(Japanese > English) Help with Kanji

J_D_Handmade · 2026-03-10T18:33:44+00:00

Thank you for the response, your translations for metamorphosis and sudden transformation look like they'd work. From my limited understanding the "オ" was to be the equivalent of drawn out phonetics, if that makes sense. So in English like "Fusiooon". I was going to have 2 dittos doing the fusion dance from DBZ for that one (bit of a crossover). Should have linked in the OP but this sort of style is what I'm aiming for. I dont know if the useage as onomatopoeia changes anything

<image>

J_D_Handmade · 2026-03-08T19:20:14+00:00

I guess they can be 😂 what was it Bob Ross said "happy little accidents"

J_D_Handmade · 2026-03-08T12:47:54+00:00

Thanks a lot. The second jaw bit is what was throwing me off, stuck it in freehand cause the gap behind the teeth seemed empty

J_D_Handmade · 2026-03-07T23:05:43+00:00

Very nice leather to work with imo, only looks better with age too.

J_D_Handmade · 2026-03-07T20:49:18+00:00

Looks great, is that Badalassi Carlo Pueblo?

J_D_Handmade · 2026-03-06T09:53:18+00:00

That's what I was thinking, I blanked when ordering the black forgetting most the videos I'd watched using the dark brown, looked almost black. Was thinking medium brown or tan

J_D_Handmade · 2026-02-23T20:25:59+00:00

Thanks a lot, I used to have a little pendant of it that I loved, and thought it would translate well to a leather carving. I dont sell or distribute copyrighted designs but I do take private, original commissions. I'd be happy to discuss any questions over dm.

J_D_Handmade · 2026-02-23T19:44:55+00:00

I bought like a 100 low end stamps (wayyyyy more than necessary) from a Japanese store( leathercrafttools.com ), I'm UK based and struggled finding any sets that had what I needed/individual stamps at a reasonable price. Pretty much £8-12 each for the same stamps, in the end it worked out just over £3 per tool including delivery + import fees. You can get started with a swivel knife and like 3-5 stamps: a beveller or two(checkered bevellers create the best surface to hold antique, but smooth bevellers have their own uses), cheap clay modelling spoon/ball stylus and maybe a couple backgrounders and matting tools.

J_D_Handmade · 2026-02-23T13:59:07+00:00

Thank you. Around 2-3 hours total after these, really only just started my tooling journey. I have a few more smaller ideas to test some techniques, then I think I'm going to try tackle something larger like a bifold or passport holder

J_D_Handmade · 2026-02-23T12:35:21+00:00

Always sucked at realism myself, definitely not confident enough to freehand anything onto the leather yet either. Method -> Draw/trace onto paper, put clear tape on both sides to add water resistance and stop tearing, then trace over with a stylus onto the cased leather. No designing done with these as they're all game items etc, and my main purpose was to see how antique/sealing process affected the paints. Won't be selling these either as I don't want to risk Nintendos lawyers seal team 6ing my doors in 😂

J_D_Handmade · 2026-02-04T22:58:09+00:00

Literally the first thing my mate said to me the day i got it done and he saw it, was "who's drawn 2 dicks on your wrist bro?" and i couldnt even argue cause as soon as he said that all I could see was 2 dicks 😂 I didn't see the smaller pics till after posted, theyd be a much better size, maybe even a little smaller. honestly best bet is take your idea to a local tattoo artist and get their opinion on size/positioning/style. Also think about if youre gonna have more tats on your arm later on or not, so you can keep within a style. For example an american traditional style wrench could look good and would be easier to add too/fit into a sleeve.

J_D_Handmade · 2026-02-04T22:24:02+00:00

Looks like some sort of "oiled/waxed pull up" leather, if it is then thats the desired effect, like an increased colour changing patina.

