Now that we have used the pear shader, the veiner and the
camouflage it is time to proceed on with the last stamp, the mule foot. The
mule foot is one of my favorite accent stamps because it can add a lot of
character to a pattern if used just enough. Although it is shaped like the
letter “V,” it is called a mule foot. None of the mules that I have ever seen
have hooves shaped like that. I have also heard this stamp called a deer
foot. There are a lot of different sizes
and shapes of this stamp and it really does not matter what you call it.
This stamp can be used in many areas of your design to
accent it. In the photo below you can see how I used it to add accents and a
pattern to a portion of the design. Numbers 1 & 2 show how the mule foot can
be use to accent the points where leaves split off from the stem or where
leaves split off from each other. To get this effect, I start right next to the
end of the carved and beveled line where the stem or leaves join. I tap the
stamp a harder here so that I get a larger and slightly deeper stamp first. I
then begin to lean the stamp away from me at the top and tap each succeeding
one a little lighter until it is almost invisible.
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| Mule foot stamp use - 1, 2, & 3 |
Be sure not to hit this stamp too hard because it can go
clear through the leather. Trust me, I have done it before and stamps making
holes through the leather are not good. I also lean the stamp away from myself
each time I tap it when I have a number of them in a row. It may just be the
way my stamp is made, but what will happen is that it will close up the
previous stamp or change the way it looks. Again, look at numbers 1 and 2 to
see how I did it.
In example number “3” I used pretty much the whole stamp to
get this effect on this part of the stem. I started at the round-pointed tip of
the stem to place my first stamp. I then lined up the point of the stamp with
the back tips of the stamp. (Do you know how hard it is to describe this
process?) I then stamped two more that I lined up with the back tips of the
previous stamp impression. After each set of stamps, depending on the width of
the stem or leaf, I continued in the same manner to complete this stem.
One of the most artistic features of stamping leather is the
“decorative cuts.” Decorative cuts are made with the swivel knife on the
pattern after all the stamping is completed. Make sure that you have stamped
everything that you want before you start making decorative cuts on any
pattern. Otherwise, it can get pretty ugly if you try to stamp something over
the decorative cuts. It will not work if you say, “I meant to do it that way.”
Just double and triple check your design to make sure that you have stamped
everything that you need to. You may be able to get away with using a small
stamp near a decorative cut, but because leather will pull a little with each
stamp you probably want to let it go.
In the photo below you can see the decorative cuts or “cuts”
have been added to the design. There is really no set rule for doing the cuts. If
you have a way you would like to do them, go for it. If you look at the leaf
that comes our just on the left center you can see that I made the cut closer
to the edge of the leaf and then came in closer to the center of the leaf. Look
at the leaf on the bottom right, you can see this even better on it. (You might
want to look at the decorative cuts in a little more detail towards the end of
this post.) The leaf on the far right towards the bottom shows how making the
cut short can be as attractive as following the edge around a leaf.
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| Decorative cuts added to design |
If you look at the leaf that we put the veiner and
camouflage stamps on you can see a few short decorative cuts have been added to
the outer edges of these stamp impressions. It is not necessary to do these
cuts in the same manners as these. Some leather craftsmen might use a cut
similar to the one on the leaf that is on the bottom right. You can use
combinations as well when you do the decorative cuts.
On the left-hand side of the photo above you can see how a
combination of cuts can add a special look to your design. The leaf that
appears to be curled around with one edge over the top of the other has a
combination of cuts to dress it up. You will notice that the cut that follows
the top edge of this leaf does not go all the way around. This serves two
purposes for me. First, I like the effect of the additional cuts following the
edge of the leaf. I used to make them follow almost the whole edge of the leaf.
Second, by keeping these cuts shorter keeps me from getting “target fixation.”
By that I mean that I get to concentrating so much in making the cut right that
I might go over the edge of the leaf.
The photo below shows three stages of how a decorative cut
is made. First, for a cut similar to the ones on the leaves shown above, I turn
my swivel knife so that the blade would be almost parallel with my body to
start the cut. In the case of the photo below, the cut starts almost parallel
with the edge of the piece of leather. I put one end of the blade on the
leather, press down firmly and begin to rotate the barrel of the swivel knife.
As you rotate the barrel of the swivel knife release the pressure a little bit
as you make the cut until done.
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| Basic steps in making a decorative cut |
In this photo you will see a triangle looking cut. That is
to show how it will look when you start the process. The cut just below this
one shows how it will look if you proceed on with it, rotating the barrel as
you slowly pull the swivel knife toward you. The third line shows the cut
completed. Always make your decorative cuts in one motion. It is easier to make
the complete cut, even if you have to rotate the piece a little to finish it.
It is very difficult to keep a decorative cut looking good if you pick up the
swivel knife from the cut and then put it back to finish a cut. If necessary,
just add another shorter line just a little ways from the end of the previous
line. Another tip, when carving leather or making decorative cuts always make
them towards you body. You will have much more control of the swivel knife if you
pull rather than try to push.
The photo below shows the stamping project in its completed
state. If you look at the flower petals you will notice that there is a little
different way that I did those decorative cuts. I like to make the larger cuts
a little farther apart and add the smaller ones between them. The leaf on the
lower left side of the pattern shows how the petal would look without the
smaller cuts added in between the larger ones.
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| Stamping project completed using all stamps and swivel knife |
The photo of the stamping project finished is completely
dry. Notice how dark the areas of the flower and leaves are even after the
leather has dried. If I had stamped it too wet it would not look nearly as good
because there would be no bruising where the stamps were used. Also, look at
the center of the flower. Do you see how I used the mule foot stamp to accent
that area of the flower? If you look back at the previous posts you will be
able to see how plain this flower looked before I added the mule foot to it.
I will be back with another post as soon as I can and I hope
to have some photos of another project. Be sure to let me know if you have any
questions. Either I will answer them by email or I will show the answer by
example with photographs here on the blog.
Let me hear from you, and have fun!
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