Learning to Carve

[Freedom]

I have been so humbled by most of the work that you guys post that I have had little to add. Thanks for all the great info!

My mom just gave me an old book of hers titled "Ken Griffen's Scrap Book" printed in the 50's. I would suggest this book to anyone trying to learn the art or just to add to your collection.

I have been a full time leathersmith for sometime now but have never had enough time or much interest in carving... Until I tried it....I should have known better ....  Now I'm hooked ....I am going to have to make the time and learn to do this faster if I am to add this to any of my pieces.

After reading the new book I just had to try it....so here goes....

If any of you vertrans/naturals out there could share with my the time it would take you to carve this common flower and scroll I would sure appreciate it. I am not going to tell how long this took me.. This piece measures 4"X 12" inches

Any critisism would sure be appreciated. I will not get better/faster if no one points out what I did wrong.

We still put this brand on our calves every spring here in Montana.

Thanks everyone and God Bless.

[JD Alan]

Hey there Mr. Freedom, you drew the rookie card here! I've been doing leather about nine months now, and enjoying it immensley. I think your carving has a great look to it.

I've been working on oak leaves, and it takes me a little more than an hour to transfer the image to leather, do the swivel knife cuts, do the beveling and background stamping, along with a little work on the stems and leaf lines. That's for a small pair of oak leaves.   

I'm sure some of the experienced guys will weigh in, and I think you're going to get a lot of positive feedback on your work

What kind of things do you do in your leather biz?

Bless you, JD     

[cowboy316]

Freedom
  looking very good love the coloring you got there and the carving is nice and smooth
lookin good keep you swivel knife sharp and keep on carving
      Cowboy316

[Marshal Will Wingam]

Freedom, that looks very good. I take whatever time is required to get the job done the way I want. Time isn't as important as quality. You will keep getting faster as you do more. You already have good control of your tools. Your swivel knife work is smooth and even. Your stamping is consistent. Keep at it and let the speed come on it's own.

[cowboywc]

Howdy Freedom
That is one of the best first carvings I've ever seen. Your carving is fluid and deep. Your beveling from what I can see
has no tool marks in it. Your pear shading is great, I would leave a little more plain area between it and the cut lines.
The only thing I don't care for is the seed pod. Seeds need to be closer together. I don't stamp my seeder straight down,
I angle it so I'm driving the stamp back at me and it pops the seeds up so the pod is not below the flower surface. Your deco
cuts look good and your background is nice and deep.
I'd like to see a more close up pix of the piece.
WC

[Freedom]

Thank you guys!

Thank you Cowboy...that is good advice that I will try.

Here is a few more pics....I tried to modify them to show the detail/mistakes.

[JD Alan]

Freedom, WC is the consummate pro here, so having him weigh in on your carving is close to taking a class from him, something I'd sure like to do.

One thing I noticed is your camo work, something I still find quite dificult. The spacing is nice, the angles are good, and they don't appear to run off where they shouldn't go.

The seed pod looked great to me, but that's a beginner for you! I will remember WC's comments about the angle of the seeder. This is one of the great benefits of this forum. You get to learn from other people's work, and the evaluation of it by guys who know what they are doing, and they don't hack you to death when you're green (or any other time!)

I look forward to seeing more of your work, JD

[Ace Lungger]

Howdy Freedom,
i am glad you are in our family! We have the Greatest group of Pards on Here, that there is in world!

I can only say AWESOME JOB!!!
I only hope that I can get that good!! That being your first carving, I can't imagine what you next peice will look like!!
Keep us up to date, and thank you for sharing that with us!

ACE

I just want to have fun!

[Freedom]

Howdy Freedom,
i am glad you are in our family! We have the Greatest group of Pards on Here, that there is in world!

I can only say AWESOME JOB!!!
I only hope that I can get that good!! That being your first carving, I can't imagine what you next peice will look like!!
Keep us up to date, and thank you for sharing that with us!

ACE

I just want to have fun!

Thank you Ace
Thank you JD
Thank you Cowboys
Thank you Marshal.... I really appreciate everyone's input on my work. I have spent about 30 hours reading here before I ever opened my mouth. I can say that you guys treat everyone with  decency and respect....(at least here in the leather shop, about the only place I have been ) That is not always found on the net forums. It is a cool drink of water to me. The wisdom, info and the willingness to share makes this a great resource and I thank everyone for it.

....I found that Ken Giffin's book was a great help.... It really helps to have a picture of what the finished product is supposed to look like.

I have seen this book for sale from time to time on ebay and it usually sells for less than $20.  I would recomend it to anyone... It has several nice patterns in it, and the book is really big so the patterns are to scale.  It is paper back and made in the 50's so the picture are not in color but it is still handy to have.

Allthough this is my first  true carving, I don't want to mislead anyone into thinking this is easy... I have spent a lot of hours with a swivel knife as I have found it to be my favorite tool for cutting just about everything that has a curve to it. A deep score line with the swivel followed be a finish cut with a razor is how I cut most patterns.(Yeah I know.., but the Head knife is just not my friend )   I have also spent some time hovering over cased leather with the maul so I do have some time in on learning to properly case my leather and how "not" to strike a tool.

[cowboywc]

I have spent a lot of hours with a swivel knife as I have found it to be my favorite tool for cutting just about everything that has a curve to it. A deep score line with the swivel followed be a finish cut with a razor is how I cut most patterns

Howdy
That is how I cut leather for many years til I learned how to use a headknife.
WC

[Freedom]

I have spent a lot of hours with a swivel knife as I have found it to be my favorite tool for cutting just about everything that has a curve to it. A deep score line with the swivel followed be a finish cut with a razor is how I cut most patterns

Howdy
That is how I cut leather for many years til I learned how to use a headknife.
WC

I am glad to here that I may be on the right path... I suppose I will never learn if I don't use it more often but it sure doesn't take me much time to ruin a good piece of leather with the head... about the time I think I have it going well I find a hard/soft spot and then I have a run-away

[cowboywc]

Howdy
Something an old timer told me was "Don't use your arm to push the head knife, use your body. Keep your arm locked in place and push with the body. Less chance of a run away"
It works for me.
WC