kevinhopkins

Hello Russ, I wish I had a picture of the first belt that I carved. Not that it would matter...you couldn't tell what it was anyway. My wife was kind enough to say that it was pretty good for a first one, but she was lying thru her teeth, and my mom said "Oh...that's nice....sure would hold your pants up"! I hope I've inherited her tact.... Your first looked pretty good to me! Kevin

Hello Eric, Luke and Ryan have some good advice... that 31-15 is a good machine as far as it goes, and they can be had reasonably, but you want to make sure that you're comfortable with a clutch motor that probably sews fast. And while it will sew about 3/8, it's not going to do it with a sz 25 or 26 needle, and it won't sew with 277 thread. If you did do a holster, it would at best probably sew with 138, and that just seems to look a little funny. It will more than likely do a good job on belts, and flat goods tho. My advice is if you have the money, (or can get it) buy a new one that will do what you want it to do. And by the way, there isn't a machine that will "do it all".... if there was, there would only be one. Most serious leather workers have at least 2 machines, one for the light to medium, and one for the heavy, like Luke said. Happy Sewing! Kevin

Hi... I'm kinda with twin oaks... Sometimes (rarely) I get this flash of what I want... then I can go from there, and usually end up with something pretty darned close, with maybe some modifications along the way. Other times, I guess I find myself in blind stumbling mode... and it does take longer when I'm in that phase... Kevin

Hello Kustomizer, What you're wanting is a bit challenging, but able to be done. Unfortunately, whatever you do is going to be an experiment, at least for the first time. I've done what you're talking about with acrylics over spirti dyes. The trick is to get the background color the way that you want it. And really, you're just gonna need to experiment a bit to figure out what you want. I wanted mine to be on a distressed charcoal background, so I reduced black greatly, wiped it on with a sponge, then reduced black antique with tan kote (a lot) and wiped it on with a sponge, then I wiped it down with thinner. After that, i used wated down fiebing acrylic colors to get what I wanted on the figures. You can build them up gradually, or make them as bold as you wish. I'm sure there are twelve zillion ways to go about it, but this worked for me. happy experimenting! Kevin

Hi... I think Dave is right. It looks to me like oxidized tooling leather with some fat wrinkles which may or may not have a finish on it. If it accepts water, no finish. If it does indeed have a cloth backing, more than likely the leather was milled (tumbled) for softness, or drum tanned (for softness) and the mesh or cloth would have been adhered to prevent stretch. If it turns out that theres really no cloth or fabric on the back, then the back has probably just been finished in such a manner to satisfy the customer that it was originally tanned for. Don't know what all that is worth, but there ya go! Kevin

Hi Monica, I'm not a lab nerd, but water composition can definitely have an effect on leather. I wouldn't think that it would affect moulding, but in thinking about it, I don't see why it wouldn't have the potential to do that... Mineral content can affect lots of other things concerning leather. Kevin

I think I'd just make em' both look the same... Kevin

Hi... everyone here has given you some good thoughts... For my 2 cents worth, pretty much everything on that list is either over priced, or a potential problem. Before buying a machine, talk to someone that you have a good feeling for on the phone, and let them get a feel for what machine will do what you really want to do. They'll most likely give you some good direction. But if you're not a "sewing machine person", buy a new one, and save yourself some grief. "perfect for upholstery" is all in the eyes of the user... Best wishes, Kevin Hopkins

Hi... I just wanted to tell you, that is very, very good advice. Kevin

Hi... I occasionally buy used tools sets to market to our inmate customers. You might want to give me a call at Springfield Leather 800-668-8518. Even if I can't buy them from you, I might be able to help you sell them. Kevin

Nice piece! That backgrounder has always been one of my favorites! Kevin

Hi! Nice holster... I like the color. You might want to consider using veg leather to line the next one tho... Sometimes suede can cause a bit of a problem with blueing on a gun over time. Kevin

Hi... I might be able to help as well. How big do you need them to be? Kevin@springfieldleather.com

Hello Deno, That picture sure brings back a lot of memories for me... I just loved that pattern pak, and carved each picture in it many times. Even got paid for most of em'! I think I've carved about everything that your dad ever had published by Tandy. At least I tried to! I appreciate that you're willing to think about contributing! Best wishes, and I really appreciate all that your dad did for the craft. Kevin Hopkins- Springfield leather co.