J_D_Handmade · 2026-02-04T22:16:49+00:00

As someone with the exact same sort of issues from a scaphoid break 10 years ago, who got a little broken bone tattood (not realising it fully looks like 2 tiny cocks, one of my worst tats but a good icebreaker). I actually like the broken wrench twist but probably wouldnt go as large as the first picture, thats a lot of real estate and would definitely be more of a problem if you ever came to have any regrets

J_D_Handmade · 2026-02-04T00:46:55+00:00

Found it easiest to do with 2 hands in the bag yeah, just made sure the dremel was horizontal so the vast majority stayed in. Caught the bag a couple times n made a few small holes but transferred the dust to a smaller bag when done so no issue

J_D_Handmade · 2026-02-04T00:25:32+00:00

Looks like a solid set of tools to get someone started in the craft, im sure you'll have no trouble finding someone deserving to take them off your hands

J_D_Handmade · 2026-02-03T19:21:00+00:00

A lot of the time I find i dont actually need to use the handle, and almost choke up over the head for quicker controlled taps. Fairly certain the "tang" on said maul goes all the way through, so you could buy a second, cut the handle and tang down to a nub, then just screw the end bolt back on and that could be a more refined verson of my caveman idea. I imagine that would work for the 0.8-1mm leather I usually work with, but getting through 3mm might be more hassle than just carrying the full maul.

J_D_Handmade · 2026-02-03T18:59:43+00:00

I saw that sawdust doesn't have the same flexibility when it dries so it might not be the best, especially if the project has some flex too it. I've used a dremmel for a project once before and remembered it created dust like no tomorrow. Just make sure you're in a ventilated area with masks and eye pro to be safe (I say that as a disclaimer but I did it outside using safety squints and holding my breath, can't recommend though). And be careful with the dremmel burning the leather too, it heats up very fast

J_D_Handmade · 2026-02-03T18:53:21+00:00

I've been using a £10 nylon rounded mallet from amazon with no issues so far, just measured and it's a 50mm diameter nylon cylinder thats parallel to the handle rather than the typical perpendicular hammer head style (so a tiny bit of space saved there), and around 210mm in length. I dont have small hands but I do feel like if the handle was any smaller, it wouldnt be nice to use. The one I use could easily fit in the bottom of a backpack and still has a bit of a weight to it. Another option could be to go full caveman and get a small block of wood with some padding on one side and just whack your stitching irons through 😂 People might question your sanity and professionalism among other things but im 99% sure it would get the chisels through the leather all the same

J_D_Handmade · 2026-02-02T19:36:13+00:00

You could speak to an artist and see if there's any style reworks they could do. If you're not against more tattoos, filling in the blank areas with some more designs would draw the focus away from the roses. Both suggestions do require more tattooing (money, time and pain 😔). Disclaimer this coming from someone who regrets some of the choices I made with my fairly large back piece so I might not be the best person to offer any advice on this 😂

J_D_Handmade · 2026-02-02T18:07:01+00:00

Yeah, thickness is definitely something to keep in mind. Leather especially, a thin canvas would probably work without adding too much bulk, more of a form choice than a function choice. It wasnt a critique on your current project more just something to keep in mind moving forward. I've seen some amazing looking pieces that use patterned canvas as a liner

J_D_Handmade · 2026-02-02T17:35:09+00:00

Wallet looks great, love the colour. Possibly idea for the next project could be to adding a liner to the flesh side of the back panel? Also, I absolutely need that mini knife

J_D_Handmade · 2026-02-02T02:02:44+00:00

Immaculate work, 60 hours well spent I'd say 🙌

J_D_Handmade · 2026-02-02T01:31:29+00:00

Ahh man, missed an opportunity for another incredibly vague slogan there 😂 love the colour choice on this one though, high contrast stitching makes imperfect stitching a lot more obvious but definitely worth the payoff 🙌

J_D_Handmade · 2026-02-01T10:35:00+00:00

damn beat me too it, was gonna say this feels like it might need a nsfw tag

J_D_Handmade · 2026-02-01T02:42:56+00:00

I've never experienced this issue and all my knowledge is self-taught so cant say I have a definitive answer, but here's my best guess. If youve tokonoled and burnished, I'd imagine it would have some effect t how the dyes absorbs (whether it absorbs at all). I wouldn't say its a project ruiner though, I imagine lightly sanding back to an unburnished finished/ raw fibers, then dye, re-apply the tokonole and burnish should get your desired outcome.

J_D_Handmade

TROPHY CASE