JLSleather

Nope, sorry. I don't use anything that heavy. Generally use 7/8 or 8/9 and line it with 4 oz (glued 'n' stitched). And I aint got too much o' that, neither.. getting ready to pack 'n' move!

Who, me? I thought I already said.. Hermann Oak and Wickett & Craig. I use both.

I don't know what that is. but actually it's intended to make fun of the extreme crap that people can be talked in to buying. Leather workers are no exception.. they often pay for useless items. I've paid for some things myself, turned out to be a pointless waste of time and money. I'm sure most of us have things we aren't sure how or why we bought that. Idea is to not repeat it ...

I don't see anything in that listing which tells you the 'grade' of leather. I always order "A" grade, and have used some quite nice "B" grade as well.

Hermann Oak is nice leather. Also, Wickett & Craig makes a nice piece - though it's a bit more money. Tools, dyes, and stains very nicely. Firm but not hard.

Okay, it's gone worse. Just saw that there's a tv program called "i want that", where some grifter "introduces" new products. Or hustles new stuff. Whatever. One of these 'innovations' is a breathalizer, basically. You blow in it, and based on the acetone level in your breath, it tells you if you are burning "enough" fat calories from your diet and exercise (in parts per million). REALLY? Here's a tip for the DIY types out there.... Take off your shirt, and undo your pants. With a NON-TOXIC marker, draw a line across where your belt would go. Now, look down. If you can't see the line.. your diet and exercise "program" isn't working

I have ordered backs and bends of HO leather from a number of places, and I can tell you that none of the "retailers" "B" grade looks nearly as nice as the "B" I've received from the tannery.

I haven't been to anything like that in years. And I haven't been to those specific ones ever, so can't really say anything about those. But I do know people who have been there - some repeatedly - and it appears to me much like any other "show"... bunch of booths and people lined up to sell you something else ...

Overall, it aint bad. One thing that stands for a bit of attention... maybe... your shading (pear shader, thumb print, whatever ya call it) ends quite abruptly. I like to see the shade taper out a little more gradually. Ideally, someone looking at the carving would see a flower with some contour, rather than the mark of the tool that made it. Still, it dont look "bad'..

Nah.. I aint payin $80 to ship a tool (only need one). Even if I would do that, just kaint bring myself to PAY for 'FREE' shipping ...

Who don't like HF? Likely most of us got something came from there. But I GOTTA go with pickin' it up at the store. I ordered a thing on teh 10th. Fits in a 7x7x7 box. Shipping was $7, and the tracking shows it's in CO -- sent from CA somewhere!@#!! There's a HF store about hour and a half south of here, and another one about 3 hours north of here .. so why again does it ship from CA? My mistake... next time I know to tell her to pick one up on her way through Minneapolis .... Tracking says it should be delivered by the 23rd.... I sent packages all over the country for $7 .. in 2-3 days..

Yikes.. I wrote all them there sentences, when i coulda jus said this Only time I mention "hours", or allow someone else to tell me about "hours" -- is whether it will be ready by noon on Tuesday (noon is an 'hour') or can I pick it up after work ('after work' is an hour). If the maker sets his price by the time it took that's up to him/her -- but when you want to sell it I just want to see the item and hear the price.

I agree that labor is the largest expense. But not all labor is good labor. An extreme example.. say picking up the leather. One guy takes the van, takes two hours. Other guy walks.. takes all day. I don't pay the second guy more because he doesn't think (even though there was more labor). And THERE is the point of "handmade"- IF it is in fact superior. People have always argued manufactured vs "handmade", but if the hand made 'version' isn't BETTER than the manufactured, then WHY would I pay more?!#!@! If someone spent 10 hours making a product that was inferior to the one I can get "over the counter" (and it happens all the time) .... then calling it "handmade" and asking a "good" price is insulting to both buyer and seller. I see that ALL the time.. yet another guy (or girl) with a shoddy product, asking far too much and justifying the price by going on about "handmade", "made in USA", .. usually accompanied by long stories and why-tube videos (TIP: making a video does not make poo less odorous). "Overhead" is a legitimate conversation anywhere - has to be in there somewhere. But equipment without knowledge isn't of use to anyone. $10k will get enough stuff to start making a lot of things. But I don't let someone hand me poop and tell me they made it on their whatever [clicker, stitcher, skiver....]. The Lexus is worth less than the bicycle to the guy who can't drive ...

I thin the black (not the oil black) ONLY when spraying, to get light grey (clouds and shading), and then like 25:1. Otherwise, full strength.

Sweet .. we's gittin' pics I always liked the look of that white on black. And even dyed inside the slots (nice). When yer makin holsters (well, anything really) with that skirting, run yer bone tool down the flat sections -- much like butterin' bread. Smooth as ever...

