Some paste is made of very light and smooth flour, diluted with half the quantity of water and beaten to a cream. The water is added in small quantities while the mixture is being stirred. Canson paper, or some other strong
drawing paper, is pasted over the whole surface of the leather, so that it adheres lightly, and can be removed afterwards without difficulty; it is then placed under boards and allowed to dry thoroughly.
TRACING THE DESIGN ON THE PAPER
The design is traced by means of carbon paper on the paper lining of the inlay leather. A hard pencil should be used in order to produce very sharp lines.
CUTTING OUT THE DESIGN
Cutting-out knives should possess a keen edge and a small blade, and should be so shaped that they can be turned freely in any direction. The knife illustrated in Fig. 21 combines all these qualities. It consists of a very fine double-edged blade, set loosely into a slit in a hard wood handle and secured with a few turns of thread; a piece of leather over the whole (A) keeps the blade in its place. The handle being loose, it is possible to give any minute movement to the blade, which can also be taken out for sharpening when necessary. It must be kept as sharp as a razor. The extreme fineness of this blade facilitates cutting out the delicate parts of a design, but if handled too vigorously it is apt to get out of shape. The second tool (Fig. 22) is a stencil-cutter’s knife, and is very similar to the one described above except in size. It is usually sold mounted in an ebony slide bound round with copper wire, but can with advantage be mounted as in Fig. 21, in a split hard-wood handle.
One little known tool deserves mention for its flexibility and lightness. This is a small scraper shaped like an unslit pen, the blade widening from the point in two very fine edges like the head of a pike. It is used by photographers and miniature painters, and is sold by the dozen in small boxes. When in use it is firmly fixed in a small pen-holder so that it does not turn when pressed upon (Fig. 23).
CUTTING-OUT KNIVES: (A), FIG. 21, FIG. 22, FIG. 23