AEBL

If you are hand stitching, you can "re use" a hole every so often. For as many stitch holes as you say you have, you can re-use a hole on the side with fewer holes every 20 stitches or so. This is very similar to what you'd do on a "box stitch." Stohlman's How to Sew Leather book talks about it (and is well worth your money if you haven't got a copy). Also, on YouTube, several channels talk about how to do it - I think Corter Leather's is pretty good:

I figured there must be some historian that had cataloged some of the vast and varied work of leather carvers. I think if you live near Sheridan, you are probably surrounded by examples, in stores, on saddles - but if you don't, you have fewer options. Jim Linnell is great, he seems to have a great deal of resources on his site. I think I'm going to be making belts, sheaths and journal/Bible covers ... probably not saddles, but there *is* a saddle shop near me. I know that "Sheridan Leather Carving" by Gardener and Faye (might be) one with more picture examples? There is this one (in Japanese) that comes up from time to time on my searches, not sure if any of you know anything about it: https://leathercrafttools.com/item/11732/

Carving seemed (well, still seems) magic to me. I've seen a lot of really cool work of all sorts of styles, but I'm wondering if there are sources for examples of styles somewhere on the web? Best stuff I seem to be able to find is on image search, but the search engines really don't know the difference between any of the styles.

I got my edgers used, and I figured I had watched enough on how to sharpen them, how to use them ... but I noticed that the tool tended to scalp my leather, especially near turns. I figured I had sharpened it wrong or something ... maybe I was using it wrong ... but then I felt the tip. The tips (the outer two metal prongs that the cutting channel is between) were pointed sharply. It appears that either they came that way, or whoever had them before me sharpened them and didn't worry that they were making two needle points that stuck out in front. Pictured is an edger I haven't rounded off ... but do edgers come with sharp points like that on the end??! (I would have shown the tool next to the scalp job it was responsible for - but I was so upset that I threw that project out the window already)

I tried sharpening my swivel knife by hand ... that took a long time, and I had to use my jewler glasses to make sure the bevel was flat on the stone. It worked well, I decided to buy a jig.

I guess I had always ignored the product photos I saw on other people's sites, but I'm glad to see how other makers take photos of their products. It really does make a difference - they're better than the ones with crummy lighting that I took for sure. I have a couple of those clip-on lights around, and crepe paper is easily found. Thanks for the picture of your setup, LatigoAmigo. I might also experiment with bouncing the flash off of reflectors. Someone had recommended the aluminum-backed styrofoam insulation that you can get at the big box stores (very cheap). Thanks for the ideas on postprocessing software. I'll check out RawTherapee (linked, in case anyone else reading is interested). Photoshop Elements is obviously the professional go-to. I totally agree. I'm a hardcore Linux user, so most Windows things are too much of a pain for me to install (with Wine, for instance). I'm also a bit of a curmudgeon, and I apparently like doing things the hard way. Less stubborn people would follow Pastor Bob's advice and be happy. There was a program I was using a while back that did really great background removal (had something to do with seamless cloning, linked, for the more nerdy of you bunch) - and it was free. I might see if I can find it and post a "how to" on how to do it. I think part of the trick is to get a more predictable background (like a sheet, or something with no wrinkles and only one color, like posterboard).

@bruce johnson, the catalog picture shows a circle with what looks to be an angled (filligree?) blade being sharpened ... seems like you'd have to push it over the stone at a crooked angle to get that to work ... but I could be wrong.

I've read a few posts here, and I am starting to realize that product photography is ... hard. I have a couple of lackluster photos of the stuff I have made. Mostly just cell-phone camera pointed at a table, or on the floor. I am pretty handy with Photoshop though ... (well, Gimp, Inkscape and ImageMagick, really). Can I use crummy lighting and make up for it with fancy digital stuff (that I will have to re-learn how to do?) Attached are some MakeSupply "wrap" wallets I made, just photographed on the kitchen floor with no other compensation. I guess I could have gotten some posterboard and tried to make something easier to crop the background from.

