forging leaves

[Sabre]

I was wondering.....
can any1 give me some tips on forging leaves.
i dont want super big ones either.
i would also like to try to add the leaves to a candel holder
does any1 have tips on how to make either one that
looks like a vine going up to the candel ar a snake or somthing cool!!
i would like to make it fairly simple to!

sabre

[Glenn]

BP0185 Making Flowers
BP0103 Punching and Forming Copper Leaves
BP0096 Leaf Candle Cup

[KevinD]

Heres some videos that Ian posted a while back.

http://www.iforgeiron.com/forum/14492-post1.html

[FieryFurnaceForge]

Since your just starting out I would say wait on the candle holder and vine. I have been forging for a year, and I am just getting were I can venture out on stuff like that and feel confident.
Figure the leaf out first!
This is how I do it: 3/8 inch round or square, (I prefere round) neck it down about 1 inch from the end, (Necking is thining the steel down in the middle of a rod. Look in a mirror, and make the piece of steel look like your neck!) take the 1 inch you have on the end and do a steep taper, flatten the 1 inch of steel on the end, (keeping a good point on the end: You can use the chisel side of the cros peen hammer to pull extra steel out to the edges.) smooth the marks of the cross peen out. At this point you want a small spear head looking thing on the end. Take your cross peen and make marks in it, making it look like a cedar tree with the branches turned up toward the top. Turn the leaf upside down, and hammer it with the ball peen on a stump. As you hammer the hot steel will burn a whole in the stump, this makes it have a 3D look. In the above video where the guy is thining the leaf out; that is when you use the peen to pull it out farther. Makes a fatter leaf! Sounds complicated, but play around with it. Except for a few tips I taught myself how to make leaves. Now I make leaf neclaces and leaf hooks. I do fire pokers with the twisted vine look. Remember, practice makes perfect!
Good luck!
I'll try to post a picture of my leaves in a day or two.

The kidsmith,
Dave Custer