so much more legitimate now! :o)
Shirley Malar so much of what’s out there is geared toward thick leathers and saddles or floral tooling. I found this way more suitable to my style. Don’t be afraid to do your own thing!
@@learnleather4865 You are spot on with that comment. Most everybody around here uses heavy leather and does florals. I use mostly thin leather and do finely detailed animals.
Great video sir! Its interesting to see a new point of view regarding the depth of the initial knife cuts. I would like to know what is the name of tooled leather weight thingy you use, what is it called, how much does it weigh, and what all is it used for? Can a beginner make one and should they? Hope you have a great day and again thank you for the videos, please continue.....we need all the advise we can get, lol.
Hey, Bud. The leather weight thingy is a leather weight. :). It’s used to keep the piece from sliding around while tooling. This one is fancy, but you could easily make a pouch and fill it with BBs in any shape you want. I have some that are rectangles as well. If you want to tool one, use veg tan, otherwise, chrome tan or garment leather is fine.
What do u think is the VERY BEST HIGHEST QUALITY TOOLS 4 tooling leather??? Berry King or Robert Beard or Tools from Watts Duane ??? I‘m a Beginner in leathercraft & I don’t wonna buy all of them 3 times, so I need a little help please!!! What’s the BEST 4 beveled leather ??? Thx a lot Ps: 4 sure I want tast out the swivel knife from Watts this is the only one I know works Bit different than the original !!!
I’m a huge fan of both Bob and Barry, and I have a full tool rack of each. They are pro grade tools and you can’t go wrong with either of them. Only you can decide what’s best for you, and what your budget is. Barry is a bit less expensive so you’ll get more for your money, and still get amazing quality. Bob makes amazing tools that are worth both the money and the time waiting to get them, and his figure carving tools are my most used tools. Honestly, it’s difficult to choose between them. There is some overlap but they each have different focuses, so your style will matter most when choosing. As for swivel knives, that’s harder to choose since there are MANY great makers. I don’t care for blades that swivel. My preference is traditional knives and I have some by Bob, Barry, Leather Wranglers, Ed LaBarre, Tandy, Henley and more. There it’s mostly cosmetics and choosing a good blade. Again, your style will dictate the blade you like. I prefer the low angle blade by Peter Main.
Please excuse this OLD LEATHER SMITH, most of my carving is 3d, therefore I like 2 not cut.the leather, I use a stylist and a few different spoons, I have also learned that doing it this way it is easier 2 lift without showing the core. Excellent video. GOD'S BLESSINGS ✝️⚾🙃
Jim, no excuses necessary! Whatever works for you is great! The longer I do this, the less cuts I make, however depending on the leather and the desired effect, I think some are still necessary for my style of carving. I too do a lot of 3D stuff and all kinds of things go wrong when you start stretching leather! Thanks for the comment and keep on tooling!
Wish I would've found this video 4 years ago. I kept trying to figure out why, why the hell does this core show all the time. I tried cutting lighter (but still cutting fairly deep), deeper, tried different bevelers but all in all its always showing for me. I think I'm gonna have to try to just cut lightly and see if it works for me.
I’d love to hear your feedback after you try it! Please share this video so maybe someone else can benefit as well. Also, the low angle blade makes this technique nearly effortless.
@@learnleather4865 I just tested this method out, and again I stand by my statement. I wish I'd have found this video 4 years ago. It is a way cleaner bevel line, and the lifter has a much nicer finish to it to. The only thing I notice is getting the same depth isn't quite as easy, but the burnishing and contrast caused by it makes it hard to tell until you get up close and look. Then you also notice, like you stated, the core. It is much more prevalent on the deeper cut. I need to practice this lighter cutting since I'm so used to the ⅓-½ depth (almost always ½ for me) I also noticed, my hand is a lot more comfortable and doesn't cramp as easily with the lighter cut. Glad to have come across this, because it's been one annoying journey seeing the core show up unexpectedly
That’s a great description of your experience. I found that to get the depth I want with shallow cuts I needed to switch to steeper bevelers and then go back over them with shallow ones to smooth it out.
@@learnleather4865 nice. I'll give that a go. I've been using the steep bevel for the last few projects I've done. I would typically use a standard angle if I was just doing something like a standard belt, but my last couple orders have been really intricate. Especially the one I'm currently working on. I need to learn to say no, so I don't have to work so hard on it hahaha
Cliff, I vary the depth of my cuts constantly, depending on what effect I want, but I try to never undercut. If you mean so I can lift with a petal lifter, I do cut a bit deeper.
