MattTheHat

Looks hafty. -Matt

Very cool! For trimming, I'd make some leather covered forms and at least try doing it on the lathe. Of course, I'm using a metal lathe with a 3-jaw chuck which you might not have if you're using a wood lathe. Seems like with a fairly closely fitting form in the headstock and another in the tailstock, maybe with some of those no-slip bench pads in betwixt, you could apply enough pressure with the tailstock to accomplish the trimming as long as you use a very sharp parting tool and very light pressure. Whatever the case, whatever you're already doing looks very, very nice! -Matt

Very nice bag, indeed! And I love the expressions on the boy's faces. -Matt

That's kind of like me! Not pretty with LOTS of "character". -Matt

I didn't think about that, Tom. I don't remember for sure, but it seems like it was dry. I think I only moistened the inside of the folding groove. Thanks for the input, guys. -Matt

This sheath is the reason I got into leather working about six or seven months ago. I had several knives in need of a good sheath so I figured I'd give it a shot. Before I could get around to making one I got side tracked by learning a little leather carving. I finally got around to making the first of the knife sheaths this weekend. This is a first try in every way: I don't care for the carving pattern (but it almost fit the area), I had a misunderstanding with the leather dye, the stitching could be tighter and there are a couple of issues with the border stamping. One major lesson learned is that while you can pull some color off with a wet sponge, if you over do it, the leather is left brittle when it dries. There are a couple of cracks that resulted when I folded it. And this was even WITH an application of Neatsfoot oil. Other than that, I should have made the sheath just a smidge larger in diameter. I am, however, at least encouraged enough with the result to get on with starting take two. -Matt

Well, if you don't have the means to deal with a solid block, you kind of have to do what you can deal with. But yes, I could see how they would really complicate things. Still a very cool idea! -Matt

Cool idea. I haven't read every single post, so maybe it's already been asked, but why not use a sold piece of wood with holes drilled instead of all the tubes? -Matt

I'm sure the telling brushes are fine, they certainly look like quality brushes. I purchased a small 5-piece mid-range quality set from Hobby Lobby for about 10 bucks. MUCH better quality and they do indeed produce superior results. -Matt

Very nice! I'd like to make one myself soon. -Matt

You can if you practice. I think you'd be amazed at how quickly you'll learn. My first few attempts were pretty ugly to me, but each encouraging to some degree. I probably only have 50 hours tooling experience so far. After about 15 hours (I'd work for about two hours per session, so this took maybe three weeks in my spare time) I saw tremendous improvement and was encouraged to keep practicing. I saw noticeable improvement after each subsequent session. I'm a bit of a perfectionist, so I never thought I would see "acceptable" results in this little time. I found showing my practice work to my spouse and non-leatherworking friends gave me loads of encouragement. I got all kinds of awesome comments from my very first practice piece and each and every one that I showed thereafter. They always seemed to look at me like I was a bit crazy when I mentioned all my mistakes. I still have loads to learn, and I'm sure many folks with more experience will look at my work and cringe, but I'm more than satisfied with my results so far. I've also gotten some very good advice on how to overcome a few different issues here on the forum. -Matt

Thanks for the comments guys! I don't have a picture of the back. All I did was to use a 1" oblong punch to cut a slot centered on the back, about 1.25" down from the top edge. I basically ran out of time for doing the stand part and figured I could add it later if need be. Tandy Leather's Leathercraft Library has a video showing how to slot the back, as well as how to make a simple folding stand. You have to pay for access to the premium videos, but the pattern can be purchased https://www.leathercraftlibrary.com/p-1766-leather-picture-frame-pattern.aspx for $1.99. Once you see the pattern, it's dead simple, I don't think you'd need to see the video to see how it was used. -Matt

Thanks for the kind comments! The frame was made from two 10x12" pieces of 5-6 ounce Herman Oak leather. I backed each piece with Tandy's bag stiffener material. The stitching holds the two pieces together. The bag stiffener worked great, except when it was time for burnishing the edges. After several attempts I settled on a lot of sanding to get the edges really smooth and a very thin layer of Edge Coat. -Matt

I used one of the Tandy Craftaids for the pattern, which I have practiced doing about a dozen times over the past month. That and a dozen or so other similar practice sessions have been my total carving experience. Still new to leather craft this was the first item I felt good enough about to give as a gift. Still loads of room for improvement, and I would have preferred some kind of finish other than Satin Sheen, but my wife assured me the natural color better matched the young lady's shoes in the pic. -Matt

I agree completely. Being new to leatherwork in general, I'd never dyed the background like that. Just make sure you get decent brushes. Mine wasn't very a very good one and in some places, I could sure tell it. The bristles weren't springy enough for my limited skill. -Matt