Handicraft Simplified Procedure and Projects in Leather, Celluloid, Metal, Wood, Batik, Rope, Cordage, Yarn, Horsehair, Pottery, Weaving, Stone, Primitive Indian Craft. Lester Griswold
design is completed, and the leather is thoroughly dry, the background areas may be darkened with oil, or stained brown or black. This gives contrast and makes the design stand out clearly. After this is dry, the entire surface may be polished with the hand or cloth, using a little leather dressing.
Fig. 45
Fig. 44
A section of a Music Roll showing a carved design is shown in Fig. 44.
Fig. 45
Background and design tools used in carved leather work.
Hardwood striking stick, rawhide covered, used with saddlers stamps instead of mallet.
The Brief Case shows a design well balanced between background and floral areas and a reentrant border which adapts it to a rectangular area.
The wallet shows an attractive carved and stamped design for the front panel and a solid panel of basket weave stamping with a horseshoe type border.
The quivers show an interesting carved and stamped design with two panels or bordered areas of diagonal basket weave stamping.
Stamping
Cowhide strap leather is best for stamped or carved work, although tooling calf of a heavy quality may be used if care is taken not to cut or stamp too deep. Stamped decorations applied to calfskin described on pages 53 to 56.
In making belts, cases, sheaths and similar articles of Russet or Natural Strap, first place the leather on a level surface and with the Beveler remove the upper corner on all edges of the leather as shown in sketch A. (If dyed leathers are used the beveled edges should be stained).
Moisten the leather by immersing for a moment in water or until the surface darkens slightly.
Round the bevelled edge with the creaser as shown in sketch B. Apply pressure enough to crease the leather and rub back and forth over the creased edge, applying sufficient pressure to polish the convex surface formed by the creaser tip. If water is squeezed out of the leather during this operation, it must be permitted to become almost dry before satisfactory work can be done.
Leather to be stamped should be moist, as specified in the creasing operation, but not wet enough for water to ooze out, when the stamps are applied. All leather should be placed on a smooth, hard surface which will not dent under the blows of the mallet. A slab of marble is an excellent base. Heavy plate glass is also suitable. Use a wooden mallet to strike the stamps. Sketch A. A metal hammer will soon mushroom the ends of the stamps.
Drive the stamping tool into the leather to a depth that will give a clear impression. The leather is not cut, just depressed by the stamping operation.
The tools used in stamping leather may be grouped as follows:
(1) Background tools: Background tools are of two types, the crosshatch and the stippled. These are illustrated in Fig. 2-A, 1 to 5, also 6-7, page 61.
(2) Border stamping tools, for line or edge decoration: Numerous styles, shapes and sizes of border stamping tools may be made out of wire nails. Several shapes are suggested in Fig. 2, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, K,
(3) Central area stamping tools: Projects having large central areas may have a stamping decoration applied in the form of panels that are usually bordered with an appropriate line or edge decoration. A few such stamping tool designs are shown. Fig. 2, P and Q, page 61.
The stamping tools used to decorate the articles shown are the pine tree, horseshoe, basketweave, star, background three dot and one dot, also background tools, 6, 7, page 61.
The pine tree stamp has a wide variety of uses. As a border stamping tool it is used around belt tongues or edges, flaps of cases and sheaths. decorated areas and other margins, such as jewel or metal ornamented circles. In the design of rosettes many combinations are possible, as Fig. 14 B, D, E, and H. This stamp should be made having an angle of 40 degrees so that nine fit into the 360 degrees of a circle. Rosette B is produced by stamping the nine inside the circle, and the same number outside against the base of the impressions already formed. Rosette D is made by stamping 12 impressions, 6 inside the circle and 6 outside, alternately. The diameter of this circle should be equal to 4 times the base of the stamp.
The basket weave design is shown in Fig. 14, panel F and panel C. This stamp is applied by overlapping each impression a distance equal to the length of the side portion which extends horizontally from the three vertical lines to the end of the stamp. In applying this stamp, the easiest method is to start in the lower left hand corner (refer to Fig. 14, panel C) and make the first impression. This impression will appear at the left hand end of the lower line of stamping. The next impression should be made on the next line above and by overlapping the upper right hand edge of the first impression with the lower left hand edge of the second impression. The third impression should be made in a similar manner and will appear on the third line. Continue in this manner until the width of the panel has been covered with the impressions and the appearance then is that of a stair step design. From this start, fill in the other impressions needed to complete the stamping and the appearance will be that of a woven pattern which is very effective for designs needed for covering considerable space.
The star stamp is used primarily for terminating the intersection of a double creased border. In Fig. 14, panel A, C and G, the double creased border line has been terminated at intersections by using the star stamp. This stamp may be used effectively for decoration as a border stamp.
The three dot background stamp is used in carved ornamentation for depressing the surface of the leather which gives relief to designs and initials as shown in Fig. 14G.
The background one dot stamp is useful for producing initials and its use can readily be appreciated when hammering down background in letters having corners of less than a right angle as found in letters A, M, N, V, W, X, Y and Z.
The creased design shown in sketches A, E, F, G, H are made with a creaser or tracer. The lines are first traced or marked off with a ruler, then made deeper by retracing so that a lasting impression results.
The design and construction of leather working tools is in itself a fascinating art. Any one or all of the tools used in tooling or stamping leather may be made by the user who possesses a bench vise, hammer, center punch and a few files of the proper size and shape.
Tool