The Art Of Carving

There are several steps which are taken to create a beautifully carved piece of leather. First the pattern design must be created. We custom design most of our carvings from scratch. Next the peice of leather is "cased" by soaking it in water, sealing it in a plastic bag and storing it in the fridge for several hours. Then we take it out and let it sit until it is almost dry. At this point the leather shapes the most easily. We trace the pattern from our drawing onto the leather.

The next step is to take a swivel knife and cut along the lines of our drawing.

Again using the swivel knife, we add the details into the design. We also start doing the first bits of stamping to add depth to the pattern.

Next the larger areas are gradually stamped down giving things their depth. This process is completed with a very small stamp and is quite time consuming.

It takes a great deal of time to slowly get these areas consistant, without lines and bumps.

Any finishing touches are done to get crisp edges where they are wanted. The final details are added and touched up.

Finally we dye and seal the carving. It is now ready to be added to a final project, such as was done on this cantle bag. These peices become usable works of art.

#leathercarving #cantlebag