Completely Hypothetical....

[Dirka Skene]

Not that I would ever do it....well I might.

What is involved in leather working, specifically etching those neat designs in the leather? I call myself a decent artist. I can come up with some really cool Celtic/Pictish/Knotwork designs. What would it take to put those designs on leather?

[Kid Cossack]

Time and effort? Tell you what, when you get good at it and start making kilts, I'll take a leather kilt with a Eagle, Globe and Anchor embossed where you'd put a kilt pin.

[A Hay]

Not that I would ever do it....well I might.

What is involved in leather working, specifically etching those neat designs in the leather? I call myself a decent artist. I can come up with some really cool Celtic/Pictish/Knotwork designs. What would it take to put those designs on leather?

If you have the talent to draw and some patience, you can produce leatherwork that will look good and last a long time.

The basics are to get some vegetable tanned leather, dampen it with water, lay your drawing on it and trace over the drawing. This produces an impression on the damp leather. Then, using a tool called a swivel knife, cut the lines of the design partway into the leather. Other tools, usually something called a beveler, are used to depress one side of the knife cut to make it stand out. When the leather dries, use a dye or stain to color it and then a finish on the leather to protect it.

All the tools and materials can be obtained from Tandy Leather Co. on-line or at a store and they have intstructional books and DVDs. Probaby can get the basics for about $50, not counting the leather.

Celtic knotwork makes great designs for leather. Starting out I wouldn't make it too small or tightly woven. The bands should be 1/4 inch wide down to no smaller than 3/8ths inch. You need to have room to depress (or stamp) the leather on each side of the band. From knotwork you can progress to figures and animals. You can make designs on sporrans, pouches, purses, belts, bookmarks, book covers, or just a decorative flat panel. Whatever is of interest to you.

This is a very simplified version of leatherworking, but it is not hard if you have a good eye for drawing lines and some skill with small detail work.

Several other folks at X marks also do leatherwork so you can always get help.

If you would like to see what one of your designs would look like in leather, send me a PM. I can tell you whether I think it would be possible in leather and maybe make a sample so you can see what it would look like.

Regards,
Tom

[emolas]

Time and effort? Tell you what, when you get good at it and start making kilts, I'll take a leather kilt with a Eagle, Globe and Anchor embossed where you'd put a kilt pin.

Or a kilt belt with them embossed all the way around...

[Dirka Skene]

I think I would like doing it if I got started. I've done all kinds of things like designing tattoos, doing henna, making jewelry, painting and now I'm trying my hand at sewing. I like things that are meticulous and tedious.

I saw a man last weekend at a local flea market burning designs into Western saddles. He didn't seem to be very good, aweful really. He drew mostly triangles, dots and wavy lines. His designs were really lacking any shadow of artistic ability. I figured since I have formal artistic schooling and an eye for intricacies, that I may be able to do it as well, with better designs.

[cavscout]

Or a kilt belt with them embossed all the way around...

Not to hijack the thread but, if this interests anyone, shoot me an email. I can emboss (not carve) Marines, Army Navy and Air Force. They will be about 1" tall spaced as far apart or as close as you want. Sorry Coast Guard is not available.

[Don Patrick]

I don't know if Tandy is still in busness, but they use to offer leatherworking kits. They provided everything except the time and muscle.

[McFarkus]

Dirka, go to the Tandy Leather store in the 1400 block of Madison Street and inquire abour some basic leather tooling classes. I'm sure they have them

Turpin (posting on my mother's computer)

[GlassMan]

My grandfather used to do a lot of leatherworking. It was a hobby of his. One thing he used to do a lot was use a series of dies and use them to press in on the leather and create designs in relief. By varying the pressure with which he pressed he could achieve amazing realism. I have several of his pieces that are cherished posessions of mine. One of them is a stallion rearing up on its hind legs in a western scene. I remember he used a single tear drop shaped die to slowly push in the entire design of the horse, and by varying the pressure he managed to create a beautiful impression of the muscles gliding beneath the horses skin. He really was quite an artist. He never sold a single one of his works, they were all gifts for others.

[billmcc]

Dirka,

Leather tooling isn't especially difficult and it sounds like you have the skills to be good at it.

Here is the Tandy website:
http://www.tandyleatherfactory.com/