WyomingSlick

Your pattern coud be done using the "inverted style" of leather carving with little modification. For referance - look to Al Stohlman's book on the style or you can perhaps find some time to visit Peter Main's site. http://www.petermain.com/ The opening page displays some inverted carving on a portfolio by him and there are more examples of his superb work in the site. Well worth a visit.

I think you all need some clarification here. It is entirely unfair to attribute these actions to fairies in general. There are many good fairies out there and you are casting slurs upon them. No wonder you have problems. While some of these instances may be caused by mischievious pixies, I think most of these are caused by Gremlins, who are known to delight in causing all kinds of problems, but particularly these involving sewing machines. I suggest you tidy up your shops and try to entice some Brownies to move in - they will keep the Gremlins out if they are kept happy. .

Yup, we don't like leather either! We don't like leather so much that we will: Cut it with a knife, Whack it with a hammer and other weapons, Punch holes in it, And perform other strange operations just trying to make something useful out of the durn stuff!!

I agree with Vikti. You have gotten the wrong impression about Tandy tools. No, they are not the best tools out there. Walmart does not attract very many professional auto mechanics, but they do have tools that work just fine for millions of beginner and weekend mechanics. The tools that TLF sell will do the job for the most part. I would reccomend buying your beginning stamping tools on eBay. They are available all the time on eBay for less than they cost new at TLF. For cutting leather, one of the cheap X-acto type knife sets from China will do a lot for the money. The most important tool that you need, or any beginner, is knowledge. Time after time, we see questions on the forum from beginners where the information desired could be obtained from the manuals readily obtained from TLF. The best money I have ever spent in forty years has been on books!!!!!! Any of Al Stohlman's book's are worth many, many times their cover price. One that I think is essential is his book on tools which covers 95% of all the tools ever used in leather fabrication: how to use them, how to care for them, and how to sharpen them. A definate must buy !!!! In fact, I would say it should be a first buy and a first read. Armed with the know-how in it, you will be able to make much better decisions about what you do buy later. Knowledge is power.

I'd say take a large nail or spike and file away everthing that doesn't look like the diamond impression until it looks right. That is the way the oldtimers did it. Should still work for you:rolleyes:

It wouldn't be the first thing on eBay categorized as a leather tool that wasn't. Simple as it is; it could function as several things for a leatherworker. ..... or several other occupations.

Did you punch just round holes in the belt? Oval holes work better. Also make sure they are big enough.

I have to agree with the above assessment of the artwork - way cool man. Looks a lot like the old ranch truck I learned to drive in. I will disagree about the stitching however. It looks like the kind of stitching that was seen on the hippie style stuff Tandy was promoting in the seventies, and thus it matches the earthy tone of the wallet. It may be more liable to wear than a recessed stich, but it is also easily repaired. And who says that all leather stitching has to look like that on a tooled saddle?

They were referring to the stainless steel tools that Ellis made after he took over Ray Hackbarth's operation. Later on he made some out of tool steel just as he made them out of tool steel when he worked for Cal-Carved, Craftool, RBS, and when he made his own line back in the old days.

Sure, I know as much as you are ever going to know about who made them unless you can trace the ownership of the tools back through the auction house. And no, they were most likely not made by McMillin. There is a seller on eBay who infers that every old steel non plated tool he has for sale is a McMillin. The historical fact is that is was part of the apprenticeship of many saddleshops for the wannabe saddle maker to make his own stamping tools. And then there were others who made tools for saddlemakers in their area. Due to the fact that these have knurled shafts, and the regularity of them, they were at least partly made by a machinist. From the fact that they could use some touching up, I would say he was not a leather carver. From the impressions pic; going from left to right, top to bottom Top row The bargrounder needs to be ground down all around to make it work right. The "pine tree" is very well done, though with not as fine lines as a McMillan or older Craftool. The cam is very typical of old style cams in that it is more rounded across the top. The wiggler (sawtooth style) is very good. The wiggler (wavy style) looks okay but I am not impressed with it's impression. LOL The smooth shader looks a little flat for my taste Bottom Row The flower center looks very even - kind of an unusual line pattern there The veiner looks a little "clunky-thick" for modern tastes - I have several old timers that are like this The beveler - has the round heel like I see in many old bevelers which is a good thing The big seeder-definately done by a machinist with an indexing tool as it's so even The ribbed shader - very well done for being done freehand, I've seen worse. The birdseye backgrounder - definately done by a machinist, but like the bargrounder - needs touched up. You should notice that the pattern of 7 dots surrounding the center one is a bit unusual. The usual was 6 or nine dots. All in all, you have got yourself a nice little collection of very old tools dating back a half century or more. If I had to be more exact I would guess made in the 1940's to mid 50's. Since you live in dry country like I do, they shouldn't rust badly on you. I use Rain-X to coat mine with just to be sure. Below is a pic of some more "oldies" that I've accumulated over the years.

