WyomingSlick

I have a question about this process you mentioned above. Are all saddle trees marked in some way that you can identify them for replacement?

Here's the other 98 cents on doodle pages. Doodle Pages first came out in 1949 as a promotional item for Craftool, the company started by Dick McGahan to produce quality tools for the large number of people who were taking up leathercraft as a hobby. The first Doodle Page (pic 2.) was just as the name implied; a sheet showing several doodles demonstrating techniques for tooling as done by Cliff Ketchum (shown in pic 1 holding a gun on Dick McGahan on the right - promo for The Leather Craftsman magazine). Cliff was the featured artist on the first six Doodle Pages. Following him, many other of the foremost leather craftsmen in the Southern California area displayed their "doodles" and craftsmanship in these pages: Al Stohlman, Ken Griffin, Al Shelton, Joey Smith, Christine Stanley. and the list goes on and on for over 50 years! The early Doodle Pages were only printed on one side of 17 1/4 " X 11 1/8" page. It wasn't until series 4 (the fourth year) that the pages were printed on both sides. Usually the reverse was promotional material for Craftools, Craftaids, the Leather Craftsman magazine, etc. Speaking of The Leather Craftsman magazine. The very early issues of The Leather Craftsman had Doodle Pages in them that were not identified by any series or page number (see pic 5). In later years, the centerfold in the magazine was a copy of the currant Doodle Page as shown in the pic 3 of a Doodle page on top of an identical centerfold Doodle Page. These magizine centerfolds would be the Doodle pages that are found with the staple holes in the center. Of course the back of these would have part of magazine articles on them. At least once that I know of, there were two concurrant doodle pages printed back to back as shown in pic 4. It seems that the early Doodle Pages could be obtained simply by sending the coupon on each page to a Craftool Dealer for the next one. Later on, this coupon would be omitted and it would simply be stated that Doodle Pages were free with any Craftool Purchase. I imagine most dealers were like the one I patronized as a kid; they would give one to whoever wanted one. Numbering of Doodle Pages was done by starting a new series every year with a new page each month. At the end of series 12 (year 12), they started the next series with 1B. Then came the C series, D, E, F and so on... I really believe Doodle Pages stand in the first rank of the most successful and long running promotional campaigns ever. And I think that TLF is missing a great opportunity here in not reproducing many of the old Doodle Pages in a collection for sale.

Blasphemy! LOL! Why not use leather all the way round?

"Very Impressive!"

I want to make a correction for the misstatement by Peter in the opening post. Dick McGahen was the founder and original owner of Craftool. Not being sure who Oliver Sturdy was; I contacted Peter about this. Peter informed me that Oliver Sturdy was a master toolmaker that Al Stohlman worked with in the development of new tools. Just wanted to set the record straight here and prevent misinformation from spreading. One thing there is no doubt of; is that Peter is a master artist and his work is inspiring for anyone to study and learn from.

Hi, Just a thought here. The red and white material is what? Looks like a bandana material made of cloth. If so, you might want to consider that it will be easily soiled, particulairly if this is a wallet for a guy. Maybe a good coating of Scotchguard would slow that down.

This is from an eBay guide I posted years ago. http://reviews.ebay....000000002529441 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 P.S. For those who don't know what Cream of Tartar is - you can find it at the grocery store in the section where cooking items like spices, baking soda, etc are.

Pretty neat old collector item there Clay. I remember seeing one like it many years ago. If I had realized then what an unusual item it was, then I might have tried to talk the ole boy out of it. Someone mentioned the matter of patents in an earlier post; I think it is kind of interesting that as far as I know - no one has patented any swivel knife or specific stamping tool. Yes, lots of patents on other leather tools, but you never see a patent on a leather stamp. A good example of this would have been when tri-weaves first showed up. If there was ever a stamp that was new and fairly unique, that was it. Who made the first one? Anybody know for sure? Is it a case where the patent office won't issue one on a stamp? Or is it not worth the trouble? Seems to that if it was possible to patent a stamp design, Craftool (Tandy) woud have done it years ago to try and slow down the incursion of the Taiwan (MIDAS) tools. Anyone know why this is?

I ran across this article on the net today, and since it applied directly to the subject of this thread, will post it here. Definately worth the reading! http://www.proleptic.net/ShopTalk_APRIL_web%20article.pdf

