Leather back quiver.

[Chako]

I am going to try and make a Leather back quiver seeing that I am getting back into archery. This will be my first time doing anything like this in a long time. So bear with me as I will take photographs during the build to show you how I am going to make it. Of course, some of this I am going to make up as I go...so it should be interesting. I still don't have a clear mind on how the finished product will look,

So here are the first two photographs...

I start by drawing a pattern on some special transfer acetate. This way, I fi I like the project, I can replicate it by drawing over the penciled lines. Once I draw the template out, I will wet the leather and using a metal stylus (A pen with a small ball on the tip) to trace the pattern onto the wet leather underneath. Because the leather is wet, it will transfer the pattern easily enough.




Next, I then take a good pair of leather shears and cut along the line. In this photograph, you can see I have cut out the main body, and part of the upper strap. I was lucky enough to have found a piece of scrap belt that might fit the bill for the lower strap. I won't know if it is long enough until later in the build.



So there you have it, I have started. 

[Chako]

I started the decorating part. I am a little rusty, but it is mostly coming back to me. Leather carving and tooling is much like riding a bicycle. Once you know, you just can never forget. That is a good thing. I haven't done anything big like this in years.

Well after looking online and through some of the books I have, I came up with this pattern that I will modify to suit my needs. I first draw the pattern on the tracing film. Then I cut the tracing film to size. Next step is to wet the leather and place the film over the leather. Using a metal stylus, I then trace the pattern onto the wet leather. The key here is that the leather has to be wet otherwise, no marks will transfer over.

I am taking a break.



Well, once the drawing is transferred, the next step is to carve the leather. A swivel knife is used for this purpose. It is a unique tool that has a finger saddle and a rotating barrel body. You can attach various types of blades to the swivel knife. I prefer ceramic blades myself...but that is a personal choice. The knife swivels to allow you to do radial curves etc.  You always pull the knife towards you for maximum control.

Once again, wet the leather so that it makes cutting the leather easier. The trick is to only cut half way through the leather. Too far and you risk cutting through. Too little and you won't get a good result once you do the next step.

Here, you can see that I have carved half of my design with the swivel knife shown. The other half is wet and ready for the carving.



Well once that is done, the next step is to bring out the design and make it 3 dimensional. To do that, you use a beveler. The beveler is an important tool in the leather crafters arsenal. It is wedged shaped and you can have different patterns that come in contact with the leather for different effects.

To use the beveler properly, you place the flat deep end on the side of the cut that you want to push the leather down into the background. This should leave the other side untouched. The beveler is only one of a many special tools. This part of the design is called tooling or stamping. You need a nice hide/wood/plastic mallet for this part.

Here, you can see the beveler's wedged shape, and part of the design being beveled. This requires a lot of hammering on such a large design. Basically, you run the beveler along your cuts in such a way to make your design appear to come out at you. It pushes the background to the back by tricking the eye.




Well after countless mallet strikes, I have just completed the outer edge beveling. I still need to bevel inside the design, but to do that, I will use a different beveler that  features a smooth finish. I like a course outside beveled edge.

So here is the not so finished product. I will probably use a background tool (looks like a mini meat tenderizer) to put more definition into the background once I finish the inner beveling. After that. who knows. I am making this stuff as I go along.



Oh and for the curious, here is my Leather workspace. It is terribly crowded and a bit messy. At least everything is close to hand.

 


This one will get done faster than that train project that is still incomplete.

I guess I will keep updating as I can on the project. 

[Gareth]

Love the leather carving Dan, perfect subject.

[Chako]

Thanks.

I am going to push and see how much of the decoration I can finish today.

[ducktapehero]

Lookin good!! 

[Chako]

Time for the next series of photographs. I am now taking the rest of the day off. Wow. Backgrounding was time intensive...but I think it will be worth it when the project is done.

First up, here you can see that I am in the process of now beveling the inside details. You can see in the photo that I am now using a smooth beveler for this as previously mentioned.



