Adding “Life” to Leather Carving

To add a little bit of realism to my leather work, I’ve been experimenting with giving a more “lifelike” appearance to the carving. The goal is to make the leaf appear that it was plucked from the ground and stuck on the leather.

I started off with a basic outline cut into the leather with a swivel knife. A touch of shading helps me figure where I’m going to make the initial cut for a flap.

A slit is cut with a razor knife along the edge of the stem in the middle of the leaf.

A thinner piece of leather shaped like the other part of the leaf is glued into the slit.

The glued in flap is dampened with water and slowly folded over.

Caution is taken so the thin flap doesn’t crack from being bent.

The flap is glued down, and the edges are rolled up slightly.

Once the entire leather piece is dry, the final finish is applied. If you took your time, the leaf looks three dimensional.

A similar leaf pattern is shown here on a different knife sheath. A little color can be added with thinned down red and green dyes.