Transferring the Pattern to the Leather

As you can see from the previous posts, I have an order in which I like to get my “stuff” done. I am not superstitious and I do not think that I will disturb the time continuum if I do not keep the order the same every time. Actually, I probably change the process each time I work on a project just to keep the tedium at a minimum and to give myself a little more of a challenge. By the way, did I mention that my initials are “BS?” That may be the case with my initials, but I will be open and honest about the things that I try to accomplish on this blog. As I have told many people before, “There are not any secrets to what I do.”

Somewhere in the order of things I like to strop my swivel knife before I begin carving. I find that if it is not done before I start carving that I get a little upset at having to do it almost immediately after starting. It is just a lot easier to be ready the first time that I start a carving project. The photo below shows a block of white jeweler’s rouge, a piece of leather that is 1½ inches wide and close to 15 inches long, and the swivel knife that I use for 99 percent of my carving. Strop your swivel knife blade when you feel it starting to drag. Stropping your blade fairly often will help with reducing the pain and muscle fatigue you might feel when beginning to do this type of work.

Swivel knife, white jeweler's rouge, leather strap

I tried to explain the stropping system in an earlier post, but if you will bear with me I will try to explain it a little better. If you look at a swivel knife blade you will see that it has two distinct edges. Looking at one end of the blade you will see that it is “V” shaped. To properly strop the blade make sure that the blade is held flat on the leather with the jeweler’s rouge rubbed on it. Slowly drag it across about six inches of the leather and do this around four times per side. It will take time for the blade to become well polished, but you will find that it will pay dividends as you proceed on with other carving projects.

It really does not matter if you strop your swivel knife before or after the next step. Once you have placed the masking tape on the back of your light-weight leather, you will need to spray it to get it moist so that you can work with it. Again, if you are using light-weight leather I would advise that you use a spray bottle to moisten the leather while using a mist type of spray. Try to moisten the leather evenly and then cover it with a plastic bag or something that will keep the moisture from evaporating. You should be able to begin transferring the pattern to the leather within 15-20 minutes after spraying it. It can show a little dampness but it should not look as if it is wet!

When the leather is ready to work, line up the tracing/carving pattern on the leather and weight it down or tape it to your working surface on either the two upper or two lower corners. The idea is to minimize the movement of the tracing pattern as you use the ballpoint stylus to trace over the pattern to transfer it to the leather. In the photo below you can see part of the weight bag holding the pattern on the leather, at least to a certain degree.

Tracing pattern on leather with weight bag on the left

If you notice a little shine on the surface of the tracing/carving pattern that is the packaging tape that I applied to it. You can also see that the tracing paper is a little translucent and that the leather is somewhat visible under it. The moisture in the leather might add to the translucency of the paper but that does not matter, the main thing is that it works! I used to use lined notebook paper or just about any paper that I had lying around to trace my patterns. After the first use of tracing paper I was sold. Be sure that you use enough pressure to transfer the lines to the leather. Do not “scare” the leather, “assault” it.

After you have transferred the pattern to the leather you will want to make sure that all of the carving lines are on the leather before you begin carving. Without moving the leather or the pattern, carefully lift the tracing pattern from the side that is not weighted or taped down. Lift it only enough to make sure that all of the lines are there. I find that I will more often than not I have missed transferring a line or two. After double checking for missed lines remove the tracing pattern from the leather to begin carving the pattern.

Pattern to be carved on leather - #1 to be discussed in next post.

When ready to begin, I would look at the flower as the point to start carving. When possible make your cuts going away from the other lines so that you do not get overlapping cuts on your design. It may not be possible to always carve away from other lines, but do be careful to stop at least a little short of those lines. Make sure that you do not have anything in the way while working on your project. I like to turn my carving projects while cutting the lines on the leather. You will find that carving things like flowers is a lot easier if you turn the project while carving. That way you will not have to stand on your head to carve the lines that are not so easy to finish in one position.

Another thing, do not carve lines so that you have two starting points that meet somewhere in the middle. It will be fairly obvious to you if you do it because the points at which the lines join may not match well. One reason for the mismatching lines is that you will invariably hold the swivel knife at a slight angle when you carve. I do this and I can see the effect when I try to cheat. If you cannot completely carve a line on your pattern in one move, carefully lift your swivel knife off the leather and rotate the project to a more comfortable position. After rotating the leather, place the blade back in the cut where you stopped and finish carving the line.

For more information about carving leather and how to hold the swivel knife look back at the “More about Carving Leather” post. If you have questions about the process be sure to let me know. If I can I will be glad to answer them.

Have fun!