Hello David, Boy... I think you're getting good at what you do! Kevin

Hi... For what it's worth, try really hard to find a way to step up to a new, good quality machine that will do what you want. Talk yourself into it!!! If you absolutely have to stick with a portable, I'd recommend a sailrite. I sell them, but you can probably buy one cheaper from someone else. Our straight stitch with a case runs 649.00. It will do what you want, but you will be much happier if you can buy a new industrial, such as a Cobra or Artisan. That way you've got the support that you need, and you'll for sure have a machine that will do what you want. Just my 2 cents worth... Kevin Hopkins

I'm kind of thinking that it's a specific edge ink as well. I'm not sure which one Zach White sells, but there are several available. I don't think it's Fiebing's edge kote. It could be Fiebings edge ink. we sell Fiebings edge ink, and also a product called dri brite edge ink. both work well. But with most edgeing issues, it usually comes down to how you apply it. Leather Coatings inc. makes some pretty good edge products, but I don't know if they sell retail or not. Some of those larger companies had their own formulas developed over time, and just have a chemical company make it for them. Sorry I can't be more help! Kevin

Hello Tim, I've got neat lac if that will help. We call it clear lac. I called the company that made it for tandy for the past few years, and they were happy to sell me 10 cases of qts and thinner. It's not in our catalog because we've only had it for a few weeks. Kevin Hopkins (kevin@springfieldleather.com )

Hi... I guess it's already a given that you're not playing with a full deck.... I mean, trying to make a living in the leather world???? Just kidding, but I'm sure a lot of us can sympathize. I think it's really hard to get something successful going without paying your fair share of dues. And it sounds like you're certainly doing your best to do that. You mention that you don't have a niche, but that you're having some success with word of mouth. My suggestion is to really be watchful for that niche, and don't stop talking. And I think that it's a good thing to give consideration to being balanced in your business approach. There's a book to be written about that, but there are 2 things that sort of come to my mind. One thing is that people will always pay for quality work. (so don't sell your self short) The other thing is this: More than likely, you're just as smart, (likely smarter) as a lot of the high powered corporate folks running big businesses today. So think things thru, and do your best to make good decisions. Business 101 Hope you make a zillion! Kevin Hopkins

Hello Ian, You need a different leather supplier if they let you get hung with leather, even if you were forced to use a little. Everyone will make a mistake now and again, and I've certainly had to replace leather on occasion. One customer completely stripped up a double shoulder before he realized that it didn't accept water thru a large swath of it. I paid to get the strips back, and shipped him another pc of leather right away, making sure it was a couple of feet bigger than he had paid for. That's just something that burns me..... Making a living with leather is hard enough without having to deal with that sort of service. Please forgive the rant!!! Kevin

Hi... It's gotta be Triple C. It's what I sell here in the store, and in all my years I've never had anything to complain about. When you put triple C latigo along side the cheap stuff that's available in some retail stores, well.... I really shouldn't say any more. But Triple C latigo will spoil you rotten! (it costs a little more) Kevin Hopkins

Hi Monica, What you're wanting is not a bad thing, but there's really a good reason that you should do it yourself. We've fought with dipped samples thru the years, and as folks mentioned, they fade fairly quickly, and different leathers dye very differently. But if YOU dip the samples, it's in your mind as to how the colors come out, and it's also in your mind as to what happens to them over time. It also gives you credibility with your customers.... it kind of gives folks the idea that you know what you're talking about! Kevin

Hi.... You can, but there's only one way to know what it will look like.... Hope you have a few scraps... Kevin

Hi Azmal, For what it's worth, the steel that clicker dies are made from is purchased as just that. You don't have to sharpen it, just cut, bend, weld, and all that stuff. The steel rule dies are a totally different animal. Usually they're either formed around a wood pc, or inset into a piece of wood, like 3/4 plywood or something similar. They have some drawbacks, especially if you're wanting to click a lot of pcs. If they're made in the style that is inset into a pc of wood, you can't see to rapidly position your die, and this will waste a lot of leather in a fairly short time. When we first started manufacturing wallets, we had all of our dies made of steel rule, because of the cost. It turned out that we eventually had them all remade from standard clicker die material, and it was the smartest thing I ever did. The steel rule dies also didn't have the life that a standard clicker die has. it doesn't take much for a steel rule die to get a nick in it, or for it to have a chip come away from the welded seam, and then you're forever having problems cutting clean. If you're not ever cutting any qty of anything, then steel rule might be ok, but I don't think I'd be using it on leather. All boot and shoe factories, (the few remaining) use standard clicker dies. If it will help, I'll gladly give you the phone number of the guy that I think is the cheapest die maker in the country. We just had a wristband die remade the other day, and it cost me 38 bucks, and it had 2 holes in it. If you'll either email me ( kevin@springfieldleather.com ) or call me, ( 800-668-8518) I'll give you his number and address. Sorry to be longwinded! Kevin

Y'know...that's a great question! I wish I knew the answer.... but I'll bet if you call campbell-bosworth, Dan would know. I don't have their number here at home, but they'll come up on the web, or if you call me at Springfield leather, I'll give you their number, and that of a couple of other folks that might be able to help. 800-668-8518 Kevin