WriterSteven

Oh that’s great! Thanks for steering me in the right direction. I’ll go check out her work and the Tandy link.I appreciate it!

Ok… So here is what I wanted to try. I want to take a solid piece of lighter colored veg tan for the bottom. Then, on the top have a contrasting piece of leather that I can cut a design into it showing the lighter colored leather in the cuts. I’ve seen it done in saddle work years ago, but I’m not sure what doing such a thing is called. Also, if anyone has done this before, how do you glue the intricate cut leather on to the bottom piece?? Contact cement seems like it would be nearly impossible and get all over the lighter leather. I’d like to try it, but I’m not sure if it would work! Any thought would be appreciated! Steven

Probably so JDFred. I guess we see things that others will never notice. I suppose we’re all the biggest critics of our work.

Thanks. When the sun decides to shine again, I’ll set them out on the back porch. Hopefully it will help. I appreciate the advice.

After stamping in some snowflakes and dyeing my leather, I thought my project could use some NFO. I added a liberal coat and immediately wiped away the excess. I think my mistake was not pushing my cloth down in each stamp to get the oil out. Anyway, I came in this morning and all of my stamped snowflakes have a dark oiled area surrounding the stamps. I used Fiebings Pro Spanish Brown, so it’s kind of a lighter color. I did this to five sleighbell door hangers, so I’m freaking out a little. I went over a couple with walnut which helped a little, but you can still really see the oil. Is there anything I can try to pull the oil out short of dyeing these things black? Pretty discouraged today…

My new Styri knife arrived today. It looks nice. I guess we’ll see how to holds up.

Update: I received this from Styri yesterday. “We apologize for the delay, which is connected with military actions in our country and the limitation of electricity due to destroyed power plants.” I guess I can’t fuss too much about the delay. I’m sure it’s not easy for anyone living anywhere in Ukraine right now. I’ll just have to be patient.

So I ordered the parring knife in the above photo. It’s been 10 days and it still says unfulfilled. This is what I received four days ago… “We are contacting you to inform you that we are completing work on your order. Sorry, it took longer than expected. We had some difficulty with manufacturing materials. Once sent, we will provide you with a tracking number to track your parcel.” I hope it’s worth the wait! I’ll keep you posted.

Oh wow… It almost looks like the same knife! I’ll have to check out what Makers carries.

I’ll post a few photos when (or should I say if) it gets here! I see you are in Kansas. I live in Nashville now, but I grew up in Norton. Northwest corner of the state.

I know… I worry about that too. I’ve only had one overseas order that never made it. It was through Etsy, so the company I ordered from refunded my money. We’ll see how this goes. I placed the order off the Styri website. They’re in the Ukraine so who knows. I’ve been looking for a blade just like this for awhile. Terrick at Chartermade in South Africa sells a handcrafted pattern knife close to this, but it’s $249! It’s beautiful, but it’s $249… Shipped from Africa? Off subject, but if you look up Chartermade on YouTube, he has some really good videos. His edge burnishing is different than most, but they are beautiful when he’s done.

Has anyone used Stryi tools? They look like they’re good quality tools, but you never know for sure. The company is in Ukraine, but they ship worldwide. I’ve seen them on Etsy and they have a nice website as well. For a guy like myself just starting out, I could save a little money on roundheads or skiving knives IF they are of good quality. Thanks.

Thank you all for the information. When I go to buy dyed leather, does the non-sealed (for lack of a better term) have a name to be looking for?

I’m trying to simplify my life a little, but I’m not sure if what I’m thinking about would even work. I have several sleigh bell door hangers that are stamped and ready to be dyed. I’ve experimented with several Pro Dye color combinations and I have the color about where I want it, but I’m super worried about starting the dip dyeing process. My samples pieces sometimes come out looking nice, then I’ll try the same colors, same dye on a second piece and it might be patchy or a little uneven. (Same hide.) Since I already have a couple dozen of these cut and stamped, I’ll have to pray they all come out ok. I bought a couple of Preval sprayers to try as well. So my original question… In the future, can I just buy a nice light brown 8 to 9 Oz veg tan, cut, stamp and dye a dark border around it? Does anyone sell such a thing dyed, but without a top coat so I can add my border dye and stamps. I’m not sure if I could wet and stamp finished leather…? Thanks for any advice you guys have on any of the above. I sure appreciate it. Steven

After taking a look, would those two colors have more of an orange tint to them? It hard to tell by looking at their small swatch color samples!