kevinhopkins

Hi... Ellis Tried to get me to be the sole distributor of his tools as well... Probably 3 yrs ago. The tools are great, but personally, I think they're no better than some you can buy for less money. I'm kind of surprised that Seigel is able to have them..... Kevin Hopkins

Hello Running roan, I'm pretty much in agreement with folks here... WC will be a softer, sometimes mushier leather. I've used and sold both for a number of years. I've settled on hermann oak, mainly because of the acceptance with holster makers and belt makers. The nice thing about the hermann stuff, is that when you develop a method of finishing your products, you can always count on it to act the same way every time. Not that Wickett is bad, because it's not. I think it comes down largly to personal preference. But everytime I tool or construct something out of a leather other than Hermann, I always wonder why I did it! I've been thru their tannery numerous times, and I can say without a doubt that there's a lot of actual craftsmanship that goes into that stuff. As far as wickett goes, I've never been thru their new tannery...I'm sure it's top of the line. I think they really need to cater to anyone that will buy leather from them, because that tannery cost a lot of money. But it's got the capacity to support that sort of business. I think Hermann (if I remember correctly) only can tan 300 hides per week. If I was going to emboss a picture that I wanted to stick up a couple of inches over the surface of the leather, I might want to use Wickett. If I'm making a knife sheath, it's Hermann all the way. And you're right about the name. It really carries a pretty big wack out here, and I think that we can all use all the help we can get when it comes to marketing. As far as "brands" go, Hermann buys pretty much unbranded steers, but now and again (rarely) one will come thru with a brand. Normally, I'll use the brand if at all possible, and charge more because of the brand. It's really quite inconsequential if you're a holster and sheath maker anyway. There's always the occasional story of getting a side from hermann that has rawhide in it....that's mostly a thing of the past, but it does still happen from time to time. If I remember correctly, the percentage is like one out of maybe 2000 hides. Considering that most go to people that are running clickers and strap cutters, most of us little guys rarely see one. I know personally that that is Shep Hermann's number one peeve in life.... So if you do get one, all you've got to do is call, and he'll replace it for you. Wickett would probably do the same. One thing that I liked about Hermann, is that they actually do their best to get their employees to do some leather craft! That speaks volumes to me. Anyhoo... I could go on for days probably... I just like leather!

I think all of us have had that happen... But you can put masking tape on the back before you tool it, and that will keep it from stretching.... Kevin Hopkins

Hi Wildland, That armguard is (was) worth every bit of 36$! Nice work and good over all appearance. Kevin/Springfield Leather

Kevin, for what it's worth, you're getting better and better! It's always nice to see someone paying attention to detail, and finishing. Kevin Hopkins

Hi Pete, I just love those colors! I'm kind of a dye person myself, and it's always nice to see something done with a good sense of what dyes can do. As a side point, I like the fact that your swivel cuts are pretty good, and pretty simple! It seems like most folks try to get carried away with those things, and try to get complicated, and thats where things can go awry fairly easily. You've done a great job! Kevin Hopkins

Hello Lindsay, Thats a pretty ambitious first project!!! Very nice, and very creative! You'll do well as you go down the road.... Since you asked for criticism, I'll offer you a thought. On the lacing, especially with a hair on edge like what you've got there, I'd go with a double loop stitch, or something similar. It covers the edge better, and looks much more finished. another option if you have it, is to sew the edge, then buck stitch it. You can sand the raw edge on a sander, and finish it with what ever edge dressing that you like. Please don't take this wrong...it's a great purse, and i wish my first one would have been 1/2 as nice! keep it up! Kevin Hopkins

Hi Rickey, the formula is pretty much the same, but you'll find that it will vary somewhat with every project, depending on thickness of the edge that you are covering, and distance between holes. Kevin

Hi Randy, we buy ours from a different blade company. As near as I can tell, they seem to last longer and hold their edge better. You'd just have to try a few and give me your opinion. Kevin/Springfield leather

Actually, neat lac was made by LCI for tandy. Tandy, in their infinite wisdom, discontinued it. LCI calls it Clear Lac. I'm going to be carrying it in qts. They didn't make the original neat lac, but they did make it for the last several years. James B Day co. made the original, I believe. Kevin/springfield leather

