DreadPirateRedbeard

I'm almost finished with the Motorhead back patch I'm doing. I mixed some of the different colours of the Eco Flow dyes I have and it came out to a very nice dark reddish brown. I applied that with a dauber and ran a wet sponge over it in one direction then took some USMC Black and went over the outsides of the tooled areas. Now I want to do a silver and a silver/metallic red for the lettering and the center image. I don't have access to a Tandy store, only a small feed store that carries a very limited amount of leather supplies. So my question is, can I use a high quality spray paint for the colours I need and then use an antiquing finish on top of the whole thing? I want to spray the paint into a small container (with proper ventilation and protection of course!) then apply it wiht my brushes. The antique finish is a mahogany if that makes a difference. Thanks in advance for any help. Dirkin

Dude, if you were a chick, I'd kiss you! You might slap me though, come to think of it, most chicks I kiss slap me too! Anyway, this is awesome, thanks! One thing though, it's probably in plain sight but where's the pattern? If it's not there, can you upload it or email it? Nevermind, I'm a dumbass! Thanks again this is cool as hell!

Right on! I'll be grabbing one of those in the next couple of weeks or so. I love this forum. Everyone is so freaking cool here!

I want to get a small skull stamp and the only ones I've found are too big. I want something around 3/4" or as small as 3/8" tall/wide, ideally I'd like to find something around 1/2". Most of the stamps I've found in the Tandy catalogs are 1" or bigger. Does anyone know where I could get one? I've also looked on eBay with no luck. I'm using it as part of the stamp for putting on finished pieces so I know it is my work if it comes back for any reason. I want it to be smaller so I can hide it easier. If this isn't the place to post this, please move it so I know where it should go. Thanks much for your help everyone! Dirkin

Excuse me while I kiss the sky. Nice piece. There's no one like Jimi.

Exceptionally nice bag. That is the kind of skill I hope to someday achieve. I too am interested in a pattern/tutorial. But more than that I want to know what tool and/or technique is used to do that background? I think that looks awesome adn want to use it for the Motorhead backpatch I'm doing for my jacket. Again, VERY nice work and thanks for any info!

I specialize in chain maille. I've been at it for 9 years now and can do just about anything with it.

What is glassing? What tools or chemicals does it take and how is it done?

I like that ghost look on the upper piece. I have a new little trick for effect. I can incorporate the "ghosting" with regular tooling. Now to create a piece to try that look on!

OK, I see then. I have never done it that way. I have a rather large pan that I fill with water, put it on the stove for a few minutes till it barely starts to steam but less than a low boil. I soak the leather in it till no more bubbles come out, let it hang for a couple of minutes till it stops dripping, wipe with a sponge to get the last of the surface moisture off and it tools great for me that way. I did the kidney piece for my jacket that way 3 or 4 times.

What is casing? I think I know but want to make sure!

Hey, I like the word RUNT!! That's a damn nice seat. I dig the contrast between the flowers and the skull! Nice work and hope to see more from ya!

I've made half a dozen of these so far but only have pictures for these three. The original is the one with a cross on it. The customer didn't want a belt loop or any way to secure it to her pants. And so far none of the other customers have either, despite my recommendation otherwise. They just want something to keep the phone from being scratched/damaged. I want to start doing snaps but have no clue how to do them. So here's the pictures. I'd like some critique/constructive criticism on these.

I'll have to do that next time I'm in the Valley, or I'll have my brother-in-law check it out for me. The nearest store to me is about 200 miles. I know I'll get the urge to do it without a pattern. I was looking at the pictures and it can't be too difficult. Some leather, yellow lace, black dye and some tooling work and I've got a nice gift for the club.

I'm in Arizona so those stores would do me no good. I hang around with the Tophatters M/C when I'm in California and would dig making one of these to show up to a run with!

Those are very, very nice. Do you have some kind of tutorial on how to make these?

Me either. However, I have gotten a lot of information from everyone and welcome any future replies. Thanks again everyone!

The question I have is, can I do either the vinegar or preferably the ammonia treatment on a piece that I've already dyed? I have a couple of knife scabbards and a high slide style holster for my cap and ball muzzleloading pistol. They've been tooled and dyed already and don't want to ruin them. I also want to do the paraffin wax as well to harden/seal it more if that is possible. Also, this is a stupid question but, do I do the wet forming while it's still wet from the ammonia or vinegar and before I apply the paraffin? I hope I'm not cluttering up the forum by asking too many noob questions. I try to search the forum for the answer before I post. Thanks much for your help!

Now had I been smart, I would have paid attention to my friend when I was hanging out at his garage/shop. So, I don't know what weights mean or the names like split, veg tan etc etc. I just grab what leather I need for the piece I'm making. I also don't know what certain tools are called or what they're for. Is there a way for anyone to explain to me on here, what each type of leather is, what it's called, different weights and what each is generally used for? Or perhaps I could get someone to send me samples of each with the info on each piece. I'm a bit short on money, but I could do some trading with you for your time and help on this. Perhaps I could do some jewelry for someone's better half or some other piece of chain maille or one of the pieces I make on the forge. As far as the tools, I can get a picture of the tools to send someone as I'm not real good at describing stuff. Thank you in advance to anyone who can help. Dirkin

I gotta say that everyone here so far has been friendly and helpful. I ran into problems as a newbie on different forums (no leather forums). I was discouraged as a newbie to the art of chain maille and told not to do certain projects as they were too difficult for a beginner to do. I did them anyway and they came out OK, not great but OK. You great people will be seeing a lot of me and my numerous questions. Thanks you everyone for your fast responses and for being downright cool. Well, I'm off to post another question. Dirkin

I do SCA reenactment and provide armour for some of the fighters in chain maille. I want to expand my products to include curboli hardened leather armour. I was shown years ago before I got into leather at all, by Scott Milbrandt before he died. Can anyone help me? I searched through pages and pages of this forum and didn't find anything. Thanks much in advance. Dirkin

That is an amazing piece.

My next project, hopefully is a full back piece for the same jacket in the Motorhead logo. I'm definitely not going to tool the entire background on that one. The kidney belt piece was enough work.

That's some awesome work. Very nice tribute to the heroes of WWII.

I just got started in leather in Jan of 2009. I checked out some of the work here and it's absolutely amazing. I'm hoping to learn from everyone here everything I can about all aspects of leatherworking. I got interested in leather from Scott Milbrandt before he died a year ago. Funny though I never did any leather work till after he was gone. I also do blacksmithing and chain maille.