"Chief" Arm Guard (Finished)

[Cameroo]

Just started another arm guard tonight.  I was really worried about whether or not I could pull of this kind of detail, but it's actually going surprisingly well.  I found that I have much more control of the stamping tool when I just apply pressure and slide it along, rather than the technique I've used in the past, which was continuously tapping with a hammer while moving the stamp along.

I'm feeling really good about this one now.  I'll probably add some arrowheads or something to fill in the empty space on the sides.  That's it for tonight though, T.V. time now

[Elktracker]

WOW that is really nice!

[John K]

Looking good, i look foward to the finished product !

[Pat B]

I used to have a tool(s) that was about the diameter of a pencil with a different shaped burnisher on each end just for working around these lines like you are doing. I don't remember if they were bought from Tandy's or another commercial leather working supply house. That was about 35 years ago. 
  Nice start on this one, Cam. Looking forward to your progress.

[Lee Slikkers]

Wow!  That looks excellent...so you are not using the mallet at all, just hand pressure as you move along the cut?

[Cameroo]

Thank you guys.

That's right Lee, haven't touched the mallet yet on this one.  All I've done so far is print out a picture of the design, taped it onto the cased (dampened) leather so it doesn't move, then traced the major details from the picture with a scribe (I'm assuming that's similar to what you are referring to Pat? It's a scribe on one end and spoon shaped burnisher on the other).

I actually haven't made any cuts with the swivel knife either.  I'm just sliding the beveler along the scribe mark (you can see the scribe marks in the hair, I haven't got there yet with the beveler).

These are the only tools I've used up to this point.  95% of it so far was done with the beveler on the left.  I used the middle punch for the eyes. The scribe I used is on the right.

[Elktracker]

Thats really cool I have never seen this done nor do I know much about it, is there any good videos or other info on how to do this or get started doing this? What is it called so I know where to start my search? I have some saddle leather like what you are useing and i would like to try an arm guard like this, im guessing the tools are pretty cheap if you get them used?. Thanks

Josh

[Pat B]

Cam, the one with the red handle is what I was talking about.
 Josh, it is called leather tooling.

[Cameroo]

Josh - The general name for this type of thing is leather carving or tooling.  There are a lot of videos on you tube, but probably the best way to get started is to just dive in and fool around to see what the different tools can do.  I've only been doing this for about 2 months and am still learning with every piece I do.  

You can buy different leather carving kits from Tandy from beginner to advanced.  That's a good place to start.  I got the deluxe kit on sale for around $60 (regular price was around $250).  The kit has all the basic tools you'll need, different stains, and several projects to practice on.  Tandy has some really good sales, you just have to watch for them.  Also, a member card will save you big $.  I've seen the stamping tools as cheap as $4 each on sale (with a membership).  It would be hard find them cheaper than that, even used.  I'm not try to push Tandy down your throat, just telling you how I got started.  There may be better sources, I just don't know of any.  Some people make their own punches using large nails or bolts, but it would be very hard to make some of the tools with different textures on them.

I'm still pretty much a novice myself, but I'll answer any specific questions that I can if you need help.  I'm not sure if you were following my earlier posts, but you can find a bit more info there regarding some of the techniques I used and the different tools. Check these out:

http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php/topic,23397.0.html

http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php/topic,24297.45.html

[Elktracker]

WOW that is some amazing work!!!!! Looks time consuming but well worth it, ill be watching out for more of your work for sure. Thanks

Josh

[Cameroo]

Made a bit of progress tonight.  Pretty much finished Chief, then added a couple arrowheads to fill in some space on the sides. Wish I woulda paid a bit more attention to centering him, so that arrowhead on the right wasn't so close to him.  Oh well.

Next is some background filler, then check everything over, and start staining.  Here's where I got to tonight.





Looks like he's pouting a bit

[Rick Wallace]

He is pouting because you missed the target!!   he he     That looks great! Leatherwork is another thing on my list to learn,,,One day......

[Elktracker]

I think him being slightly off center looks good imo gives it more character once you get the filler in there it will look like you meant to do it. I like it allot

[skyarrow]

Man that's lookn good 

[Cameroo]

Got a bit more done tonight.  Filled in all the empty space with the seeder tool (good times! ) and the did some of the staining on the face.  Pretty happy so far.