@zuludog - I have one of them, they're great. (English, right-hand, 2.0 mm)

Thanks Ferg!

Waving flag made in USA? I know on eBay that there are lots of people selling "vintage" running deer 3d stamps, etc., you might try looking for things like that and reproducing a similar stamp (I'm not suggesting outright copying the design, but rather a similar "running deer", "jumping deer") perhaps just look for high-price "vintage" and fill in the market niche with a new thing, probably crisper and more detailed than the original.

The cheap ones on Amazon from China are okay, I'm assuming that you have had one and that you are looking to upgrade, so I won't mention those. Sometimes when you get the custom-made ones you're looking for a particular steel (usually a trade off between ease of sharpening and edge retention - some of the "super" steels keep an edge for an incredible amount of time, but are also harder to sharpen, and I'd recommend a decent diamond plate for that) or, you are getting something that is pretty - either premium handle materials, or damascus steel blades, etc., a tool that makes you happy to hold. If you're just going for good utility and durability while being affordable - you might look near the ~$100 range. If you find your knife inspires you as a leatherworker more when it is also a work of art - it may make more sense for you to own a more premium tool, they're nice to look at. I have a custom Japanese knife from a local guy. It has turquoise on the handle and I like watching it slice leather, and it reminds me of my friend who I got the knife from. Buckleguy has one for $60: https://www.buckleguy.com/bg-japanese-skiving-knife-35mm-straight-blade-right-hand/ Tandy has one for $70 that looks great, Weaver has a very affordable one at $30 ... Sailrite has one for $100 (and it is damascus also) https://www.sailrite.com/Sailrite-Damascus-Japanese-Leather-Skiving-Knife Leatherwranglers has one (is a bit more expensive - though it is probably fantastic)

I would imagine that the plane would have to be very very sharp, I know that the angle on my woodworking tools is a bit more obtuse than my leatherworking tools. My chisels are sharp, but the skiving knife is terrifying ...

@Ferg - my wife sent the money via PayPal, name for the address is in the payment notes for the transaction, thanks!

I messaged you my address ... can't post my address here.

When I asked about waterproofing hats, I think I remember someone recommending Vaseline. I haven't tried. This was the post, I think:

Saddle Lac? It is a spray-on finish and won't involve mechanically rubbing your painted area. (That's actually a Daniel Reach suggestion from his YouTube channel - but I can't find the video)

For stinky oils - you could try "sparging" it ... get an aquarium bubbler (little pump with a stone at the end that emits tiny bubbles) and run that for a while. I know for less viscous things, say in the olive oil area of viscosity, you can remove smells a bit. Sometimes it takes a day or so, and for shmaltz (chicken fat), you might have to sparge it in a slow cooker. I have only sparged less viscous things like Copper Chloride etchant ... you might also have to worry about foam, so if you try it, don't try it with a full container ... try half full for starters.

Nice work! Good to know about W&C ... sorry to hear that HO has declined ...

@Ferg, I'm interested in your book - I PM'ed you ...

I tried calling Bob Park's number, got an answering machine message that seemed to be his business. I left a message and nobody got back with me. I'm not on Facebook, but the wife is. She said his page looks like it hasn't been posted on since 2022 ...

Yeah - that's the video I was looking for.

Great links, thanks Bruce

Hand stitching took me a while to get mediocre at. I watched a bunch of videos, and the more I watch, the more I realize that I have a lot to learn. One of the earliest videos I was watching was by JH Leather (linked below), it was great, but the one I really wanted to link for you I couldn't find easily was by Nigel Armitage (who occasionally is on here under the nickname Dangerous Beans). He's got awesome videos also. Anyhow, the first video that helped me really get it:

Great, thanks folks! My first project is a tote bag ... and I do need to make sure that I can get my seams absolutely parallel for the straps. I'm probably going to put some miles on the machine getting better at parallel lines, and backstitching that doesn't look awful. I don't have a needle positioning system, but I think it might be possible to get one for my servo controller ... I have a Consew C3000 controller. I like the economy of reusing tooling practice leather as a roughout sheath ... very cool.