MedusaOblongata

I just found this video about the history of sewing machines and how they operate. It's old news to our experts here, but I still found it instructive and interesting:

Tl;DR: RFID blocking is not at all necessary for security. It's just a marketing feature for a wallet maker. I do leatherwork as a hobby but my day job is in the credit card department of a bank. Theft via portable RFID scanners had been becoming a major issue at one point, you could walk through a crowd of people with a scanner in a briefcase and from several feet away capture people's credit card information, which could then be used to make transactions. My bank stopped offering paywave as a feature on their cards. A few years later they reintroduced that feature on newer cards. I contacted our fraud department directly and asked why they would do this, considering the security risks we saw materialize last time. They got back to me and explained some of the features in the reintroduced RFID system. While the old ones could be read at a greater distance, current ones must be within 3 inches or less from the machine. The old ones gave out the card number itself, which is what thieves can use; the new ones work like the EMV chip, that does not give out the 16 digit card number, but instead generates a one time use code that only works for that one transaction. If anyone were to scan your card now, all they'd get is a one time use code that's already been used and they can't even use it for a single transaction. This is also what merchants get when you insert your card to use the EMV chip, the merchant never gets your actual card number (which is reusable), they get a code that works only once for that transaction. This way if the merchant's system is hacked, the hackers don't get CC#s they can use, they just get used up codes they can do nothing with. You don't need RFID blocking for security at all. It might be worth advertising it if your customers think it's a good idea, even though it won't improve their security.

This is doubly true when the material in question is removed from your hide. If you spill something (coffee, beer, soda, dye, oil) on your project, carry it to the sink and pour the remainder of the drink on the project, then rinse it clean, hoping for uniform coverage so it will all match. Do not use this technique when what you've spilled on your project is blood. Most new "help me out" questions can be answered with one of two answers: Test it on scrap first. Let it dry overnight.

Just after sharpening and stropping my knife, I've slipped while cutting and the knife bounced off my hand without cutting me. I'm simultaneously relieved to be uninjured and disappointed my knife didn't do a better job.

I had some crocodile skins that were so dry and hard I was afraid I'd crack them if I bent them. I gave the top side a coat of olive oil and a day and a half later the skins were supple and flexible. It may darken the crust, but it should soften it.

JLS - that is beautiful!

Use a wax based shoe polish, melt it in with a heat gun, then buff it until it's shiny and your arms hurt. This will give it that non-porous top coat.

Is that the same as cold tape used to prevent stretching like this: https://www.amazon.com/Lanas-Fabric-Cold-Tape-Black/dp/B018JO5FDA ? I've done similar things for sure, have to stop, take it apart, try again. Done it more than once. Hopefully it's a lesson learned well about paying attention to detail. I've got on my workbench a nice leather tray I use for rivets or screws or spare parts for whatever I'm working on that's painstakingly carved and antiqued with a customer's wrong initials. I noticed after it was done and it made more sense to make him a new one than to try to fix it, so now I get to keep the mistake as an aid to memory. When we're lucky, we laugh at ourselves instead of getting upset.

Do you have a link to that aluminum top?

Did you make the video?

I second the recommendation for https://www.springfieldleather.com/ Their prices range from fair to cheap, they've got a huge variety of different types of leather as well as tools. Their youtube videos are pretty helpful too.

I just got back from an international trip and my wallet carry requirements were quite different from what they are at home. This is a good idea. I'll remember to do something similar before my next international trip.

I picked up a copy of that issue there, and signed up for a subscription. It was a really great show and I learned a lot in the classes I took. If anyone's on the fence about going to a show like this one, definitely go whatever you have to do to make it possible. Being able to learn directly from some of the best leatherworkers in the industry, talk leather with more people like us, and buy tools and leather in person, are all spirit-lifting and inspiring.

Start with a dollar bill and a credit card, figure you want it to hold a dozen or two of each, and build it around that. Then look at the back pocket of a pair of pants and figure you want it to fit in there. Then create some designs.

