TimDreamer

King's X, No one has made the case for leatherworking to be a traditional folk art here in Texas. So far as I can see from the website for Texas FolkArt (www.texasfolklife.org) is for the past five years they've been stuck on getting kids to play accordions in The Big Squeeze Contest. Other things have been photographing Texas Ranch Gates and planting flowers at some ghost town. Doesn't sound much like traditional arts things to me. Maybe it's time to break out of the mold and start sending in applications for apprenticeships, huh?

The scorpion really isn't my style, too shell-fish for my tastes..... hehehe. I love what you did with the dragonfly and the trout, though! Mixing the media together like that is so cool. All very realistic representations, thank you for sharing!

That's great! Gotta be my eyes playing tricks on me then. My bad, please accept my apologies.

I have seen those and watched a few. Very informative short videos. Thank you, George and Tandy!

Ummm, not to be too picky, but those first two photos look like you've applied your neatlac or whatever you use for finish onto the hair-on cowhide as well. This cuts back on looking natural to me. Just my opinion, I'm not exactly an expert. You have certainly gotten your tooling down though, I love the trout you did, makes me want to get out my fishing tackle!

Very nice, Storm!

Just when I think I'm getting saturated with all the variety of excellence on this site along comes something like this. Awesome!!

Wow, a feast for the eyes!

A very interesting subject. Ya'll just keep blowing me away on this forum. Right now I'm at the stage of being a hobby leatherworker. I've got the basic tools (plus a few more to do Jim Linnell's Sunflower pattern on a Bible cover for my wife) and an old hobby that I did in my younger days that is itching again. When I see all the neat things that ya'll are doing here.... holsters, belts, saddles, tack, sheaths, bike seats, garments, gaming boards and all the knick knacky cool stuff that people keep showing on the forums, I realize the gulf between what I can do compared to what the artists and artisians on this site do. I realize that what I will do or want to do might be similar to someone else's on this site. I mean, how many ways is there to make a Bible cover is there? (I know, lots.... rhetorical question. :-P) But a book cover is basically the same. It is how the person tools it, sews it, laces it, lines it or does whatever with it that makes it theirs. I know that if I were to make something it would be one of a kind because I could try to duplicate it but I will never be able to make it the same no matter how much I tried. I might get close, but not going to happen. Same as if I were to try to imitate one of Mr. Parks or Mr. Johnson's rope cans. Even if they share their pattern with me, I couldn't without years and years of attempts even come close to their level of tooling and expertise. As for JBird's elk skin shawl he mentioned in an earlier post. (I would still love a copy of the pattern, Josh... and as I think I said in your post about it a huge thank you in advance.) When I saw what he had done I thought that I might be able to duplicate something like that for my wife. I realize that I have an entire new skill set to learn to be able to accomplish something like that. Laying out a pattern on hides, learning how to sew garment leather and making buckskin fringe, plus buying a sewing machine that would handle garment grade leather. Will it be the same? I sure would hope so, it looked gorgeous and it would please me to be able to give my wife something like that. Would it be neat to learn how to make garments out of skins? You bet. Would it be great to be able to make money doing it? You betcha. Doubt it's going to happen in the near future though. Who knows, maybe an old hobby could turn out to be a new career. Maybe this old dog can learn new tricks. Gonna be fun tryin'. So if I make a newbie mistake and ask for something you don't want to give me cause I would like to try it out for myself, or you want to charge me for your hard work and intellectual property, please don't be offended if I don't buy because of limited funding or my lack of knowledge of where you stand. I will still love to admire your handiwork and pick up tips and tooling tricks to improve what I can do, along with fellowship with like minded individuals. Tim Dotson

Gotcha! Had me scratching my head for a while, couldn't tell from the photo what it was.

Let us know how things turn out, Gary. Praying for you here.

Looks like a very good alternative and easy to replace blades that wear down.

Wow, Brad! Nice score and I'm sure you'll make an excellent wallet for your cousin. BTW, what is the tool in the top picture, upper row center?

That is way cool. The kids really look like they are getting into making something by hand.

Mike, I really love the knife with the striations in the metal. It shows your attention to detail and love for craftsmanship. Keep up the great work and show us more!

That is one sweet setup.

Very nice, Ed!! The spirit dyes make the front cover exceptional and like everyone else said you did an excellent job with the basketweave. I can see that I've got a lot of hides to pound to learn from the great folks here at LW.

I'm speechless!! Although I can pick out one flaw in this lamp........ it's not mine!! LoL Bob, you set the bar at Olympic levels. I love seeing your work. Please keep sharing with us.

Sweet, another rope can maker!! Storm is right, so far you and Bob Parks take the cake on the cans. This really looks like a cool project to do.

Very nice, Hawgman. I'm sure with more practice you'll do better with the bargrounding. You got pretty close with the basketweave, too. I'm sure your dad will be proud to pull it out and show it off like all parents do. (Ever notice how fast pictures come out of wallets when kids and grandkids are mentioned?) Your lacing looks topnotch.

That really is a sharp looking board!

Thanks, Johanna. This should make for some interesting reading.

Looks very durable. I'm sure you'll get many years of use out of this sheath! Sometimes simple is more.

Very nice! I just love the basketweave stamp. The inverted initials are a very nice touch.

Kate, thanks for taking all our questions and providing answers! You're such a trooper. I feel like I'm taking a class on board making here..... LoL.