TimDreamer

I see you are using a hollow ground blade with a unique angle to it. Is this something you have done yourself? What swivel knife do you use?

It's hard to argue with anything Mr. Parks says. Every time I look at his creations I end up drooling. Of course, 99.99 % of the toolers on here are better than I am, although I can do a fairly decent basketweave pattern. Mike, please don't stop doing what you are doing. I've looked at your website and am amazed. I would encourage you to continue with leathercrafting each and every piece you want to do. I understand that you need to keep your business afloat and want to produce things that are worth your time and that will sell. However, sometimes you just need to do something for the love of it. I can see by the effort you put into your pieces that you love the making of it. All of ya'll are an inspiration to those of us who want to try to achieve at this art.

Spinner, welcome to LW! If you can carve/tool as good in leather as you do in wood you'll do just fine! All your pieces look great, but I really dig that sink! Looking forward to seeing your projects.

You could try contacting King's X. He lives in Round Rock, TX and is a member of the Longhorn Trail Leather Guild out of Austin. There is the Tandy Leather Factory in Ft. Worth and also Hidecrafter's there as well, they might know of any local enthusiasts. I live in Baytown just outside of Houston, but I'm just a newbie at leatherworking. There is also Tim Kleffner out of Corpus, quite a ways away but he does a lot of travelling and might swing through on a trip up to Ft. Worth. Won't be able to help you with local information, but he is a very helpful and supportive member. There's a Tandy Leather in Austin as well. Good luck!

Sweet!! Adding a little more wear to those tools would be in order, they look like they are begging to be pounded!! A very nice friend, indeed.

Can't see a file for the pattern or even a picture. Storm, do you have these hanging around?

Truly a work of art!! Job well done!

Those look pretty sharp! Look forward to seeing them when you get them finished.

Sorry to hear that Luke. Sounds like all everyone wants is "cheap." Get me off the soap box, quick!!

Hmmm, all the more reason to learn how to hand sew. From what I had seen of the stitching, it looked like a machine did it.

That is a really nice looking working saddle. I'm sure whoever sits that saddle will be very pleased with it. What sewing machine do you use?

Another outstanding piece, Tim! What tools did you use to create your border pattern on the inside and back cover?

Ok, Luke...... You've had three weeks and a visit to the shop where this Bo Ho Funky stuff resides. Time for an update on the situation....

Another great looking set, Josh.

Remember those jackets that used to be fastened in the front by putting a loop over a large piece of horn or a large button? Those loop type fasteners are called frogs. Same principle and wording applies when it comes to scabbards on knives, etc. Ack!! Ya beat me to it by that much, Slick!! LoL.

Sure don't know. You might get them custom made, but they'd cost ya quite a bit. Have you asked at your local Tandy where you got those at?

You'll have to let us know what Boho Funky means, Luke! Or at least come back with a picture of it..... lol.

Very nice work, Josh. Looks like you can add saddlebags to your World Class reputation soon!!

Wow, that is a nice headstall! Did you hand sew it or use a machine?

Very nice, Duke!! They look very well planned out. Tandy has one that has a star in it, an X596, although that may not be the stamp that Duke used.

Welcome to LW, EngineCo1. We'd love to see some pictures of your work.

Very sharp!! Looking forward to seeing more of your work.

Sounds like you've got a solid bunch of 4-H er's. It would be nice to have a scrap piece of leather for each of them to start each month with and just practice the basics before delving into their projects but I understand the time constraints. Good going, Joe! Can you post pics of their projects on the blog? How about some shots of them as they are working on their projects. Keep up the good work!

LukeHatley said: Fantastic idea, Luke! I don't know why I didn't think of doing that. I am one bubble shy of obvious, duh!! Also, Tandy has some free patterns on their site. You might check to see if any one of those would suit your uses. I know that they have a few flask patterns and one for a coin purse. For a bookmark, any piece of leather that's cut to 1 1/2 to 2 wide X 5 or 6 long would work. Your imagination is your limit on the different patterns you could stamp on that. Punch a hole in one end of the leather, loop some lace through and you could either braid it or tie some beads on the end and viola! (Actually, you don't have to add the lace but it would make a plain bookmark stand out.) At any rate, you could mark up the bookmarks with lace and beads for more. Another idea for a different bookmark would be to put a concho with a chicago screw on it. Just make sure that the concho is small enough or cut your bookmark larger to accomodate it. One other thing, check with your local Tandy store, they usually offer free lessons to learn how to work with leather.