Seth

No, I'll do whatever I can to bring it into design. A lot of times a light pass with a modeling tool then re-stamping the thing straight will work. Yes, what they call "sole and edge dressing." What I am finding is water based and just doesn't fill. I am terrified the person will sweat a little and water-based stuff will put a ring around his shirt. And, I do not want a high gloss, made in China or India look. Again, I am doing 18th Century stuff. I am not in California so I do not have the state telling me everything that is good for me. I hate the Eco product line. There WAS a post I read earlier today that might be what you need. A U.S. company is importing an Italian edge dressing that most users are raving about. Gloss and matte. And, in colors. Search the forum. No, not for commercial ventures like yours. A quick way I have found to burnish belt edges is with those Tandy round plastic wheels. Get a long machine screw 3/16" or so (oops, 5mm), a couple of washers and nut on the back. Put it on an electric drill and run it down the edge. It's rally good if you run a bar of beeswax quickly down the edge first. BUT, beeswax can mute the color just a touch. Make it a selling point though--they can feel the wax when you call their attention to it. 18th Century again. MOST leather was russet or just oiled. Stitching was white. Even black was rare. I will not do burgundy, cordovan, those yellowey browns, etc. No spots, conchos, etc., unless they want real brass or sterling and want to pay for it. Kind of uppity, huh? Since I rub down the dry dye then oil it before stitching, there isn't much grubby to it. The Barbour's comes waxed and I wax it even more. Nothing really colors it. Another reason I don't dye afterwards--the stiching won't take dye and goes bollocks. Perhaps I stated it incorrectly. I do not want to look like perfect roller stamped. Noticeably hand made (or hand crafted if there's a machine involved) is good. I use the small Osborne rollers (about 3mm wide) but they are authentic to the period. I wish Osborne made something about twice as wide. Seth

Why don't use use rivets made from real brass and nickle plated brass? They don't cost that much more. It's a good seller too. "why are your bags so much more than that table over there?" "Well, ma'am, I use real brass and top quality materials." SOLD!--usually. (I always use copper rivets and burrs since I am doing 18th Century stuff. Some other folks use the Tandy tubulars)

Getting it right. If rolled borders, then exactly the same distance from the edge as it goes around the holster. With hand stamped edges, it's tough. Smooth transitions around the curves, or find a design element to let you transition between lines. Well finished is a three-way street, to me. Edges: I do NOT use inks. They are beveled (2 or 3), re-dyed, sanded (150-180), wet and burnished with old denim. Then, gum and a steel burnisher--probably twice. I use Fiebings oil dye, dried, rubbed with lambs wool to remove dye dusting (kinda polishes too). After stitching, a coat of olive oil; dry overnight. A coat of Leather Balm or TanKote. The most important thing? The first thing they see is the stitching because it's white. It has to flow. In fact, I always bring the thread from the back of the piece up to the right of the thread that went down from the face. At first glance they think it was machine stitched. I DO believe that hand made items do need to look like roller stamped perfection. When somebody looks at a belt or holster and can ask the owner, "Hey, that's hand made, isn't it?," it's a good thing. THE most important thing is: Good enough is NOT good enough. Seth