DavidII

Gray is actually a lighter Shade of Black, so obviously you could just dilute any Black you have....However, there are different hues (color) of Black ! As a Watercolorist, I use/make Blue-Black, and Green-Black by mixing a few drops of the non-black color until I get the Hue (Color) I want. Then dilute to create even more some different Shades (light/dark) of this new color. So as you can imagine you could easily come up with a dozen or more different Grays. Hint - you can use this same technique for all the Other Colors on the Color Wheel also. i.e...Red-Orange, Yellow-Orange, Yellow-Green, Blue-Green, Red-Purple, and Blue-Purple. I like to make/mix my own Color Wheel (using squares) on a scap piece of leather (recording my Mix Ratio) on the back...i.e.. 10 Parts Black and 1 Part Blue, etc.... You can also pre-mix this combination of colors in seperate and smaller bottles. I glue scap of leather to the lid to indicate its color actually on leather, and record the ratio I used, too! Good luck -seems like a nice project! David PS: Make it easy on yourself by buying a Color Wheel (in any art supply store/section) and a couple of Eye-Droppers (for mixing) at the Drug Store.

I eventually settled on the techique of using Nail Polish. It is very durable, has its own brush, and drys very quickly. But, 'The Secret' is how its applied and taken off (leaving just the numbers highlighted).......I only do 2 or 3 tools at a time (because it drys so fast). Dab on the polish to fill the numbers. Then quickly use the flat side (don't crinkle it up) of a piece of newspaper to rub/buff off the excess polish. Then just keep the polish near your tools! Try it - you will like it! David

Can someone describe what the "hooks" are on this type of holster? Thanks, David

Hi, A former Tandy Manager shared using the cheapest adhesive shelf/contact paper (comes in rolls or buy by the foot everywhere!) and peel & stick to the back. I used to use the rubber cement method but found his method was fast, easy, no cement/cardboard stick to the leather, and no noticable distortion of the leather upon tooling. David

Hi, I used to use rubber cement and card board, too.....but a friend shared his use of using the cheapest shelf/contact adhesive paper with me. I was suspect but tried it and it works very well and I don't use the cement/cardboard method any more. David

Hi, It IS called a crepe erasure (or Frisket Erasure) and you can find them at most art supply stores in the Watercolor suppies area (artists use it to remove Liquid Frisket when 'saving' the white of their paper when painting). It will remove dried rubber cement from a SURFACE. I think your real concern is if the cement actually penetrated into the interior fibers of the leather and I don't have a clue what you would be able to do in that case? David

Very nice project Art! Specially when considering the 'time crisis' in which you had to make it! I do have a suggestion, but am reluctant to share it because.......if you already know it, and didn't feel you had the time.......well, please forgive me? Otherwise, it is a good technique if you are unaware of it and very easy and classy to accomplish. Suggestion for Border stamping: First stamp a single stamp impression into each corner at a 45 degree angle, in each of the four corners. Often a different stamp design is used for these 'corner' stampings. Then start from one of the corners and start stamping with your border tool, until you get about four or five impression spaces from the next corner, then stop. Because, now you want to 'plan' the spacing for the remaining impressions so they 'fit and fill the space left' , and you end up at/near the corner impression. I 'plan' these final impressions by lightly walking the tool to get a feel for the spacing (adjusting the very small space between the future impressions until they will 'look right') then stamp the remaining impressions out to the corner impression. The first time you may feel a little nervous and might even think you need to measure or something. But have confidence, this 'getting close, walking imaginary impressions, then finishing' technique is actually very easy. It results in very nice borders, evenly spaced out as far as the eye is concerned, quickly done, and takes care of the corners nicely. The 'hints' I use are: Don't let the stamps actually touch each other when you first start stamping. Leave a very small 1/32 or so space between tool impressions . Because, later when you try to fit the remaining four or five stamps in, you again do not let them touch either. This is done so that you can expand or contract these final spaces and the eye will be fooled into seeing them as 'all equal' (because ALL impression have some space, but the Final four will have a little more or less space - to make them fit. Not sure this will all translate in writing, but hope it does and help you or some other reader. David

Very nice Wallet Randy! Someone will really appreciate your gift, skills, and work you put into it! Thanks for sharing, David