TimDreamer

Wow, looks great so far, Kate!! Very nice tooling, deep impressions and clean lines. (BTW, that's a TINY basketweave! 1/8 inch wide.... LoL.) Knowing the tendency of a swivel knife to not leave complete cuts when crossing or ending at perpendicular cuts, what is your technique on making these cuts look the way they do on your boards and how do you keep the same depth of cut for the complete line? Do you use straight, angled or hollow ground blades?

I have read everyone's posts here and can sympathize with both sides of the issue. I am not a professional leatherworker.... yet. I would love to be in the company of some of ya'll and produce award winning leather. However, I am realistic enough to know that I cannot afford custom tools at this point in time. Shucks, I was lucky enough to be able to snag a whole bunch of Craftools at $3.33 during their sale last month and felt darned lucky to do so. (One tool short of Bob Linnell's Sunflower pattern to be able to make my wife's Bible cover.) I've never bent a tool yet, but I haven't tooled in quite a while so I don't know if the newer tools will hold up. Will I go out and buy custom tools? Yes, if and when I can afford them. I've drooled over the new swivel knifes I've seen and would love to try one, someday. I appreciate everyone's opinion, because I know ya'll are compassionate about your work and that you want to give the customer the best product that you can. However, I am not at that point and will try to do the best with what I have. Please keep inspiring me, I've got a long way to go...... LoL.

Welcome to LW, Brad! Looking forward to seeing your posts.

Very nice! If the work on these albums is any indication, your holsters must be pretty sweet!

Very nice, Ed. Hope I am half as good when I finally get to the point of getting to pound leather again.

My wife got me a year's membership to the Tandy Wholesale Club. Thank you, Honjee!!

Very nice lines on that board, Kate! So tell us newbies, have you ever dyed a square the wrong color? I'd be constantly worried that I would do either that or color outside the lines... LoL. For something that looks fantastic, do you just start over when a mistake is made? Do you do your own woodwork or do you have that done outside your shop? I love the way you've married two crafts together to make a piece that looks timeless.

Those are some eyecatchers, Ed! I especially like the last one... simple but elegant. Well done!

Very nice projects! Love the studded collar, I'm sure the coyotes will think twice about biting that neck!

Another fantastic seat, Dave! Can't wait to see the bike they slap to the bottom of this baby!

Ok, finally figured out how to get my pics resized to fit onto the editor here. Sorry about the delay, Leather. I had to shrink them quite a bit, I have an 8 Megapixel camera and I am not sure how big the images are going to be or how clear.

Thanks Hilly and Leather. I'll take pics of it when I get home from work. Looks like this one is a single crease. Would you use this tool on other projects besides tack and harness? Perhaps straps or belts?

I dunno, Storm. I think that the chinks are stunning! I love the way she layered the leather with the red outlining the black. Makes it stand out and an outstanding job. Although the clock is a great job too. Thanks for sharing, Claire! (Now I know I'm going to have a complex before I even get my first project done.... the people on this site are just fantastic leatherworkers!)

Looking through the tools that I inherited from my late father-in-law there was a peculiar looking tool. Black wooden handle with a curved haft and a rounded head that had two sides, one longer than the other. Under the patina and a little rust I finally made out the words stamped into the haft... C. S. Osbourne and underneath the curve was stamped the number 5. Off to the internet for a search I go and about five minutes of clicking found the very same tool on their website. Now, my question is this..... how is it used and for what? When I get home I'll post some pics of it. I've still got to learn how to post pics to my posts. Maybe I can put it in the gallery. It's a little worse for wear, but I think that with a little elbow grease and a little steel wool will clean up most of the rust. I don't want to put too much oil on it because that would would stain the leather when I use it, but I don't want to rub rust onto my projects either. Perhaps I can use a scrap piece of leather to rub it on. Comments, suggestions?

Storm, you are truly artistic in your approach to leather. Very well done.

More like..... Wow David, that bike looks really great on that seat!! LoL Really need to give credit where credit is due.

These are just simply amazing. You do outstanding work.

Josh, did you hand sew this or do it on a machine? If so, what machine did you use?

Just wondering Josh.... what would you charge for something like this?

Yes, Josh... a pattern would be nice. I would love to do one for my wife.

That is absolutely gorgeous!! Whoever wears that will feel really good. I love the buttery color, it just looks rich.