Been working with leather a while but just recently began to work with veg tan before now I only worked with chrome tan and had no knowledge about veg. All of what iv been told or learned about how leather is composed has been that theres a top grain that is the most durable part and fron there on into the leather begins to get less and less durable. My question is......What portion of leather is the core? In all my learning I have never heard the term "core" and I cant wrap my head around it. So you case the leather it dries to the point where it's ready to tool. You speaking of the spot where the remaining water and oils are most present at this time in the middle? When you talk it seems to hint at the core as being a vital portion of the leather while to me it would seem that after cutting through the top grain you have already cut through the most protective portion.
Greetings! I’m not a leather composition expert. I’ve read a lot about it and there are technical names for each layer according to all the major tanneries and many books. For our purposes, the core is any of the sub-layers between the grain and flesh sides of the leather. All of my most trusted and knowledgeable mentors call it the core, therefore I do too, even though it may not be a technical term. Regardless of what we want to call it, it looks bad when it shows through on fine leather carving, and this video is just my method of reducing the “core” from showing. Hope this helps!
You say A low angle blade, what is the degree of angle. If I remember correctly a standard blade has a 30* angle. Again do you know what the actual angle is?
Geo148 I do not know the actual angles used in the design of this blade, only that the cutting edge and the approach angle of the blade are very shallow. You can get them from Peter Main.
@@learnleather4865 This is still confusing terminology. Are you using a thin blade with narrow V or the converse? Barry King blades vary in cutting width 1/4, 3/8th or 1/2 inch and are listed as Thin or Thick. Which one would suit your technique? www.barrykingtools.com/swivelknives.htm
allanpennington I’m not using any of those blades. The blade I am using is literally called the “low angle blade.” It was designed and is sold by Peter Main exclusively. It is significantly different from the blades you mentioned in every dimension. Contact him directly to purchase one. If you have any trouble contacting him, send me an email to: mike@learnleather.com
Show what the blade looks like not just the name of the person who sells the tool that is the same as saying snap on sells the tool. Example What kind of car you drive a blue one.
It never occurred to me to to do that because there is only one Peter Main Low Angle blade. It is unique in the leather work world so I didn’t think anyone would have trouble finding it.
the core usually never ends up being seen on a finished piece though. that "core" will always be hidden by stain/dye or antique. even if you dont use any of those, the core will still be hidden by whatever clear top coat finish you use. you go up to ANY piece done by a master leatherworker and you will NEVER see the "core" of the leather, even though they use the swivel knife and bevel. its all about experience. as you get better in leathercraft, your work gets better and you will never see that "core" anymore.
I don’t disagree with you on any particular point, except to say that certain styles of carving require shallower cuts to make the finished piece look proper. For example, figure carving, especially faces. Deep cuts are not your friend in this instance. Regardless, this isn’t aimed at the masters as they already know, but the rest of us who may struggle on occasion with this issue. As I say time and again, whatever works you you. This is just another tool in the box :) Thanks for your perspective!
As a self-taught beginner at leatherwork this is one of the most useful instruction videos I have seen for a while. I am already seeing an improvement on tooling projects. Thank you!
Awesome. One of the most confusing pieces of info out there is the old adage to cut 1/3 to half way through the leather with your knife. All this ever did for me was make my work look bad, so I stopped doing it. Glad it helped you!
Jeff Allen I am glad this helped. That 1/3 info generally applies to thicker leather for a different, possible out dated carving style. It’s great on floral or western styles, but for more modern styles, portraits or lettering, it causes more problems than it solves. Give this a try and I expect you’ll like the results!
Excellent demonstration! Thank you, Mike!
Thanks so much, so informative, I appreciate all you do for us.
This is extremely valuable for doing his style of tooling and embossing.
Or if you are just doing floral style carving & using a simple clear finish or wax and where you may not desire a leather "core" to be visible.
I would still swivel cut fairly deep if you are doing floral style carving and using an antique paste because then there will just be antique in all of your cuts and stamped impressions.
My thought though is that if you're doing Western, Mexican, AKA traditional carving, avoid making your swivel knife cuts too shallow.
Especially also...your decorative cuts should begin fairly deep and just fade out toward the end of your cuts.
Stay Safe leather folks!
Very helpful video! Can't wait to try it out on my next project.
