Riplikash

Great, thanks for the additional info. I grabbed the plastic initially, but that was so cheap I don't mind buying something else. I think I mis-understood your advice on edges though. I thought you were saying it's best to just bevel it by sanding and to not use a beveling tool. But now I'm thinking you may be saying the opposite?

Thanks so much for the excellent advice. It is a huge help.

Hello all, First post and first project. I have been studiously gathering information and creating a plan to start my first leather-working project. I'm going with a couple of simple dress belts to keep things simple. I was hoping to run my plan by some people with more experience in the area than I before I make my first set of purchases. So if anyone could help me fill in a few holes and critique my plan, I would appreciate it. Some background: I'm a fair hand at several crafts so I have a decent set of tools already. But this is my first attempt at leather working. My #1 goal is usually to make things look professional, not home-made. So, that being said: 1. I was planning on using the belt blanks from Tandy, though I see Springfield has blanks too, so that is an option. On a related note, would it be better to go through Springfield, Tandy, some other company, or just grab stuff piecemeal from Amazon? Is there anything I should be pre-treating the leather with to achieve an even stain? 2. Cut the belt to size (probably with xacto knives for now), and punch belt holes with rotary punch 3. Bevel edges using hand beveling tool. I am worried that perhaps the tools don't come pre-sharpened. Anyone know if that is the case? Also, I've seen some tutorials say to sand the edges BEFORE beveling. What exactly would that accomplish? I'm also a bit confused on beveler sizes. Tandy at least has several. A suggestion about what size to use for a belt would be appreciated. A few tutorials also suggest wetting and working leather soap into the edge at this point? Important step? 4. Burnish edge with plastic edge slicker (the one Tandy leather sells). I've also seen a wooden burnishing tool with multiple sizes. Would that be a better idea to get? 5. Planning on dying the leather with Fielbing's Oil Dye (dark brown) using my airbrush. Playing with the idea of using light brown as a base and dark brown (again, via airbrush) to add a dark/light/dark gradient to the belts. I've done a lot of airbrushing with oil paints, and in most other applications it seems to give a deeper penetrating, longer lasting, and more rich paint job. I'm assuming that is the case with leather as well, but if alcohol or acrylic based dyes have some things in their favor I'm unaware of, please correct me. 5. Dye the edges. I've seen several "Edge Cote" products. Is that preferable to just using the dye I used on the rest of the belt? 6. Hand burnish edges with edge slicker 7. Polish edges. I've seen paraffin wax suggested, but I'm open to suggestions. 8. Finish: aaand, here I'm a bit stumped. I could really use suggestions. I was thinking of using a liquid I could apply via airbrush. Possibly a satin or semi-gloss finish? I don't know. Again, first time working with leather, I'm not sure what kind of finish I like on it yet. I just know I like it to look and feel like leather, not plastic, so probably no high gloss finishes. 9. dye and finish the little belt loops. Attatch. 10. Attach belt buckle and give as gift. So that's my plan. Which leaves this as my purchase list: Beveling tool wood or plastic edge bevel slicker rotary punch Fielbings professional dye 2 belt blanks and two belt buckles belt loops some sort of finish? edge kote? Sorry if that was a bit long, but there is my plan. Does that look good? Do I have anything out of order, or am I missing any steps? Anyways, thanks in advance for any replies. Jumping into a new craft is always nerve wracking for me.