Kevin, I've watched a few of your videos. And I must say, they are much more informative then some others I have seen . thanks for sharing. Hope you and your family enjoy the Holidays together.
Thanks, Kevin, In all the years I have been doing carving with leather, I don't remember anyone ever explaining the "V" explanation for doing decorative cuts. It's amazing what we can learn from others. Thank You!
Lots of good information. It's been years since I've carved and starting to get back into it. These videos are a great refresher course as well as techniques that I hadn't tried in the past. Keep'em coming. Thank you.
Thanks, great video. I have the "skipping" on my leather, it's probably combination of badly sharpened knife, not enough water and wrong leather. Lots to learn :)
Kevin thank you very much - this video is just on time for me. I have a question: during cutting the wet leather becomes wider a little bit and it causes a problem with measures and when joining the detailes. How to avoid it?
+Kevin Hopkins I tried bit after removing tape it leaves sticky track and this force me to use the cover material or another layer of thin leather to cover this ugliness... may be there is another way?..
Yeah, that does happen. Finishing the back with a product called Gum Tragacanth will slick down the nap of the leather and take care of the sticky left over from the tape.
another good video kevin thank you for sharing your time and knowledge ive been practising on thick black leather have you got any suggestions for me please should i keep it wet from underneath sorry im a newby and hate to ask many thanks mate
I'm glad you found our video helpful! Thanks for watching. :) We would recommend tooling on natural vegetable tanned leather instead of thick black leather--you'll get the best results on natural veg tan! You'll need to wet the leather from the top rather than underneath. You may want to try smaller veg tan pieces to practice on, like these: springfieldleather.com/Pieces-Tooling-2-lbs-Bag Thanks for your question!
Kevin, I make arm guards for Archery. I use a wood burning hand tool and the ones I have done I used a water base Poly. to seal and so far it has worked but the leather is stiff. Is there a better product I can use to seal my arm guards. I also want to try leather carving and stamping. I would appreciate any help thank you. Alan
Hello Alan! The best option depends on the balance of abrasion resistance and the flexibility. The stiffness is certainly a result of the finish you're using, though that stiffness is what's protecting your work. There are water-based poly finishers that will give you more flexibility but will not resist abrasion as well as a water-based poly with a harder finish - so keep in mind that there's a trade off there. You can experiment with different water-based polys or give acrylic resolene a go. They are flexible while providing protection and *should* be softer than the poly you're using. Outside of that, Master's Quick Shine could be an option for sealing but it won't do much in the way of protecting your work. Everything here will apply to tooled work as well!
Okay is the white jeweler's rouge better to use than the red? The red is what I have right now, but it doesn't seem to be getting my decorative cuts to look too decorative.
+shym0nk3y the red is just a little finer grit then the white but it will work just as well. You may need to check the moisture content of you leather if your cuts aren't coming out well.
Thanks, great video. I have the "skipping" on my leather, it's probably combination of badly sharpened knife, not enough water and wrong leather. Lots to learn :)
Thanks for watching! Glad you found it helpful. Yes, you'll be a leather student for life...there's always more to learn! That's the fun part, I think. Happy leather crafting! :)
Kevin,
I've watched a few of your videos. And I must say, they are much more informative then some others I have seen . thanks for sharing. Hope you and your family enjoy the Holidays together.
Thanks for the feedback, Theron! We're glad that you found our videos helpful.
Thanks, Kevin, In all the years I have been doing carving with leather, I don't remember anyone ever explaining the "V" explanation for doing decorative cuts. It's amazing what we can learn from others. Thank You!
Lots of good information. It's been years since I've carved and starting to get back into it. These videos are a great refresher course as well as techniques that I hadn't tried in the past. Keep'em coming. Thank you.
We have a stamping video coming out tomorrow as well. Thanks for checking this out!
Thank you. very informative. Very much enjoy your way of teaching
Excellent, many thanks!
Thank you from Australia Victoria
Good stuff for my knife sheaths, thanks!
Awesome Advice!! Thank you.
Thank you so much, great tutorial . I am working in 1/6th scale so I need a really small knife. About to search the internet to find one!
Thanks for watching! :)
Thanks, great video. I have the "skipping" on my leather, it's probably combination of badly sharpened knife, not enough water and wrong leather. Lots to learn :)
sometimes the principles are the best tips you can get...good stuff even three years later...
Thx so lot Jedi-Master 4 all the Tricks! Leathercraft4Live
Kevin thank you very much - this video is just on time for me. I have a question: during cutting the wet leather becomes wider a little bit and it causes a problem with measures and when joining the detailes. How to avoid it?
+Selmira1404 Tape the back of your leather with masking tape or packaging tape before you start and this will prevent most of the stretching.
+Kevin Hopkins I tried bit after removing tape it leaves sticky track and this force me to use the cover material or another layer of thin leather to cover this ugliness... may be there is another way?..
Yeah, that does happen. Finishing the back with a product called Gum Tragacanth will slick down the nap of the leather and take care of the sticky left over from the tape.
Thank you so much.
Nice lines - definitely flow. Now I want to get a swivel knife and some tan oak(?) leather and try not to cut off my fingers.
another good video kevin
thank you for sharing your time and knowledge
ive been practising on thick black leather
have you got any suggestions for me please
should i keep it wet from underneath
sorry im a newby and hate to ask
many thanks mate
I'm glad you found our video helpful! Thanks for watching. :)
We would recommend tooling on natural vegetable tanned leather instead of thick black leather--you'll get the best results on natural veg tan! You'll need to wet the leather from the top rather than underneath.
You may want to try smaller veg tan pieces to practice on, like these: springfieldleather.com/Pieces-Tooling-2-lbs-Bag
Thanks for your question!
WoW 😲 WTF? That’s a leather-shop I wonna be there !!!
thanks for that.cool video
Good job
Kevin, I make arm guards for Archery. I use a wood burning hand tool and the ones I have done I used a water base Poly. to seal and so far it has worked but the leather is stiff. Is there a better product I can use to seal my arm guards. I also want to try leather carving and stamping. I would appreciate any help thank you. Alan
Hello Alan! The best option depends on the balance of abrasion resistance and the flexibility. The stiffness is certainly a result of the finish you're using, though that stiffness is what's protecting your work. There are water-based poly finishers that will give you more flexibility but will not resist abrasion as well as a water-based poly with a harder finish - so keep in mind that there's a trade off there. You can experiment with different water-based polys or give acrylic resolene a go. They are flexible while providing protection and *should* be softer than the poly you're using. Outside of that, Master's Quick Shine could be an option for sealing but it won't do much in the way of protecting your work. Everything here will apply to tooled work as well!
Carefully aged and stretched Biltong yields a pleasantly scented material that a knife will go through like butter prior to further curing.
Okay is the white jeweler's rouge better to use than the red? The red is what I have right now, but it doesn't seem to be getting my decorative cuts to look too decorative.
+shym0nk3y the red is just a little finer grit then the white but it will work just as well. You may need to check the moisture content of you leather if your cuts aren't coming out well.
Your brilliant!
+Lisa Scott's Fitness his brilliant? what brilliant?
Hello what size is your swivel knife barel
Awesoooomee👌👌
Would you wet the leather again after it starts to dry?
Keith Wilsenach Yes. While tooling if the leather starts to feel like its not accepting the swivel cuts or stamping it is time to re-wet.
Thanks, great video. I have the "skipping" on my leather, it's probably combination of badly sharpened knife, not enough water and wrong leather. Lots to learn :)
Thanks for watching! Glad you found it helpful. Yes, you'll be a leather student for life...there's always more to learn! That's the fun part, I think. Happy leather crafting! :)