Thanks for information and demonstrations
Beautiful work !
Man, this is great. Thank you so much!
Glad you like it! Thanks for the comment!
Thank you both for your positive comments!
This was great info thanks...I’ll be doing my first ever leather tooling on a seat on one of my custom choppers this video will help me out a lot
Excellent! I’m glad it’s helped you!
Your art is amazing and thank you for the video!
Thank you for the compliment and I hope it helps you!
This is very informative. Thank you.
Thank you for watching.
Wow such beautiful works of art. Anyway of making a video on a how to do one of your carvings.
Thank you
David
Thank you! You’re asking about how to carve? There are many videos on the website already! Learnleather.com is the place to go. If you have a specific request, let me know!
Cleaver, and helpful. Thanks.
Just started my leather journey but thanx for that hovering tip
Welcome to the addiction! I hope this helps you avoid many of the problems I had at the start.
Amazing thank you for the tutorial. I agree the core of the cut showing through is horrible. Learned something new today.
Glad it helped, Ben! I struggled with this until someone pointed out how unsightly it was. Now I can’t unsee it!
Good show thank You.
Wow this is so useful, I have struggled with this and thought the core looks horrible especially the outside edges of small flowers. I’m trying this today and feel lucky because of the small number of Bob Beard tools I have, B3 is one of them. Thank you so much
Thank you Nancy. Let me know how the technique works for you!
Wauw tats a incrível lesson, I'm a beginner and learned a late, thanks for sharing your technique 😀
Greetings from Brazil 👍
I am glad you found it helpful!
Wow, Great wealth of knowledge. Thank you for sharing.
Glad to be of help!
My pleasure, Michael!
thank you great tutorial
heyman, my pleasure. Glad you found it helpful.
Wicked man. Might have just changed the game for me. I do lots of animal skulls and more tattoo/flash style carving. And I've noticed the depth of my cut is really throughing off the end result.
If you look at any kind of artwork, even things that are only line art, you won’t find heavy lines that distract from the subject matter. Same goes for leather. Most of the time, you shouldn’t see the lines. You should have to look for them. Not have them looking at you 😀
this video is so useful...the only video explaining this topic...as a beginner I tried cutting into leather but it looked awful...I always get deep cuts but not wide enough...thank you so much for this and for showing us your art
Thank you for your comment! I had the same problems when I was a beginner and once I figured it out I thought I should share it with everyone.
I LOVE THIS!!!!! As a beginner I didn't like the way my tooling looked even though I tried so hard to do it the way everybody told me to (cut half-way, etc.) I started experimenting on my own and found that if I approach leather tooling the same way I have other kinds of art I have done in the past it works well for me. As it turns out, it's pretty much identical to your 'cut less, bevel more' style. I can't tell you how happy I am to see this since everybody has been telling me I'm doing it wrong! I learned to just ignore everybody and do it my way. If people don't see me doing it, they like the finished result. (Too funny!). Thanks for posting this tutorial. I feel so much more legitimate now! :o)
Shirley Malar so much of what’s out there is geared toward thick leathers and saddles or floral tooling. I found this way more suitable to my style. Don’t be afraid to do your own thing!
@@learnleather4865 You are spot on with that comment. Most everybody around here uses heavy leather and does florals. I use mostly thin leather and do finely detailed animals.
most excellent ....thanks...NS
You’re quite welcome!
Great video - Josh from FB
Thanks, Josh.
I'm a year too late. Would have loved to see this, before starting leather work. I'll use the advice given regardless.
It’s never too late! If it helps you in any way, then it’s a win!
Very informative video
Thank you.
Язык рук понятен. Спасибо, подписался.
Great video sir! Its interesting to see a new point of view regarding the depth of the initial knife cuts. I would like to know what is the name of tooled leather weight thingy you use, what is it called, how much does it weigh, and what all is it used for? Can a beginner make one and should they? Hope you have a great day and again thank you for the videos, please continue.....we need all the advise we can get, lol.
Hey, Bud. The leather weight thingy is a leather weight. :). It’s used to keep the piece from sliding around while tooling. This one is fancy, but you could easily make a pouch and fill it with BBs in any shape you want. I have some that are rectangles as well. If you want to tool one, use veg tan, otherwise, chrome tan or garment leather is fine.
I have a small rectangle lead bb one. It works great. It does tend to dry the leather if I leave it in the same spot too long
Will you show how you made the round leather wrist rest you use???? PLEASE.... I need this.