Beveling the insides does bring out the design a lot more then what this photograph shows. Yay, I am now finished all the beveling work.



The next step is time intensive, but it adds even more detail and will bring out the foreground a lot for that added pop. Not to mention that it should darken when I stain the piece on a later date.

My favorite background tool is tiny. It allows me to get into small nooks and crevices. It does require a lot of patience to stipple a large area though. I have larger background tools, but this one is the one I like to use the most. In this photo, you can see just how small the tool is, and also what it does to the leather. For this project, I only used this tool.



Time rolls on...



And after a few hours of hammering away, the finished product for today.



Well tomorrow will bring in some more activity on the quiver. I still am unsure what I will use to lace/sew/rivet it up. Haven't even thought about the bottom piece, but I do have some ideas on that bouncing around in my head.

Who knows where this project will take me, or how it will turn out. I just hope I don't mess it up. I have too many hours invested in this to restart.

[AimlessWanderer]

That looks INCREDIBLE!!!! 

[Chako]

Thanks. Finished for today, but not done yet. I still have to add more detail to it. 

[Carlos]

Chako, you are truly a man of the seven trades**!


** that's a local expression for someone who does nicely a variety of stuff.

[Gareth]

looking good Dan.

[Chako]

Thanks for the kind words. 

[Chako]

I did a little more. I do really want to finish this as quickly as possible.

I thought about how I was going to sew this up, and came up with the idea to use a tool I bought years ago but never had the opportunity to use.

Now that I have used it, I wonder why I never did before. This worked quickly and efficiently in punching holes for sewing. In using this, I bypassed using a stitching wheel to evenly mark the leather, and an awl to individually punch each hole.



Well at least I now have all my holes punched for sewing.



And here is a sneak peak of what it will look like later on shape wise.

[AHB]

Excellent craftmanship Dan.. 

[Reinier]

Wow, that looks good!

So, you do this just for fun or do/did you do this for a living? It looks very professional!

[MultiMat]

That is very impressive Chako  .

Never mind the leather work I wish I could simply draw 

[Chako]

<---self taught hobbyist here.

[Reinier]

<---self taught hobbyist here.

[Chako]

Well first thing this morning, I went upstairs to do a little more on the quiver.

First thing, I wanted to work on the top shoulder strap some. I am going to deal with the straps as I do with a belt.  I round the edges using an edger tool. They come in various sizes. For small work, I like to use my smallest size. It is just enough to round those edges for comfort.



 I run the edger front and back shaving all edges.



I have found that a round hole just plain sucks for a belt buckle bar to pass through. I invested in a set of oval hole punches.  After edging the piece, I will then punch holes for a fancy belt buckle I have in mind. First step is to wet the leather. Afterwards, using a ruler, mark 1" increments. Center the mark with the oval hole punch and strike with the heavy maul.



That is starting to look good.



I think I will leave the belt free of decorations, except for an understated line that should pick up the dye and give it a subtle two tone effect. I use a saddle makers groover. It is adjustable and you simply run it along the edge and the cutting part will take out a little leather. Does a nice job.



Next step and possibly my final step for the day. I have to think through on how I am going to fashion a base for the quiver. I figure it will be a bear to sew at that.  Anyhow, I use some Antique gel dye with a wool dauber. I rub the dye into the leather using circular motions, and then quickly run over it with a wet sponge. The nice thing about dying leather, it picks up all the natural grains of the leather. You just never know what it will look like until you dye it. Looks like that labour intensive backgrounder tooling accomplished exactly what I wanted. This photo was taken during the dying process. After this, I kept applying dye to make everyting nice and even. It turned out great if I do say so myself.

[Zed]

thats stunning work chako    you have skills my friend 

[Gareth]

Loving this thread Dan, keep up the good work.

[Chako]

Thanks. I am at a standstill right now thinking about what to do for that bottom piece. 

I have a few ideas on that, just wondering what is the best way to go.

[Zed]

chako what is the cost of the tools and wear do you get your leather 

[Chako]

I get my leather from a local Tandy leather dealer.

