Grey Drakkon

^ That's how we would clean up horse tack, a soft toothbrush and saddle soap, or sometimes q-tips to get into hard spots.

That is really clever! It's things that are simple and clean like this piece that gets a lot of attention.

Bill had a lot of good insights, I hadn't thought about a strap cutter but it would make sense. I also agree that it likely was a hide that had been dyed and then cut, since the edges are a raw color. I showed your picture to my guy and he was quite honked off that someone has Raphael's sai.* *Someone that wasn't him, I mean.

A pic of the finished product would be very helpful. I'm afraid I haven't gotten the knack of reading a pattern and converting it into a real object yet.

Gorgeous work! I really like the texture and color combination.

Got in, thanks.

How sick that I recognized that sai from the movie. >_< I think I watched it a few too many times. In any case, I believe that's what's called "lace". Do you have a measurement for the width?

Has anyone actually gotten access to it?

That would be very helpful, thanks!

I know you came here to find out why things didn't work the way you wanted them to, but I can tell you that anyone looking for bracers would be all over the ones you made, whether they're what you envisioned or not! Great job!

Northmount said it! Someone is going to lose their mind when they get that bag!

Interesting. Definitely more along my lines than hers. I like re-using recycling and all that re-stuff, while she's more into slick and modern. To point: she shoots a compound, I shoot a 60's recurve bow. ;D Now that I put it that way, I'll probably end up making something completely different for either of us.

A friend of mine picked up bowhunting small game (rabbits, squirrels) which I'll soon be joining her in, and I was hoping to make a couple of small game bags. I was thinking something simple, like a satchel that gets slung over the shoulder, or maybe even simpler, something that gets looped to your waist with a belt. Has anyone else made an actively used small game bag? Did you use a liner that could be removed and laundered? How did you attach it to the inside? I was thinking of making a denim liner (lots of ripped up jeans I couldn't bear to throw away that I can patch together) and either using snaps or buttons sewn onto the leather to affix the liner in place.

Gorgeous work! So of course I have to quibble...Tigers have round pupils, just like a lion's. Aside from that they're awesome.

Hey, I tried! ;D

If anyone wants input from a picture framer, that's actually my day job. (and evening job for that matter with holidays coming up). Unless the leather is standing by itself with no rigid structure around the outside, it's more accurate to say that it's a "leather mat board". Billybopp is correct in that leather is pretty acidic and shouldn't touch photos or other artwork long-term. Something that would be an easy and inexpensive thing to do is to buy a frame you like at an antique mall or on craigslist (don't worry about the glass, that stuff is pretty cheap so if you find a great frame without it just buy glass at a frame shop). I'd then paste the leather to the glass (just around the opening since the frame will pinch it down around the edges) and just fit it all together, that way the leather isn't obscured and the picture is protected from the leather and dust/moisture as well. Another option would be to paste the leather directly to good quality mat board (acid buffered is ok, 100% cotton board is best but as you can expect isn't the cheapest) cut the hole in the mat slightly larger than the hole in your leather so the board won't show, then place it over the picture. If you don't put glass over it dust and other things can get in there (you wouldn't believe how many bugs end up inside frames that don't have a dust cover on the back!) but you probably don't want the glass resting directly on the leather, so an airspacer should be used to lift the glass up off the surface of the mat. By the way, if you're looking to just pick up a ready-made frame they tend to come in certain sizes, so if you cut your leather to these sizes you're more likely to find one. Otherwise you'll be stuck making your own (you'll need a router and a lot of time to finish the wood), going to a custom framer to cut it to the exact size needed (small frames can go for $60 easy at my place, but that's for the frame, glass, and fitting it together, plus I'm actually pretty inexpensive so think higher prices than that depending on where you live) or lucking out and finding the exact frame you need somewhere. (remember, don't measure by the hole in the frame, you want to measure from the back where the "lip" is, otherwise if you make your leather the same size as the hole it will just fall out) Anyway, some common sizes are 8"x10", 8 1/2"x11", 11"x14", 12"x16", 16"x20", and so on. If you have any questions about it feel free to ask me, as you can see I can babble about it for a while. As for your work, Country, that looks beautiful!

Looks like a canteen. -_- Ok for real it's so gorgeous that I'm practically nauseous with jealousy. Every last bit of it shows extreme care and planning with beautifully executed design. I also love the celtic knot blended in. So many people would try that and end up with something awkward, but you managed to make it merge together in a way that few could ever match.

Another option would be to buy some polymer clay and form it around your tool. Put a decent layer around it then hold onto it like you would when using it, cook it per the instructions, then voila you have tool handles shaped exactly to your hands. https://www.google.com/search?q=polymer+clay+tool+handle&es_sm=122&tbm=isch&imgil=WOZixYK1TMr1XM%253A%253BUauKNYl0FqNFSM%253Bhttp%25253A%25252F%25252Fthebluebottletree.com%25252Fhand-drill-tools%25252F&source=iu&pf=m&fir=WOZixYK1TMr1XM%253A%252CUauKNYl0FqNFSM%252C_&usg=__fyhYBj67kgucTa8VgsxNFPlSwqA%3D&biw=1024&bih=677&ved=0CCsQyjc&ei=BWtqVPSIFIOjyATym4GwCA#imgdii=_ gives you an idea of some of the things you can do. If we're talking stamping tools though, you'll want to have the end of the tool be raw metal else you'll just pound the polymer off.

I'll definitely pick up some contact cement then, thanks on the tip about which one isn't as whiffy. Thanks for the compliment, Stu! I do like how the stitching came out considering how much I kludged it. I'm really looking forward to stitching with the proper tools! There are few things so frustrating as KNOWING there's a better tool for the job and not having it!

I'm guessing that it's a special type of glue rather than the rubber cement I used for the edges of the quiver?

Thanks for the input! My next few projects will be arrow quivers and bracers so it sounds like I'm in the right range.

I haven't ordered them yet just in case someone tells me that they're lemons. The ones I'm looking at are the ones I linked to. I figured 8 sounded like a good compromise between really coarse and too fiddly.

Good point. 1" no.8 with 9 teeth.

So after some looking around, I've decided on the Joseph Dixon pricking irons ( http://www.josephdixon.co.uk/products/One_Inch_Pricking_Irons.html ) I still haven't decided on a stitching awl. Does anyone have any input on either or both of these things? Anyone have Dixons? What do you think of them? What kind of awl gives you good results with them? I'm not looking to make super fancy items (..............yet.) but something decent that will last.

I see what you did there.