Hi.. There's a lot of great answers on this one. I think most folks would agree on whether a project is well finished or not... But I think that there is something that prevents and hinders many beginners and intermediate crafters from being able to produce a well finished pc. Proper equipment. Whether it's a good quality hand tool, or an actual machine, it can make all the difference. I'm privileged to work along side a master leather crafter (Bo Riddle) and his use of machinery and various hand tools is a joy to behold! And his work speaks for itself. Kevin

I forgot.... (senility setting in) You asked about any other books...there's a book by Raymond Cherry... I think it's called General Leather craft. I suspect you'd like it. As to any value of the Leather Manual, I don't think it has much at the moment, because the new version is still available, and I think the old one is too, if you know where to look... When Tandy closed it's store system, I ended up with close to 100 Cases of those things at 10 cts apiece! We sold quite a few thru out the prison system in this country, and we sold a fair number of them to Birdsall Leather in Australia. kevin

Hi Trav...I can help a little.... John Wilson is one of the Authors. And Johanna is right about the book being used in the Al Stohlman course. The last (current) version has been revised a bit, to show the basic western floral carving tools in conjunction with a "half back", which Tandy was promoting instead of rounders. The original book did the same thing, just with a rounder. I think I carved about 4 trillion of those rounders during the days when I was traveling and teaching leather craft at schools. Anyway, I met John Wilson at a Tandy managers meeting back in the 70's. He was quite an imposing figure, and had been an associate of Charles Tandy, if I remember correctly. He was a very charismatic man, could carve leather pretty well, and was nearing the end of his career with Tandy when I met him. I never kept up on whatever happened to him, but I'm quite sure that he's no longer alive, because he was at least in his 60's when I met him. I know that's not much, but it's all I got! Kevin Hopkins

Pricing leather products has been a challenge for many for years... It's been my experience that if you can approach the sales of your product from a position of strength, along with a huge dose of humility and sincerety, folks will generally pay the price if you can help them to see the value of your workmanship. Kevin Hopkins

Hi....I'd have to say that Johanna is right on with this one.... Too many red flags equals too many headaches! Kevin Hopkins

Hello Rawhide, George is a very good friend of mine. I got to know him quite well during his and my years at Tandy. He's an extremely talented man,very knowledgeable, and a wealth of information. The leather world will probably never know how much it owes him! If you see him again soon, please pass on my greetings and best wishes. I'd heard that he had some health issues recently..... Kevin Hopkins, Springfield leather.

Actually, those strange rubber blocks that you can buy at Grizzly for cleaning sandpaper up work pretty well. And for what it's worth, they do about a million other things that are pretty nifty. If you ever have to take thread out of stitching holes, it will pull em' out quicker than a duck on a junebug! We buy the big blocks and cut them up into small pcs on a clicker press so we can resell them. It's probably one of our most ordered items.

For what it's worth, Keith is right on! I'm not a big fan of neatsfoot, but then I don't think I've ever had any that was as good as what he gets. Olive oil is wonderful! Kevin

Actually, I have frogskins... kevin@springfieldleather.com

Try Universal Sewing in St Louis. Lonnie is extremely knowledgeable. If they have it, you can find someone that is a dealer that can get it for you. Kevin@springfieldleather.com

Hi... I agree with everyone on not buying a machine on ebay... I think ebay has generated more customers for me by selling machines to folks that think they're getting a bargain because it's cheap. I'd have someone that has a machine sew your zipper for you, and if you are thinking about getting a machine, call someone that has a good reputation, like Steve with Cobra, Zach White, Springfield Leather, or any number of others, and communicate exactly what you'd like to do. They'll try to find a source that's close to you, and the least you'll get is a lot smarter! Kevin

Hi....I carry a pretty good line of exotics, and quite often I've got small pcs if that will help. Kevin@springfieldleather.com

Hi Fred, Actually, I've got a source that I buy from that is local to me in Springfield Mo. If you are looking for some sort of qty, I'll happily give you the name and number to contact. You can email me if you wish at Kevin@springfieldleather.com These guys seem to be able to provide pretty good polished horns... Kevin

Hi...it might be worth a call to my daughter.... she runs the bead and jewelry section of our store, and she buys from about a zillion people like fire mountain. If she, (or Mary) can't help you, then I think you're in for a difficult time. I think you're onto a good idea, and I'd certainly be interested in selling those little letters if you ever find them. Kevin@springfieldleather.com