Bob Blea | C and B Leather: Custom Hand Made Leather Goods

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.

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.

Happy National Leather Craft Day!

Life of a Maker

Hand Sewing Leather — Hand Stitching a Leather Wallet with a traditional saddle stitch.

Did you know that August 15th is apparently National Leather Craft Day? Apparently back in 2018 this day was established as a day that “honors the rich heritage, artistry, and skill of leathercrafting.” Certainly no argument from me there. Working with leather is a wide ranging subject and there are so many things you can do with it. My main focus of carving leather is just a small part of what people all over the country do to work with leather on a daily basis.

According to the website National Day Calendar this holiday was created:

National Leathercraft Day recognizes the dedication and creativity of leather workers. Passionately, their inspiration comes alive through their designs and time-honored traditions. When a leatherworker designs a piece, expect outstanding quality and skill.
www.nationaldaycalendar.com

According to the site you can try taking a class to learn leathercraft or you can order a handcrafted item from your favorite leather worker. In case you want to order anything from me, you can check out my Etsy shop at: https://www.etsy.com/shop/CandBLeather

If you want to see more of the description of this day of celebration you can click here: https://nationaldaycalendar.com/national-leathercraft-day-august-15/

Leather Carving As An Art Form

Life of a Maker

Carving or embossing leather is an art that is as old as man’s use of animal hides. It was probably something that mankind learned to do as soon as they learned how to tan leather. Leather carving as an art form has been embraced by almost all cultures in Earth’s history, each providing their own unique cultural spins.

The image of the purse above is one that we made that uses the Western floral carving style that was developed by saddle makers in the US. Though this is a common leather carving style seen these days in the US, it’s not the only style we’ve made.

Celtic Trinity Knot Notebook by C and B Leather.

This notebook has a traditional Celtic Trinity Knot design flanked by other Celtic Knot designs in the corners. Celtic knot designs in leather, as well as in stone, wood or on paper, have been a popular art form for many centuries, and still hold their allure today in leather art. Celtic designs are very popular to this day and we are often requested to make customer leather items that use Celtic knots or images.

Carved Celtic Cross notebook by C and B Leather

One of the most common forms of making leather into art is by stamping a design into it. Geometric designs can be simple lines to complex geometric forms. Most often they are stamped into the leather with a single tool that is used to make multiple impressions across the surface of the leather.

This particular design on a minimalist leather wallet was achieved with two separate tools being used together across the wallet’s outer surface. It’s a complex task that takes a lot of skill to execute well.

Custom leather work is what we do at C and B Leather and bringing your artwork ideas to life is our goal with every project.
Bob Blea, owner, C and B Leather

First, an Introduction…

Life of a Maker

Welcome to C and B Leather!

If you have found this site and are reading this post, you are most likely one of the first people to visit our new website. Welcome and I hope you will be a frequent visitor or future customer!

Who we are

C and B Leather is owned by Bob and Crystal Blea. I’m Bob and I do the leather carving and stamping you see here. My wife Crystal introduced me to leather carving as an art form after we got married. Before that time I had no idea that it was possible to carve or stamp designs into leather. My artistic background up to that point had been in painting, primarily oils. Though I had seen designs in leather before I hadn’t thought about how people made them. After discovering leather carving as an art, I started learning all I could. I worked on developing my skills and I was fortunate to have a friend who was a saddle maker. Dusty Johnson was a well known saddle maker who also made replicas of western gun belts from Hollywood western movies and he was my first teacher, showing me the basics. I will always be grateful to him for that. Eventually I was able to learn from some of the masters of leather carving like Bob Park, Robert Beard, Chan Geer and one of my most influential mentors, Jesse Smith, a master leather carver and saddle maker. I am eternally grateful to all these people for the knowledge they have shared with me.

I am also extremely grateful to my wife Crystal. Without her I never would have started on this journey. While she doesn’t do any of the carving these days, she still helps out with lacing, the jewelry items and making sure my design choices make sense. She’s also my expert when it comes to purses and handbags. I owe her much as she is the seed that all of this came from.

What we make

We produce a line of money clips, wallets, purses and notebooks. Occasionally we make jewelry items that combine carved leather with metals. Most items are custom made to your specifications. Often I carve western floral style designs developed by saddle makers in the Western US, but that isn’t the only style I carve in. I frequently carve Celtic designs, animals and even landscapes in leather.

What you will find on this blog

Over the coming posts I plan to talk about the techniques we use to construct the handcrafted leather items we make. You will see posts about items we are making in our shop, the tools we use and the skills they require. Because I’m also a big history buff, I plan to talk about the history of the art form. I plan to talk about where the art came from and some of the people who developed the forms and skills we use today. I’ve also come across quite a few characters in the leather trade and I hope to introduce you to a few of them.