Hi PJ. Well you have heard some good advice here,----and some that is not helpful at all. I am not going to claim to be an expert on using the tri-weave stamps, and that is what they are - - - not basketweaves. In fact I have never made an item with them since I bought mine from Hidecrafter a few years ago when they had a nice sale. I have "doodled" around with them a bit. and with my forty years of experiance; perhaps I can give you some pointers in the right direction. Now I don't own any King or Beard tri-weaves, but theirs seem to be pretty much the same tool. I am not sure what the "experts" are talking about when they bemoan the inconsistency of the Tandy tri-weaves. My Hidecrafters are Craft Japan made ones which look the same to me as the Tandy versions. They are consistant in that: if you stamp an impression, rotate the stamp 120 degrees and restamp in the same impression: it fits fine and there is no change in the impression. In that alone; if fits the first desirable characteristic you want in any type of geometric stamp that is used in a repeating pattern (design ); that is that it is even and each half, or in this case-each third is a mirror image of the other(s). Before we discuss the tri-weave stamping, let's discuss the border. Usually the border is cut and beveled first, then the basketweave or tri-weave stamping is done, and then the border stamping is done to cover the transition area between the ending of your geometric stamping and the border. It is very important to be aware of how much distance out from the border that your border stamp will cover so that you know where to end or fade out your tri-weave or other stamp. You might even trace in a very light guide line for this purpose. Try to make the guide line so that it will be covered by your border stamp later. This line will also give you a good idea where to fade out your tri-weave stamp by tilting it so it doesn't leave a deep impression on the side towards the border. Having beveled the border before hand will make this easier. For some very good examples on how to stamp borders you need to look at pages 11 and 12 of Al Stohlman's book TECH TIPS. Tri-Weave Stamping One point I would like to make: Every "Craftsman" I know; uses scrap leather for "doodling" on and learning how to use a tool to it's best advantage. They learn 90% of what they know on inexpensive scraps. The other 10 % of the time they either learn how to salvage and cover their mistakes or "they eat it" and learn from that. Pic 1 - Left to right - A very light impression of tool, a full depth impression, and an impression where I rocked the tool in each of the three leg directions to give a more pronounced 3-D effect. This is part of the process of getting familiar with the stamp and how it will be used. So now I see that the six little pegs will be most useful in lining up one impression to the next. Hmmmm. . .should make it easier to use than a basketweave which doesn't have them. Pic 2 - First light impression, and then a few light guide lines. Of course on an actual project, one would determine before the first impression where to put guide lines first to determine the run of the pattern. Pic 3 - Next impression made by carefully placing the stamp's pegs into the holes from the first impression. Pic 4 - Four rows stamped lightly just like you did. No problem so far. Pic 5 - A couple of full depth impressions Pic 6 - Two rows done full depth. Pic 7 - All 4 rows done full depth. I begin to see the problem. You will notice that I experianced the same problem you had with the stamp impression not matching up so well with the curve of the previous deep impression. From this I determined that it is very important to place the stamp carefully and strike it straight down so that it doesn't want to skip to the side. Several lighter strikes work better than one heavy blow. It may also work better for you to tilt the tool in each of the 3 leg directions, being sure the stamp is aligned in the 2 peg holes, and deepening the impression with several lighter blows than one heavy one.

Bravo! A big, BIG hand of applause! It is so refreshing to see someone with limited means (financial that is; definately no limit here on brains and ingenuity) produce something that stands up so well in comparison with any stitching hoss I've seen. And I have no doubt that if it needs any "tinkering", you will be up to the job. This is one of the very best examples I've ever seen of recycling and I intend to use it a referance for those who are under the impression that they need to buy all of their equipment and tools from the dealer man. Again, another round of applause

A very nice windfall for you! Here are a couple pages from an old leathercraft magazine showing the line up of Kelly tools which were made in New Zealand as yours indicate. The regular MIDAS line chrome plated tools were imported from China. According to this advertisement - the "gold color" is brass. Note - The attachments are page size scans so that you can print them out and add them to your data base. Most of the earlier Kelly's were very good stamps, but as the dies used in their manufacture wore out, some of the later ones were not so good.

The reason you don't see "pig furs" is because the hairs (bristles) go completely through the skin and the follicles are actually anchored in the fatty layer underneath the skin. So when you remove the hide and then flesh it - that is scrape off the fatty connective tissue; you are removing the layer that anchors the bristles - thus, there is nothing to hold the bristles in. This is the same reason that pigskin is more breathable than most leather types - the holes, where the bristles were, go all the way through pigskin leather. This is also why you seldom see heavy pigskin like you do cowhide - the usable layer is not very heavy in most of the market pigs slaughtered each year which are animals running 200 lbs and down. PS. By the way, footballs are actually made with cowhide. The term comes from the early days when the ball was made from a pig bladder.

For those who are not sure what stamps the Craftool numbers refer to; go to this post where you can download Craftool Index pages which show all of the vintage tools http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=20664&st=0&p=136278&fromsearch=1entry136278

Frog is a common term used to describe an item used to join two other items that is shaped like a Y or fork. The term is used for example to describe where two train tracks join together and in metal structures where two members join at an angle. In this case, it is used to refer to the loop used to join the belt and the sheath or scabard.

Well, yes I have some doodle pages with staple holes in them. They are the small ones that were the center pages in the leather magazines (The Craftsman and The Leather Craftsman). I am somewhat confused about Rhonda's story about it being against eBay policy to allow them to be sold. There are literally millions of items sold on eBay that are copyrighted and were given away initially. Copyrights usually only prohibit the copying of protected material (and that includes electronic media), not the selling of the original. In some cases, the original copyright owner does maintain ownership of the material and may prohibit the transfer of even the original material to any other. This should be stated on the item. I have seen some government publications where this was the case. As to the idea of Tandy making available a CD collection of past Doodles; yes, that would be great. I suggested that to them years ago; but so far....nothing. As to members copying them and disseminating the material; I suggest that if you do.....you had best do it on the sly....."Big Brother is watching."

