terrymac

When you wipe off the excess antique paste, be sure to get all you can. I have found the only way to do this is using shearing or wool pads. Tandy sells a synthetic wool that works quite well. If you get all you can off, there is nothing left for the Clearlac to pick up. I have been using Clear lack (Neatlac) as the final sealer for over fifty years and have never had your problems. An excellent video on the process is put out by Keith Valley on YouTube. He also uses Tankote, but not as the final finish. Tankote will take some of the paste off, and I personally do not use it unless I need to lighten splotchy places on the leather. Hope this helps Terry

Just be aware Tan Kote will lift some of the color of the Fiebings Antique Pase. It can be used to dilute the paste. As a normal practice, I don't use it unless there is a dirty looking spot on the untooled area of the leather and it will clean it up Keith Valley, mentioned earlier, does use it as a matter of practce. Just play with it and see what you like. Glad it helped, Terry

, First thing to do is to get yourself from Clearlac (old original Neatlac). You can get it thru Springfield Leather and second thing is throw away the Neatsfoot and get yourself some "Bee's Natural Saddle Oil' or some extra virgin olive oil. I personally like the saddle oil, but others prefer the other. You are not too far off in your steps You just don't need so many redundant steps After you dyed the background and applied oil, let it dry , Use some wool shearing to apply a light coat of Clearlac, working it in to the leather, Don't goop it on. Depending on the amount of resist desired, you may wish to apply a second coat and let dry. Tandy sells some synthetic wool pads that work quite well, and you can cut them in half. Again using the wool pads, apply your Fiebings Antique paste, and now you can goop it on. You do not have to wait to start removing the excess, just continue using the wool pads to wipe off, changing wool pads as they fill up with paste. Using wool pads is the only way of getting the excess out of tooling marks and cuts. This is where a lot people mess up the piece and end up looking like mud puddles I will then apply a final coat of Clearlac for a finish. Just remember Saddle Lac and Clearlac are totally different products. If you want to see some finished products using this system, look at Hidepounder's work. There is a really good video by Keith Valley which also demonstrates this process. I wish I had a dollar for every saddle that has been finished like this, I could go fishing all summer Hope this helps, Terry

Right up the road from Lubbock, is Panhandle Leather loccated in Amarillo. They handle Herman Oak along with some imported stuff. Give Jim Blaine Kinney a call, good people. Hope thishelps, Terry

Check with Rocky Mountain Supply. They have some really nice French calf and goat that is veg tan, and light weights Terry

If you use Grade A Hermn Oak, you are not going to find any better. The leathers shown on the website you mentioned, are not to be tooled on. It is like comparing oranges and apples. The answer to your question depends on what you are trying to accomplish. There are many companies that handle those kinds of leather. Do a search in the "Suppliers section", and you get an idea of what is available. Decide what you are trying to do, and then go from there. Interms of the swivel knife, none better thn the SK 3. Terry

There are no federal capital gain taxes on your pnrimary residence. Don't know about state or if part of property was used for different purposes. Terry

16 oz, good all-around weight for tooling. Heavier for basket weaving or simply use more force

One other piece of advice is get you some wool, either synthetic or real, to remove the excess antique. You can't get it all off with a rag, I learned the hard way. If you get all the excess off, you shouldn't have that darker appearance. Terry

Yes, I meant Fiebibgs, hate auto correct. I don't think the first picture was dyed, just the antique effect. Second picture probably. I have always dyed before antique, and if I remember, that is the sequence outlined in the book. Hope this helps, Terry

I will bet it is "Sheridan Brown" and it is put out by Findings.TerryT

Chicago Medical has them on Ebay, different sizes. I bought the 8 oz for less than $10.00 Terry

Clearlac

A refillable felt pen sold by Lisa Sorrel. She is a sponsor on this site. Terry

Put shipping tape on flesh side. Terrt

It ain't Neat Lac, guaranteed. Springfield Leather, along with others, sell Clearlac which is Neatlac Terry

It will eventually come loose regardless of kind or brand. Stitch it after gluing, then you will have something that is permanent. Terry

Have you checked with Rocky Mountain Leather Supply? They are handling full spools of .8 & 1 mm for $50.00 a spool

Learned this lesson many years ago. Threw away the Ecoflo and the leather I had screwed up. Ecoflo and Neatlac as a resist does not work!!!! Like mentioned before, stick with Fiebings antiques. Terry

My guess is your chisel is dull. The leather is stretching before the chisel penetrates. Terry

I guess I do it a little different as I used wool pads to get the paste off. I do not want any in the tool marks and cuts. The paste has done its job and they are high lighted. If you leave any, you will normally get that "mud puddle" effect. Wool pads are the only means I have found to get all of the paste, rags will not do it. Watch Keith Valley's video on antiquing and you will see what I mean. This only applies to Fiebings paste. Ecoflo is a different monster and I do not know any thing about it. Terry

The wider you split, the sharper the blade has to be. Otherwise you need a come-along to pull the leather thru. Terry

Nature of the beast. I do not know why it happens, it just does. Clearlac, Tankote, or Tandys conditioner all seem to remove it just fine, and it looks ok Terry

If you feather the edge of the gator as thin as possible, it will burnish and edge just fine. Look at some of Bobby Park's (Hidepounder) work and you can see what I am talking about. The edges on the items I have made look great. Terry

For 6 stitches per inch, either 1mm or .8mm will work. When you get to 8 or more stitches per inch, the .6mm becomes more appropriate. Hope this help Terry