WyomingSlick

Punderful !

Some pics of the oldest stamps I have, one FK Russell shader and 2 McMillens; #80 and #211 I believe.

I would be very interested in any old catalogs, brochres, etc, concerning Cal-Carved leather stamping tools. The were based in the LA area of California and are believed to predate Craftool by a few years. I would need high resolutions scans of the catalog pages and their date of publication if known. I am trying to work out the history of stamp makers around LA in the forties and early fifties, so if any of you have any information on other stamp makers other than Craftool and RBS, I would love to see that as well. Thanks

Yes, he is definately one of the "greats", and I know that I learned a lot from his regular column, "Tricks of the Trade" in the "Leather Craftsman" and "The Craftsman" as a youth. One thing that always really impressed me is that he had "staying power". When the leather business slacked off there in Hollywood, and other leather artists were leaving town, he took up painting and sculpture as a new way to express his Western Art talent. And still kept the doors open there at his shop in Studio City. I guess I am not surprised that he showed that same "Staying Power" in living so long. Attachment is from 1968 magazine showing a carving for a 36' Caddy Limo car door that Al did. And this was long before most of us even heard the term "Sheridan Style"

Ummmmm...........what is that popular business saying???? Oh yes! "The customer is always right !" Well, maybe so, maybe not. One thing is for sure; it is a free country. Freedom of choice for you, freedom of choice for your customers. The simple fact is that there are people, and number me among them, who don't feel like being a walking billboard. I have no objection to the small Levi label that comes on my jeans and is mostly covered by my belt. Or the name on the sweatband in my hat. Yes, I wear caps with advertising on them, but I certainly didn't pay for them. If you want to give me one of your holsters, then by all means; make your name prominent on the front. But if you want me to pay for it; the mark should be discreet, or out of sight. I have seen work on here where I felt the maker's mark was an obvious blemish on an otherwise good piece of work. If the quality of the work doesn't speak for itself, then who cares who made it? Maybe the gucci crowd lol!! You ever see Al Stohlman's maker stamp: a very nice horsehead in a horseshoe with his initials (brand)? Yet did you see him ever use it on something as small as a wallet or holster? No, his initials were sufficient.

There is no doubt that you are motivated. Very noticable mprovement from the first set of pics to the third pic. However, there are many things that still need improvement. I strongly suggest that you get a copy of Al Stohlman's book; "Craftool Tech Tips" which is on sale right now at Tandy for $7.49 plus shipping. True it is only 22 pages, but if you learned to apply all the tips contained in that book, your work would improve immeasurably. Chan Greer is a fine artist, but if you want to learn to do fine leatherwork, go to the "master" - AL STOHLMAN. I can guarantee you that Chan himself learned a great deal from him.

Much of that stuff is availible commercially; get off your duff and start searching the internet. Tandy even has a selection of the skull and biker doo daws.

Midas (Kelly tool) #185 is a crown. You can see it on my blog under the most recent entry http://leatherworker...31&showentry=80 These are not made anymore so you might have to catch one on eBay. Not sure if Baron or Basic ever made one --------- if they did, I don't recall it.

I wince everytime I see that term: "sharp as a razor blade"! I have only one knife among my leatherworking tools that is as almost as sharp as a razor blade. Stamped on the blade is: J.A. HENCKELS TWIN WORKS SOLINGEN, GERMANY which is a pretty respectable name among straight razors. This knife I sharpen like anyone knowledgable sharpens a straight razor, except: I put a very fine microbevel on the edge as the last step. I don't want a true "razor edge" on it because it is not be used to cut wet hair, which is reatively soft compared to leather. A true "razor edge" is about as sharp as you can get with steel, but, it is inherently weak, which is of no concern when cutting hair. Such an edge will not stand up long when cutting leather - thus the micro bevel. Why do you suppose that the stereotype of the old time barber is of him stropping his straight razors back and forth....back and forth... on a leather strop??? It is because that "razor edge" is a delicate thing and time consuming to maintain. It is much more efficient to have less than a "razor edge" and have to exert yourself al little bit more, than to be stropping, or/and honing your blades every time you turn around. I use my straight razor for fine skiving. Period! The next closet to "razor sharp" are my regular skiving knives. They recieve a bit more of a micro-bevel as the final sharpening/honing step. And of course, the next step up the ladder is my head knife. And so on to the more utilitarian knives. For those of you having a hard time with your knives - making and maintaining an edge - do a little research on the net - there is a lot of information there on the subject. One main thing to keep in mind always is - what is the ultimate purpose of the knife, and what is the best geometry for that purpose. Until you are clear in your mind about that, you are unlikely to reach satisfaction. A sidenote here - an obsidian blade can be sharper than the best razor, but you don't see many leatherworkers using an obsidian blade. When I want/or need a razor edge, I turn to my x-acto knives since a blade damaged there is easily fixed by putting in a new one, stropping it a bit, and back to work. And yes, Elctrothon, I am fully aware of what Damascus steel entails. And like I said before, I don't see that it being so, or even cosmetically being so, will contribute to it's use in cutting leather. In a sword,axe, or dagger, yes. Just not much impact use when attacking the old hide! LOL

That is a pretty dammning statement...................................................................... All their knives? All their head knives? Round knives? Yes, they sold some Osbourne round knives that needed final sharpening. But if you look at the reading of this one, it says " Looking for a blade that only needs stropping to keep an amzazingly sharp edge? " That would seem to indicate that the blade is pretty much ready to test drive to me. And that will be the initial test - to see how it good it is out of the box. I have to admit that I don't see where it being damascus steel is much of an advantage in a round knife. I suspect that it is more of a marketing ploy then there being any real need for it's use.