Here is Tandy's web site. They also sell a lot of the tools.

http://www.tandyleatherfactory.com/en-usd/home/home.aspx

[Chako]

I think I may have figured out what I am going to do for the bottom.

I used a compass scribe to sort of measure the bottom, then I transferred the measurements to a wet piece of leather.  I then increased that first measurement to make the lip that will be sewn to the bottom of the quiver.



Once I cut that out, I then cut the thickness off the sewn part. This should make sewing a lot easier, as well as eliminate that ridge that could ultimately prevent an arrow from going to the bottom. To do his, I use a skiver. I also use a V groover to remove some of the leather on the other side. This should make folding the leather a lot easier.



A dry fit and I think this should do it. Not sure until I start sewing it, but i hope it will be a good fit. The last thing to do is to put the maker's stamp. I had bought this large metal stamp a few years ago but never used it as I usualy tend to work on smaller items. I used a small metal alphabet set used to mark tools to sign my name and date. I must say, that looks nice.



While that is drying, I got to thinking about the hardware. I take a look at my extensive buckle collection and find the perfect buckle for it. This one even has a nice stone set into each piece.



With the hardware selected, it is time to take a look at the bottom strap. This needs the same treatment as that given to the upper half. Rounded edges, a design groove, etc... First up though, trim the one end using a special belt tip punch.  These tools are handy because it is very difficult to get a belt tip shape just right by hand.



Dry fit the hardware once all of that is done.



Next up, dye the straps  and bottom the same colour as the quiver. yes, that belt buckle set looks great on the dyed pieces. Note that simple groove, how it picks up the dye.

[Zed]

I think I may have figured out what I am going to do for the bottom.

I used a compass scribe to sort of measure the bottom, then I transferred the measurements to a wet piece of leather.  I then increased that first measurement to make the lip that will be sewn to the bottom of the quiver.

(Image removed from quote.)

Once I cut that out, I then cut the thickness off the sewn part. This should make sewing a lot easier, as well as eliminate that ridge that could ultimately prevent an arrow from going to the bottom. To do his, I use a skiver. I also use a V groover to remove some of the leather on the other side. This should make folding the leather a lot easier.

(Image removed from quote.)

A dry fit and I think this should do it. Not sure until I start sewing it, but i hope it will be a good fit. The last thing to do is to put the maker's stamp. I had bought this large metal stamp a few years ago but never used it as I usualy tend to work on smaller items. I used a small metal alphabet set used to mark tools to sign my name and date. I must say, that looks nice.

(Image removed from quote.)

While that is drying, I got to thinking about the hardware. I take a look at my extensive buckle collection and find the perfect buckle for it. This one even has a nice stone set into each piece.

(Image removed from quote.)

With the hardware selected, it is time to take a look at the bottom strap. This needs the same treatment as that given to the upper half. Rounded edges, a design groove, etc... First up though, trim the one end using a special belt tip punch.  These tools are handy because it is very difficult to get a belt tip shape just right by hand.

(Image removed from quote.)

Dry fit the hardware once all of that is done.

(Image removed from quote.)

Next up, dye the straps  and bottom the same colour as the quiver. yes, that belt buckle set looks great on the dyed pieces. Note that simple groove, how it picks up the dye.

(Image removed from quote.)

   great job mate and thanks for the info, i found a site in the uk that does tools but there expensive 

[Chako]

Have you checked on eBay?

[AimlessWanderer]

Leatherworking tools are expensive over here Paul, no matter where you get them from. I've looked into it a few times. That said I think if you got the right set of basic tools £50-60 should let you get underway

[Zed]

not recently chako but i will check again,

Yeah Al like most things in the uk  ive missed out a few times on other sites as skint at the time    i will keep looking though 

[Chako]

Leather tools are expensive.

At least Tandy leather has good sales every month. I wonder if they ship to the UK?

[AimlessWanderer]

I'm pretty sure there's a Tandy over here ..