Month: October 2021

Winter (Holidays) are Coming

Business, Life of a Maker

Last night here in Fort Collins, CO we got our first taste of winter. Thunderstorms with small hail and then light rain and falling temperatures. This morning many cars and decks were covered in ice. Just to the north of us in Wyoming they got blizzard conditions last night and this morning. It was in the 80’s here just a couple of days ago.

A wintery day in Fort Collins, CO

Note: This picture wasn’t from today. I had to dig through my photos to find a good snow picture to use. Hopefully we’ll get some heavy snows like this during the winter to cut down on our drought!

Custom Leather Christmas Orders

All of these changes in the weather has us thinking about the upcoming holidays. Its actually not all that long until Christmas. If you are thinking about a custom leather order as a holiday gift for a loved one or for yourself you need to get the order in soon. We’ll be closing the books on new orders in the next few weeks. Most custom orders take several weeks to make so I won’t be taking any new orders after November 15 for Christmas delivery. If we get a lot of Christmas orders in the next few weeks this date may have to move up so if you have something in mind you would like to have made, make sure to contact me as soon as possible!

Custom leather Christmas orders are always a big part of our business here. We are always getting requests for custom leather items in the last few days before Christmas and we always have to disappoint those people because it takes more than a couple of days to make quality leather goods. Please don’t be disappointed this year. Contact us now to get your order in!

We make a variety of leather wallets, clutch purses, notebooks and custom knife sheaths and we would be thrilled to make a special item for you!

Leather Tools of the Trade

Leather Carving, Leather Construction, Leather Stamping

Working with leather is a very old art form. It’s perhaps the oldest profession (or at least one of them) and there are many special leather tools that have been developed over time for cutting and working leather. Here at C and B Leather we use many different tools to make the custom leather items that you order. Below are some of the most important ones.

Round Knives

Leather Round Knife
These are two examples of different kinds of leather round knives. Top is an Al Stohlman model from Tandy Leather, bottom is a Leather Wranglers model.

One of the most iconic tools is the round or head knife. The design of this knife is centuries old and in the middle ages the shape of this knife was a symbol of leather workers and leather working guilds. The curved design is optimized for cutting leather into pieces from the hide. The sharp points on the blade are adapted to cutting tight curves while the long curved blade is good for straight cuts.

Swivel Knives

A more modern development is the swivel knife. This knife is used for carving a design into leather, and is only used with special types of leather that can be carved and stamped. This kind of leather is called vegetable tanned and it possesses unique properties that allow it to take stamp impressions or to be carved when wet.

Leather Swivel Knives
Three kinds of swivel knife. From left to right, Robert Beard Pro Tools knife, Leather Wrangles SK-V and SK-3 knives.

Swivel knives get their name because the top finger rest of the knife can swivel and turn. When used the carver rests their index finger on the top part which is commonly called a ‘yoke’ and uses this finger to press down into the leather. The body of the knife where the blade in mounted can be turned or ‘swiveled’ by the other fingers and thumb, allowing the knife to carve intricate designs into the damp leather. Usually (but not always) other tools called stamps are used along these cut lines to create a relief sculpture in the leather.

Leather Stamps

Leather stamps are used with vegetable tanned leather to create designs in the leather. They can create simple geometric or basket weave designs or they can be used to create more complex bass relief carvings. These kinds of stamps are very specialized to create certain effects, and it takes a lot of skill and experience to use them properly and create works of leather art.

Stamping tools used for creating a carved design in leather.

Having Quality Leather Tools

It isn’t necessary to buy the most expensive leather tools but having quality tools is definitely important. The old saying ‘it’s a poor craftsman that blames his tools’ is very true, but quality swivel knives and stamps make the job of rendering your work of art much easier. It is our goal at C and B Leather to make you the highest quality custom leather item we can, whether you are looking for a custom wallet, notebook or handbag. Our focus is on making your imagination come to life in an heirloom quality item that will be a family keepsake for years to come.

Floral carving in leather.