Well Daddy-O, I would say it's like the old saying about the proof being in the pudding. Take the knife for a test drive. The store should have some scrap leather and a workbench there where you can run it through it's paces. If you are not sure about how to go about that, refer to Al Stohlman's "Leathercraft Tools" book which I see is on half-price sale also. If you don't have a copy of that, then I can't begin to reccomend how much every leather worker should have that book. If you are uncomfortable about playing with sharp knives and/or you don't know what you are doing; then have the Tandy people demonstrate it's use for you. If you are impressed with the knife, then buy it. If not, pass it by. I know it is a pretty thing, but if it doesn't cut the mustard, or, in this case; the leather, then it is just another wall hanger.

Are you sure that you are not just seeing the brass underplating? On older Craftools that have been used a lot such as bevelers, the chrome is sometimes worn away enough that you can see the brass that is plated over the steel and provides a base for the final chromium plate.

Wrong, there are other blades that will not fit in it either. For instance, blades that fit a Ray Hackbarth knife will not fit, nor will the blades that went in the Divelbiss knife. I am sure there are others. Diane - What you need to do, is measure the hole, or the shaft of the blade, and then go shopping with that information in hand. If you decide to go with one of the custom blade makers, you will need that information. If you buy from Tandy or one of the the mainline sellers then the blade should fit any Craftool swivel knife if you are sure that is what it is. My blade sizes as measured with digital micrometer: Blade Shaft size Craftool .215" Divelbiss .248" Hackbarth .313

How refreshing! Was just checking to see what my offensive index was nowadays, and got a good chuckle instead.

I have never went out and bought material for ID windows as such. Many times the pacaging that other items come in can be used for that purpose. For instance, a flashlight from Wally World that came in a clear plactic package, yielded up enough material for half a dozen ID windows. Must be the Scotsman blood in me from my Grandma Byars. LOL

One year experiance? Amazingly strong? I couldn't agree more. Be nice to see what he is doing with another year under his belt. Another compliment - Liked one of his flower designs so much I downloaded some pics, and am planning on using one like it sometime, and I only steal from the best!

I have uploaded scans of an old McMillen catalog that shows the range of stamps that they made. It is amazing to me; the range of stamps that were availible from them. To view them, download them, or print them out , visit my blog. There are also uploads of Kelly-Midas and 3-D stamp catalog pages there. http://leatherworker...=blog&blogid=31 Section of page 17 of McMillen tools below

Sorry, I don't have any extra old catalogs for you but I did post a referance page for the 8300 series of 3D stamps on my blog recently. Also if you keep an eye on eBay, sometimes old catalogs are offered.

For more on the differances in Craftools visit my blog - http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?app=blog&module=display&section=blog&blogid=31 Hey! I am still looking for a few vintage Craftools that I would buy or do some trading for. 984 107 847 538 544

Here is a page from old McMillen catalog which shows 3 sizes they offered the tool in at one time

So what? depending on if your birthday has come or not, next year they add up to 12........and then 13 the next year...... and so on. wow!!!, that is called math isn't it?

Noticed that there are some round bevelers on ebay now, But if you are only wanting smooth ones, why not pick up an assortment of stainless steel rods and make your own with a grinder, file, and emery cloth? That way you could alter them to suit exactly what you need them to be.

If you Google (that is do a net search) for Craftools rust removal, it would have brought you to my eBay guide - http://reviews.ebay.com/Leather-Stamp-Rust-Removal-UPDATED_W0QQugidZ10000000002529441 where I share a process that I learned from Ron Ross that works far better than anything else. If you have leather stamps to sell that have a bit of rust on them, take a hint from Ron Ross at the International Internet Leathercrafter's Guild. Note - this is generally for chrome-plated tools only! This mixture will corrode steel tools. It may be used on them but try it first with a "junker" first! 1. Disolve a teaspoon or two of cream of tarter in water in an ALUMINUM pan and heat on stove until simmering. Cream of tarter is found in the baking dept at the grocery store. Do not use a steel or iron pan as it will react with this mixture. 2. Remove excessive rust with super-fine steel wool ( 00 or 000 ) if called for. Submerge tools in pan and let them simmer awhile. Stir lightly from time to time and check for progress. You will see the water become cloudy as the rust is removed. 3. Check for progress from time to time and remove tools when satisfied. CAREFUL! Tools will be hot. Wipe residue off with fine steel wool or with Scotch-Brite pad. Rinse tools well in water and dry completely. A hair blower works great for this. 4. If you live in a high moisture area you may want to prevent future rusting. A very light coating of any of the commercial plastic spray coatings will work. I myself use Rain-X which is a micro-crystaline wax that can be found in the auto dept at stores. Just coat and buff; this will leave a fine layer of wax which will retard further rusting.

As far as the old Craftools go, they are all in my index on my blog page here - http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?app=blog&module=display&section=blog&blogid=31 Also other posts of interest to stamp Collectors

In my opinion, forget the Z tools. Your time is better spent in learning to use your swivel knife properly. I would say using those stamps is like using a hatchet to do surgery with. When leather is properly cased, and is at the optimum stage where the leather surface is dried back to nearly it's original color; the swivel knife cuts will pop open due to the leather surface being in tension as compared to the inside. If the leather is then folded after the swvel work is completed, and before the leather dries completely; the cuts will stay open. Note that if you redampen the leather, the cuts will tend to close up again somewhat. While the points made above may be valid, it is my opinion that not only does the artist above show excellent skill in carving, he also understands the dynamics of leather action.