Arm guard leather carving (Finally finished!!)

[Cameroo]

Thanks Ohma.  I really don't think it takes a ton of talent, just the right tools, some time, and a lot of patience   That's the main point of showing this kinda step-by-step, to show that it's not rocket science.

Thanks Pappy. 

[Pat B]

Cam, that arm guard is going to really jump once you dye it. Are you going for a monochromatic finish or multi colored?

[Cameroo]

Pat, I'm kinda undecided.  I guess I'm thinking monochromatic, but I will use different "strengths" of the dye to get highlights and shadows.  I might add some different colors if I think it's appropriate, but it will likely just be different shades of brown.  I don't really care for the looks of those opaque paints like the "Cova Color" that Tandy sells.  I think they take away from the carving.  Dyes look better to me, but I don't want it to look too "busy" with a bunch of different colors.  I've only got about 5 different colors of dye right now too, so I'm kinda limited.

I'm hoping it will "jump" with just one color What do you think?

[Pat B]

One technique we used to use was to use a sponge(one of those celotec(?) colored dish washing sponges). I cut them into 1" to 2" squares and put some regular leather dye on it and blot it dry then in circular motion go over the design. It will go down pretty light but you can do this over again if necessary or to get the desired darkness out of it. The high spots will pick up the dye and leave the indented part without.   Do some tests first to get the technique down before trying it on the armguard. I use this technique for untooled leather too by going around the outside first then into the middle so it is almost like a sunburst effect, dark on the edges and lighter towards the center.
  I hope I made sense with this. 

[Cameroo]

That sounds like a cool technique Pat, kinda like dry-brushing.  I'm not sure how well it would work in this case because most of the high spots should actually be lighter, and the contoured parts should be darker.

I think I'll try that on another project though.  Thanks for the tip.

[DEllis]

That's real nice work. I like to use the leather antique finish that tandy sells. You wipe it on heavy wait a bit and then wash the tops off with a damp (not wet) cloth. It fills in the background/shadow work nicely.......and also any dings scrapes or scars in the hide get highlighted. A bit different look than the dies.
Darcy

[Lee Slikkers]

Beat me to the punch Darcy!  Was just gonna snap a pic of the container and post it up 

[Pat B]

Darcy, that was gonna be my next suggestion! 

[Cameroo]

Thanks guys, that is a good idea.  I actually have some mahogany antique gel, but I don't think it would look right for this, it's a little too purply.  I'd have to go get a different color I think.  I could do that for the majority of it, but I want to put more detail into the deer at least.  I'm kinda going by the technique used in this book I got at Tandy (by Al Stockman I think??).  He uses different strengths of the same dye (diluted with alcohol, or in my case, I'd have to use water) to achieve different shades.  I want to give that a try.

[Michael C.]

Wow that is cool. 

[Wolf Watcher]

An old Indian told me that you can dye some of the patterns in your design a certain color and then paint them with Natala.  When the Natala dries then you can use a rub on antique paste over the whole pattern.  Use Carnauba Cream from Tandy to clean up the excess.  The paste will accent the edges of your patterns.  You can use Natala on any pattern before dying and it will maintain the original leather color.  Natala will not prevent a pattern from losing its color if a regular dye is used over it!  Its my opinion that learning to carve patterns in leather is not as has been said "rocket science", but it takes some artistic talent to produce beautiful leather carvings!  One last thing that may be of interest--The quality of the leather you are carving has a great deal to do with the good results.  Good grade hides cost much more, but when you are going to spend hours working on it with swivel knives and leather tools and having good dye results it is well worth the extra money!  An Old Indian--Joe

[Wolf Watcher]

For some reason the words Neat-Lac were changed in the post that I just made.  Some times I would like to smash this darn Confuser and go back to Smoke signals.  Red Faced Joe

[Cameroo]

Thanks Joe.  I have used that technique on the first arm guards I made ( http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php/topic,23397.msg315337.html#msg315337 ), although I used Super Sheen instead of Neat-Lac (never heard of that).  It seemed to work pretty good.  I just picked up some of that Carnauba Cream the other day, I haven't used it yet but will do a little test piece and if I like it, that's probably what I'll use for a finish.  The super sheen is a little too glossy.

Gonna try to get some more done on this tonight!

[Cameroo]

I spent a couple hours on this tonight and this is all I've got to show for it It took a while before starting to mix up dyes and do some practicing.  Of course I had to jump right in and tackle the deer.  When I was at Tandy the other day, I showed this to the owner and he told me, "If you spend 2 hours carving something, you should spend 3 hours finishing it".  I hope that doesn't mean it's going to take me 18 hours to finish! I thought he was a bit out to lunch, but now I can see why.  It doesn't help when I'm running to the computer every 5 minutes to see if I have my name for the bow swap   I think I'm done for tonight.

[Keenan]

Cam your work is incredible to say the least. That is going to be a jaw dropper for sure. Then again so is the one that i already got from you   Still going to have to get some pics of it up for every one to see.