There are many different chrome tan finishes and they'll all respond differently. First thing is to run a scrap piece under the sink. If water absorbs into it then it needs a coating. If water rolls off then a coating would just be cosmetic. I'll often test a small piece of each new leather with resolene and Tan Kote, then see which I like better for that leather. Some chrome tans are designed to scuff easily in order to show wear and develop character; this doesn't weaken them, it's just cosmetic, but many like that look.

Only slightly off topic, but I've found Weldwood Gel formula (blue can) so much more useful than Weldwood's standard contact cement (red can) that the gel type is all I use now. It doesn't get stringy and spreads more smoothly and more thinly, and stays where you put it. Local hardware store doesn't carry it, so I order a few pints at a time online. Acetone works to thin it if I let it sit too long, but I haven't noticed it needing thinning when new.

The silver pens made for marking leather work great for me. Just lick a finger and rub it to remove the mark. Silver shows up on black leather, which many other colors wouldn't. Otherwise, a scratch awl.

Someone did a comprehensive long term test of different leather finishes outdoors. He found NFO & SnoSeal was the best combination. See the full tests here:

If you're going to use pliers, wrap the jaws in electrical tape. It adds a little bit of grip and won't scuff the needle. Hopefully you won't need to use them on every stitch, because that would take a long time and be annoying. See if a smaller needle or larger hole is a possibility.

I saw those pigs! They were floating out of giant mailboxes. Saw the tour in San Diego. They put on a good show. When doing leatherwork I'm often listening to a podcast (Sam Harris, Freakonomics, Philosophize This, Partially Examined Life). If we're talking concerts, these are the ones I remember. I wish I had kept better records, but I was distracted, and I've got ticket stubs so old all the writing is worn off and I can't tell who they were for! Guns n Roses X2 Metallica U2 NIN Marilyn Manson Pink Floyd Grateful Dead (San Diego & Vegas) Suicidal Tendencies x2 Megadeth Alice Cooper Lycia Death in June Boyd Rice Tori Amos x5 Lorena Mckennit Dead Can Dance Crash Worship Genitorturers AMF Switchblade Symphony Psychotica Sisters of Mercy Tom Waits Leonard Cohen The Cure Pantera White Zombie Deftones Bob Dylan Billy Joel Paul Simon KMFDM Einsturzende Neubauten Fear Hate Department Tool Social Distortion x2 Rage Against the Machine Cat Power Faith No More Tricky Bad Religion No Doubt Unwritten Law Green Day Ghoulspoon Hatehead Psychic Zoo Sprung Monkey Deicide Cancer Conspiracy of Beards Black Sabbath x2 Slayer x2 Soundgarden Penis Flytrap x2

If you get that Amazon press, or if anybody else has it, I'd love to hear how it works for you. It looks like a great idea, but the reviews are mixed.

This! I have one by where I get dressed to hold my pocket knives and watches. I've seen other people use them for leatherworking and other tools. They're so cool I've bought several as gifts.

I like Tan Kote on gator. It seems to give better results than Resolene or anything else I've tried. If you have scraps of it, test a little each finish you have on different pieces or spots and see which result you like best.

Pics attached here. The backside is a bit mottled, like something may have been spilled on it or glue removed. Decent shape otherwise, though. The only marking on it says "=58" The fur is very soft. I got it from an online auction, the seller didn't know anything about it, other than they said it was wallaby. They could have been wrong, but I don't know what else it could be. (Off topic, but in case anyone's wondering, what you can see behind it is my leather hanging system. It's 1/2" plumbing pipe screwed into ceiling joists with metal clothes hangers hanging on it, and leather hanging from those using 1" rug clips, which do dent the outer leather, but don't put holes in it like shower curtain rings would. It makes it easy to browse for leather as you would for clothes in a closet, with leather neither rolled up nor lost behind or under other pieces of leather.)