I remember seeing some cowboy cuffs when I was a kid on my granddad's ranch. Grandpa told me then that he mostly used then when he was fencin', that is: stringing up or repairing barbwire fencing. The cuffs saved a lot of snags and tears on his shirt sleeves from the barbs on the fencing wire. The ones he had were made from the shafts ( the top parts ) of an old pair of cowboy boots which is not surprising as there wasn't much that went to waste on his ranch. His didn't have any snaps for closing the cuffs; that was entirely done by leather strings laced through puched holes. Of course they didn't have any fancy tooling either, just the stitching design from the bootmaker. I don't know if he ever had any "go to town" cuffs like he did in the boot and hat departments. I am sure many cowboys did as shown in the pic of an old time cowboy sporting a tooled set of cuffs that were closed by snaps/buttons.

Sharpened? Hmmmm.......now that is a matter of opinion. Any tool is tuned to the condition that the tool user wants it to be in. They came from Craftool with a chrome plating which of course covered the cutting edge which limits how sharp the tools could be. The chrome is very prone to chipping off since the acute angle of the edge creates a weak point for the chrome to stay bonded to. Thus many of these tools that you see are missing some, or all of the chrome on the cutting edges. When I first came across these tools many years ago, I messed around with them a bit. For myself, I came to the conclusion that for me; they were a waste of time. They really didn't do anything that a swivel knife wouldn't do faster, easier, and better. They might be an acceptable substitute for someone who due to a hand problem is unable to use a swivel knife, and I can readily see where someone might believe that making the edge sharper would improve the performance of these tools, or at least make them where they required a lighter tap to make cuts. So, with two sets, you have a chance to see which works better. For some reason, I have 3 extras of the L tool (all with chrome chipped). If that is the one that you need to replace the "boneheaded one" - let me know and I'll send ya one.

I came across these on eBay in the metal section and thought maybe some of you might be interested in them. The auction page can be found by doing a search for Dies for Metal Decorating-Lot of 44-French Maker

Just send me your address and I will send you an extra I have. No charge, just do a favor for someone in need sometime.

Well, actually, I think Bob is kicking on Tandy more than they deserve. Rawhide leather mallets were around and being used by leather toolers long before Tandy became dominant in the leather world. Take a look at F.O. Baird - he was using a mallet in the pics in his "Leather Secrets" book which predates Tandy. Same for Al Stohlman. On the other hand, you have guys like Lou Roth(inventor of Craftaids) and Ken Griffin using stamping sticks in the pre-Tandy era. If you look in the old issues of "The Craftsman, nearly all of the pics that show someone tooling; do so with a mallet. The older editions of most leathercraft manuals also show a mallet being used. Tandy didn't really become a major force in the leather business until after it bought out Craftool in 1961, so I really don't think they had much if anything to do with the prevelance of mallet use. All that being said, I think one of the problems with some folks when using a mallet is that too many use it like a hammer; that is they swing it in line with their arm to strike the stamp. What is better and more conductive to longer tooling sessions is to use it like a striking stick - that is to hold it with the hand near the middle of the handle and rotate the wrist to make the mallet strike the tool. The handle is at a nearly 90 degree angle to the forearm and your elbow rests on the table. I would suspect that this method also works well with a maul. I wouldn't know, as I have and use many rawhide mallets; ranging from a 1" diameter head all the way up to a monster 3 incher. For the heavier work I have a couple Osbourne steel mallets with the rawhide faces. I am going to give a maul a try when I get around to making one since I too have been wondering what the buzzz was all about. I certainly am not going to pay the prices they are asking for them when I can make one for way less on my lathe. Speaking of that matter; what do you all prefer for the head? Rawhide? Nylon? polymer? Where is the best place for the balence point?

Thanks for the info, Bruce. I had wondered about the optical mice picking up on the grain of the leather or not. Never have owned an optical mouse myself since I have been a confirmed trackball user since long before optical mice came along. Never have understood why trackballs are not more popular since it is much easier to navigate by moving the ball with just your thumb versus moving the whole mouse with your arm.

Nice sheridan type design pattern you drew up, but I can see a potential problem there. This would depend on the actual construction of the case and how sharp your bends are going to be. Most of the time, a flower does not look good if it curves around a bend. This is particularly true in a billfold for example. Ever noticed how the main design elements in most billfold patterns are usually confined to one half or the other? When I lay out an area for a design, I mark in the fold areas with a light dashed line which helps me to visualize this concern. It is better to stay away from design lines which run parallel to the bend as these open up when you fold the leather. So, like I said above, this depends a lot on the case construction and how much of a bend you have in these areas.

Nice work. I would suggest that since this seems to be a representation of Gunnar who was thrown into a snake pit by Atilla the Hun - that you go with the legend which relates that he played his lyre with his toes since his hands were tied. To that end, you might mark in some lines to show that he is barefoot and playing music with his toes.

Looks like one of the tools that Hidecrafters sell that is made in Japan by sintering powdered steel. I have come to the conclusion that these are not made to be hit with a maul. Redid your pic since it was so dark that I had to adjust it in Photo shop to see it.