Troy, that isn’t something I can do here. I will be teaching a class on it at some point. Alternatively, I’d be happy to make you one if you like.
What is the name of that Bevel tool that you use to do a quick bevel. Great video by the way. Thanks
Madcat100 the tool is a steep figure beveler by Bob Beard. B3 is the number.
If you are doing accent lines, would there be any reason to not cut at all? Say just use your “swivel bevel” technique from a awl trace line?
Jerry, for small or very detailed things, sometimes I do exactly that. Cuts are not always necessary, and sometimes not at all.
Where can the wide blade you mentioned be purchased
Direct from Peter Main. Message him on FB and he will get you squared away.
What do u think is the VERY BEST HIGHEST QUALITY TOOLS 4 tooling leather??? Berry King or Robert Beard or Tools from Watts Duane ???
I‘m a Beginner in leathercraft & I don’t wonna buy all of them 3 times, so I need a little help please!!! What’s the BEST 4 beveled leather ??? Thx a lot
Ps: 4 sure I want tast out the swivel knife from Watts this is the only one I know works Bit different than the original !!!
I’m a huge fan of both Bob and Barry, and I have a full tool rack of each. They are pro grade tools and you can’t go wrong with either of them. Only you can decide what’s best for you, and what your budget is.
Barry is a bit less expensive so you’ll get more for your money, and still get amazing quality.
Bob makes amazing tools that are worth both the money and the time waiting to get them, and his figure carving tools are my most used tools.
Honestly, it’s difficult to choose between them. There is some overlap but they each have different focuses, so your style will matter most when choosing.
As for swivel knives, that’s harder to choose since there are MANY great makers. I don’t care for blades that swivel. My preference is traditional knives and I have some by Bob, Barry, Leather Wranglers, Ed LaBarre, Tandy, Henley and more. There it’s mostly cosmetics and choosing a good blade. Again, your style will dictate the blade you like. I prefer the low angle blade by Peter Main.
Please excuse this OLD LEATHER SMITH, most of my carving is 3d, therefore I like 2 not cut.the leather, I use a stylist and a few different spoons, I have also learned that doing it this way it is easier 2 lift without showing the core. Excellent video. GOD'S BLESSINGS ✝️⚾🙃
Jim, no excuses necessary! Whatever works for you is great! The longer I do this, the less cuts I make, however depending on the leather and the desired effect, I think some are still necessary for my style of carving. I too do a lot of 3D stuff and all kinds of things go wrong when you start stretching leather! Thanks for the comment and keep on tooling!
Wish I would've found this video 4 years ago. I kept trying to figure out why, why the hell does this core show all the time. I tried cutting lighter (but still cutting fairly deep), deeper, tried different bevelers but all in all its always showing for me. I think I'm gonna have to try to just cut lightly and see if it works for me.
I’d love to hear your feedback after you try it! Please share this video so maybe someone else can benefit as well. Also, the low angle blade makes this technique nearly effortless.
@@learnleather4865 I just tested this method out, and again I stand by my statement. I wish I'd have found this video 4 years ago. It is a way cleaner bevel line, and the lifter has a much nicer finish to it to. The only thing I notice is getting the same depth isn't quite as easy, but the burnishing and contrast caused by it makes it hard to tell until you get up close and look. Then you also notice, like you stated, the core. It is much more prevalent on the deeper cut. I need to practice this lighter cutting since I'm so used to the ⅓-½ depth (almost always ½ for me) I also noticed, my hand is a lot more comfortable and doesn't cramp as easily with the lighter cut. Glad to have come across this, because it's been one annoying journey seeing the core show up unexpectedly
That’s a great description of your experience. I found that to get the depth I want with shallow cuts I needed to switch to steeper bevelers and then go back over them with shallow ones to smooth it out.
@@learnleather4865 nice. I'll give that a go. I've been using the steep bevel for the last few projects I've done. I would typically use a standard angle if I was just doing something like a standard belt, but my last couple orders have been really intricate. Especially the one I'm currently working on. I need to learn to say no, so I don't have to work so hard on it hahaha
What is the quietest hammer?
Sorry I missed this. Rawhide is very quiet, but for plastic, Leather Wranglers and Ed LaBarre are both very quiet.
How deep do you cut when doing undercuts
Cliff, I vary the depth of my cuts constantly, depending on what effect I want, but I try to never undercut. If you mean so I can lift with a petal lifter, I do cut a bit deeper.
