ClayB

I've looked at those things a time or two but decided against it. Seems like it would be a pain to have that between my eyes and my hands while trying to carve. I do you a head mounted light magnifier combo from QED and I really like that. I also started wearing glasses with progressive lenses and it's amazing what I was missing before. If you need 'em, I guess you need 'em!

Hi Pete, My concern would be the same as Kate, how well does it absorb into the leather. I remember reading an article in an old Make It With Leather magazine about dyes. It said you should never shake a bottle of dye before using it. The reasoning was that the solvent can only absorb so much pigment. As the solvent evaporates from a bottle, excess pigment will settle to the bottom of the bottle. Then if you shake the bottle up, excess pigment will be suspended in the liquid that wont be as easily absorbed into the leather. I figured that's where some people get the "rub off" on leather projects, excess pigment that didn't absorb into the leather. That article was over 30 years ago, and everything's changed since then, so I'm not sure if it still applies or not. If you didn't get excess pigment on your leather that easily rubs off, and it was easier to apply for you, then you've made a good discovery! As a side note, I just read in the latest LCSJ that Fiebing's is introducing their version of low VOC leather dye. It doesn't say if it's going to replace the dyes we are used to from them, or just be another option, but we'll have one more dye to practice with and learn how they work.

That's a neat story. Treasure those tools.

Those turned out REALLY nice!

You have asked a lot of good questions about dyes and finishes. There are lots of them out there and figuring out what works and doesn't work can take a lot of practice. Also what works for one person doesn't always work for someone else. Fiebings makes both spirit dye and oil dye. It's been my experience that when you want to cover a large area a single color, the oil dye does a better job. Either of them can be thinned down to make lighter colors and I usually just thin them with rubbing alcohol. I've never used dye prep before coloring my leather, but JL made some good points on that. I've started to use a lot of the eco flow dyes from Tandy and I really like them. You can dilute them with just plain water. I usually start by mixing them half with water to see what color I get on the leather. I've found that they tend to lighten up when they dry that way. Then I can add more of the diluted color if I want a darker color, or use a less diluted mixture to get a darker color. Oiling after the dye does seem to darken the colors some. I don't color things solid black very often but recently my son asked for a plain black belt. I applied black eco flow dye straight out of the bottle to the belt strap with a dauber. It covered pretty well with one coat, really well with the second coat. I found that rubbing it after it dried took out the dull color and made it a lot "blacker". I finished it with a coat of Leather Balm with Atom Wax and it gave it a really shiny black look. I have never used that before and was a little surprised at how shiny it was but it gave the belt a really nice look. After that, I applied Skidmore's Leather Dressing to the back side, and also lightly on the front side. When it was dry, I took the cut off end (finished the same way) and held it under the water faucet to see if the color would run out but it didn't. My point is, just try different things. Experiment with different products (on scrap) and see what works for you and gives you the results you are looking for. I know it can be frustrating, but when you find some products that work the way you want them to, you'll have a lot more fun with this.

There are a couple different things that might help you get the effect you are going for. With acrylic paint, I would try using the dry brush technique. To do that, you apply paint to your brush, then rub just about all the paint off of the brush on scrap leather or paper towel before applying it onto the leather. The drier your brush is, the more you'll have to "scrub" paint out of it onto the leather you want colored. With the brush dry, the color stays onto the surface of the leather and wont go down into the cuts. The "block dying" technique might also help you achieve the look you are wanting. There are a couple tutorials here on LW. Here's a link to one done by Kate. I'm not sure how well that it will work with paint, but as with most coloring techniques, you will need to practice on scraps first to see what will give you the results you are looking for.

Thanks Tina Skippy, I've done a few tutorials on here on how I carve different animals, some of them with fur. I cant figure out where some of them are at on the forum anymore but you can get to them from this link to my website. There are a lot of different ways to create hair texture. The most basic way is to use the hair blade for a swivel knife that Tandy sells. Other ways include cutting individual hairs with a swivel knife, drawing them in with a sewing needle or an awl blade. For the most realistic hair on leather that I've seen, a special knife made up of several exacto knife blades in a handle is used. No matter what you use, pay attention to the direction that hair grows on an animal. When cutting in your hair, make sure you change direction as it grows on an animal. Hope this helps. Clay

Thanks Cem, I'll have to give them a call.

I like that a LOT!! I always wonder what a person would do with Barry's BIG maul. Now I know.

Sounds like you've got a good plan. Make sure you try it on some scrap leather first before you try it on a finished project. There are lots of variables with different dyes, paints and finishes and lots of them act differently when applied over others. I think a couple coats of satin sheen or other sealer before the antique might be a good idea.

I'm looking for an angle ruby blade in good working condition. If anyone has one they are willing to part with, send me a PM.

I've got a shorter than normal knife from Barry that I thought I'd like because I've got smaller hands, but I don't use it much. I've got 2 of Paul's knives, and they the ones I use all the time now. If you call them, I think either Barry or Paul will be able to get you something that's the size and shape you want.

That's really nice, as all of the things you show us are.

You can get Barge brand rubber cement from Montana Leather. They also carry a brand called Petronio's that is supposed to be even better. I think it's still made with toulene.

I'm left handed. I hold my stamping tools with my right hand and my maul in my left. That's just what's comfortable for me.

For a relative novice, you did a great job!!! Learning things and having fun doing it makes it even better.

Like Bruce, I've been to Sheridan several times, and only to one IFOLG show (Denver 2005). I really enjoy going to Sheridan. It's about a 5 hour drive through some really beautiful country. Denver was a 10 hour drive and all the Federation shows after that have been twice as far (or more) away which is what has kept me from going. I really enjoyed the Fed show that I went to and wish I could make it to more of them. The competitions at the shows are different. When I first started going to Sheridan, the competition was quite small, but the entries were all world class. It's grown a lot and it sounds like this year was the biggest one yet. Up until a couple years ago, Sheridan just gave out one prize in each category, now they've gone to 3. They give cash prizes for 1st and 2nd place. I think that is attracting a lot more entries. The IFOLG offers a lot of categories in 3 divisions so there are a lot more chances for people to place. Both shows usually get entries from around the world, and most of the entries from foreign countries are REALLY good. Entry fees for Sheridan are $25 per item compared to $2 for the IFOLG. The IFOLG show in Denver had a pretty good number of vendors. I think it kind of depends on how far they have to travel for the show too. I like to take classes whenever I can and usually do at the shows. But like Bruce said, some of the shows offer the same ones year after year and choices for new stuff gets limited. I think Sheridan might have more to interest a saddle maker. For me, the shows are a chance to get to see old friends and make new ones. You also get to see a lot of nice leather work and get some ideas. The IFOLG show moving around each year offers that opportunity to a lot of folks that just can't come out west to the LCSJ sponsored shows. I'm glad we have both options.

That looks like a lot of work! Back when I ran a fencing crew, we had to chainsaw paths through the trees to build new fence a couple times, but not for 2 miles. Will some of it at least make you some fire wood for next winter? As dry as it's been up there, it still looks green and pretty.

Paul Burnett has a couple books on stamping only. You can find them on his website