Take a look on eBay. There are some new books offered there by various sellers. Ray Pohja's book is one to look for. Here is a link http://cgi.ebay.com/Western-Leather-Belt-Patterns-Ray-Pohja-/260580128120?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3cabc93578

Some good points made above. They would be why most experianced leatherworkers have a good varietyof edge bevelers. I most strongly reccomend that any and all leatherworkers have a copy of Al Stohlmans book on using and taking care of leathercraft tools. AL Stohlman : Leathercraft Tools *How to use them *How to sharpen them It may be the best buy you ever make! But then, any of Al's books are worth more than what you pay for them.

...but look at the size of that steer!!!! Grandpa always said, " It's not the size of the man in the fight - it's the size of the fight in the man" ........ so maybe that is just a small dogger.

Shazaam! Like they used to say back when that car was new, "That is the cat's meow!"

I particulairly like the swivel knife work on the letters. Gives it that extra pizzazz!

Thanks for posting the pics of the old saddles. I am glad you posted them in hi-res as I saved them to one of my files. Still no answer on the jaw-spur................jawur ????

Not so weird if the SS had not been passified adequately.

Bravo! I couldn't agree more. Properly cased leather will take an impression from most anything, including your finger nails.

That is one of the strangest things I have ever seen on this site. :rolleyes2: Please explain exactly just what the heck that is in the first picture. As for getting a wheel of life stamp, I believe there will be one up for bids on eBay in the very near future. As to the origin of the design, it is pretty well established that it arose at many differant places around the world. Hitler probably got it from his interest in the Aryan culture which came out of India.

Yes, great find indeed! Since this was also posted in my blog and I saw it there first; I posted an extensive reply there already. Click on the link to read my rather long - winded reply - http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?app=blog&module=display&section=blog&blogid=31&showentry=70

I wasn't sure what was going on at the question mark. Sheridan carving usually has minimal background area in it - so perhaps a reduction in the background area at the X's would help. The lower right one can be taken care of with a stem as previously pointed out. Incorporating differant flowers and leaves into a balenced design is a tough act to perform. It is easier to perfect a design where all the design elements are of the same type.

Just finished another blog entry My blog. It concerns the bevelers show below. ( Pic on blog is bigger ) If you interested in older Craftools, take a look and please leave a comment so I know someone is reading the blog.

Of course I was responding to you as the thread starter who asked "what would you do?" Now, you indicated some concern about the safety of the kids, and voiced some doubts about the competance of the people who were teaching them. If that is all true, then what better course to take then to lead them into the idea that perhaps they had better have the rest of their equipment checked out by a professional; namely you. A bit of conversation along these lines would give you a better sense of where they stand on the issue and if they are worth bothering with.

When it comes to old leathercraft stamping tools that are not marked, it is almost impossible to say who made them. This is even more so when you are talking about the simpler to fabricate tools like: bevelers, shaders, checkered backgrounders, etc. There are some tools sold on eBay as McMillans which are NOT! The fact stands that there were many other tool makers out there and in fact. many saddlemakers in the old days made many of their own stamping tools from whatever was handy; large nails, bolts, etc.. or even modifying a stamp they already had. I would say that I have tools representative of at least 10 makers that I have no idea who or where they were. These range from simple handworked nails like several of yours, to a few that are the equal of any I've ever seen. What you have to keep in mind is that after World War II, there were a great many machinists in this country. With the end of the war, some of these were out of a job and were looking for a way to put bread on the table. Some of these made tools for Craftool and that is why their earlier tools are generally higher quality than those made later in a factory. Watch my blog for more information on these older tools in the months to come. Getting back to your old "collectibles", I would have to say that there is nothing definite about any of them, True, #2 does look a bit like some Hackbarths and is shorter than average like Ellis Barnes made tools (he made tools for Ray Hackbarth back in the old days before taking over after Ray's passing). Mostly though, Hackbarths were made of stainless steel and will not attract a magnet as strongly as a regular iron or steel tool. You might check these for that.

I think you missed a good opportunity here. You could have offered to check out the rest of their equipment (for a reasonable fee, of course) and then you, and them, could rest easy knowing that all of their stuff was in a safe condition.