What is the tool you use for the swivel beveling? The first one thats all black.
kewtkitty this is a B3 beveler made by Bob Beard. One of my most useful tools.
Been working with leather a while but just recently began to work with veg tan before now I only worked with chrome tan and had no knowledge about veg. All of what iv been told or learned about how leather is composed has been that theres a top grain that is the most durable part and fron there on into the leather begins to get less and less durable. My question is......What portion of leather is the core? In all my learning I have never heard the term "core" and I cant wrap my head around it. So you case the leather it dries to the point where it's ready to tool. You speaking of the spot where the remaining water and oils are most present at this time in the middle? When you talk it seems to hint at the core as being a vital portion of the leather while to me it would seem that after cutting through the top grain you have already cut through the most protective portion.
Greetings! I’m not a leather composition expert. I’ve read a lot about it and there are technical names for each layer according to all the major tanneries and many books.
For our purposes, the core is any of the sub-layers between the grain and flesh sides of the leather.
All of my most trusted and knowledgeable mentors call it the core, therefore I do too, even though it may not be a technical term.
Regardless of what we want to call it, it looks bad when it shows through on fine leather carving, and this video is just my method of reducing the “core” from showing.
Hope this helps!
I need a wrist rest like that lord
I can make you one if you like. Message me for details.
What make is the modeling spoon you are using? (wooden handle) please
Matt, this is made by Peter Main.
Can’t seem to find the Peter main blade. Can you recommend an online site? Thanks!
Kathy, there is no online site for those blades. You’ll have to contact Peter directly on Facebook where he will be happy to help you.
Thank you so much! Learned a lot from your video!
Glad to hear that Kathy!
What are the steps of carving portrait?
reham abuleila please look at the website eshop www.learnleather.com for several classes on this topic
Where are Peter Main tools found? Is he still producing?
You can get them from Peter directly. Contact him via FB
If I was to re grind a blade to match the one you are using what angle would you suggest? Thanks in advance.
No idea on what the angles are, I am just happy that someone makes one already ready!
Would you please be willing to take a pic?
@@ellis.j.weasel157 Regrettably no. My friend Peter Main makes them and I am not willing to undermine his source of income. I hope you understand.
@@learnleather4865 mate! Of course. I should have thought. How do I find him?
@@ellis.j.weasel157 Find him on FB and message privately!
You say A low angle blade, what is the degree of angle. If I remember correctly a standard blade has a 30* angle. Again do you know what the actual angle is?
Geo148 I do not know the actual angles used in the design of this blade, only that the cutting edge and the approach angle of the blade are very shallow. You can get them from Peter Main.
I also struggle with the core showing. I'll try this technique and let you know. Thanks for the tip!
@@learnleather4865 This is still confusing terminology. Are you using a thin blade with narrow V or the converse? Barry King blades vary in cutting width 1/4, 3/8th or 1/2 inch and are listed as Thin or Thick. Which one would suit your technique? www.barrykingtools.com/swivelknives.htm
allanpennington I’m not using any of those blades. The blade I am using is literally called the “low angle blade.” It was designed and is sold by Peter Main exclusively. It is significantly different from the blades you mentioned in every dimension.
Contact him directly to purchase one. If you have any trouble contacting him, send me an email to: mike@learnleather.com
Show what the blade looks like not just the name of the person who sells the tool that is the same as saying snap on sells the tool. Example What kind of car you drive a blue one.
It never occurred to me to to do that because there is only one Peter Main Low Angle blade. It is unique in the leather work world so I didn’t think anyone would have trouble finding it.
the core usually never ends up being seen on a finished piece though. that "core" will always be hidden by stain/dye or antique. even if you dont use any of those, the core will still be hidden by whatever clear top coat finish you use. you go up to ANY piece done by a master leatherworker and you will NEVER see the "core" of the leather, even though they use the swivel knife and bevel. its all about experience. as you get better in leathercraft, your work gets better and you will never see that "core" anymore.
I don’t disagree with you on any particular point, except to say that certain styles of carving require shallower cuts to make the finished piece look proper.
For example, figure carving, especially faces. Deep cuts are not your friend in this instance.
Regardless, this isn’t aimed at the masters as they already know, but the rest of us who may struggle on occasion with this issue.
As I say time and again, whatever works you you. This is just another tool in the box :)
Thanks for your perspective!
1:04 GOALS
polymathecian you can do it!