A LOT of people are using a "shop press", including me. It's "fast enough" for me - meaning it would be nice to speed it it, but not $2k nice Red mentioned holsters, which can also be wet formed in the same press.

http://www.jlsleather.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/1911_05P0.pdf

#1 rule - remember that in the end it is nobody else's business what you charge or why. Having said that, I'm only commenting because you asked. If you charge a "mint", not my business. If you GIVE it away, STILL not my business. #2 (which is related to #1) - what someone else charges shouldn't have much of anything to do with what you charge. If you're simply thinking "fair market value is what you can get" - then I guess you get what you can. But I've seen some leather work which showed obvious talent, and some which showed an obvious lack of talent -- I wouldn't be interested in one that was priced the same as the other, and saying that all leather checkbooks are equal is not true. #3 there are pricing "formulas" all over the place. Double the material cost -- plus the price of diesel fuel in Japan - plus stand on your left foot facing west on tuesday mornings ... blahblahblah.... All of it means virtually nothing, since if it's not well done, I dont' buy it. Even if the price is low. For myself, I don't buy anything based on "per hour" charges. I want to know what it is I'm getting, and then I know how much I'm willing to pay. It's the only RATIONAL way to do it. Consider teh other way around.... PersonA makes a wallet, takes him 5 hours and it looks good. PersonB makes a wallet, takes 10 hours and it's hideous and poorly done. Doesnt make sense to pay the second guy more than the guy who knew what he's doing. Another example.. when I had the roof done, I agreed to pay about $8,000. If they do it in 2 days, they get $8k. If it takes them half the third day, they STILL get $8k. If they are the type to "hurry" because they don't get paid "by the hour", then they don't get paid at all at my house (not even hired). SO THEN: all that said I do think there are some factors which influence price: Are you making something different nobody else is offering? Are you doing something widely used, but doing it differently? Are you making something common, but yours is notably better than others? But I don't consider machines or the lack of them a factor in pricing. For a project which is stitched, is it stitched well? If I buy a new truck to go pick up the leather, should I factor that in? (that's intended to sound ridiculous) If I have a clicker to click out the parts, the machine costs money, but the labor goes way down.

Yer funny I'm a simple guy, too. Smart dog, truck what runs, and a decent fishin' rod, and a guy got what he needs. The wench wife not so much. Spoiled brat from birth, basically. I love garden fresh veggies, but I aint allowed to til up 'her' lawn She sold my truck AND my Suburban, gave me a '07 van "for the mileage". This, of course, freed her up to buy the new car ... Oh, well --- the van works, my 7.5 foot fishin' rod fits in there without a bow in it, and there's walleye in teh river not more than half a mile from here .... End result, ther's some "wiggle room" in the pricing around here. I once sold a fully tooled and lined belt for $8, just cuz somebody told me I couldn't. And a couple incidents that cost me some money and some hours. Wouldn't wanna make a habit of that, though.

Yep, convertible is good. Attachments are good. Any time I can use one thing for multiple purposes, that's good. Sometimes, leather people are not the most creative batch. Take a piece of leather like everybody else, use the same pattern as everybody else, and call it "custom" (or, the truly gifted call it "kustom") and then expect people to pay a mint for it. I know one in particular, ALL his stuff looks about the same.and when another guy made something "kinda like it" he asked that people don't copy his trademarked "design". I advised guy #2 to go on about his business, as long as you aren't using Thing 1's logo, tell him to go back to his own yard Might have been amusing, but Thing1's work looks like it was made by a blacksmith

Neat and trim is good, and cops are often expected to look "presentable" (pay no attention to the big belly and the disillusioned scowl ). This is something of a reflection on quality of workmanship, and one I agree with. Personally, I would rather wear a clean, good looking WEB belt than an ugly, poorly done leather one (especially when the ugly is priced 10-15 times the pretty).

I think some folks get confused about what they "can't afford" to work for. I got a guy - used to be my buddy, but now became quite proud of what he owns, which is strange since any money he has was gained by exploiting teh work of these "illegal" people. Anyway, he was quite proud to show me his brand new king-cab truck, with all teh options. Had a long pretty story to go with it, about how if you're a contractor, you have to look professional - and driving a 'nice' truck makes you look professional. I told him when I see a guy in my drive with a truck that comes with $600/month payments, I don't see "professional" -- I see a guy who likes shiny trucks and wants ME to pay for it . In fact, I think if he shows up again, I'm gonna ask him what size he wears, so I can order him a new skirt. POINT IS: What is it that keeps you from being "able to afford" to work for less? After bad-mouthing the immigrant, the government, and the young -- are we ourselves guilty of a bit of "entitlement"? I mean, everybody loves to point at someone else, but I'm already seeing people who go on about saving money and saving the planet now hanging Christmas lights and decorations. No doubt they will add the cost of these as "overhead" and add it to the cost of their goods .... Just an example of cost - a simple 'pancake' style holster. Pattern available free on my site for a simple Glock 43 holster (download any time you like). That pattern will require a little over 1/2 of a square foot of leather. THE BEST leather for teh job is sold at about $10/foot (after shipping charges - delivered). Some waste is expected even in a good hide -- nowhere near 50%, but lets use that for this example. So, call it a FULL square foot. There's $10. Throw in a dab of glue and a couple feet of thread, and you have a whopping $11.50 Now, don't line up to tell me about all the "legitimate" expenses you can think of to add on. In case the new guy doesn't know, I have an idea what that requires The question is rhetorical -- ask YOURSELF if you are doing what you don't think others should do .... Because I have kids in school, I meet other people with kids (whether I want to or not). In the last couple of years, I have met several DOZEN people who do not work.. some of them NEVER have, and do not intend to. I've heard them complaining that the 'welfare check' was late. One was absolutely livid when finding out that she was going to have to pay a portion of her own rent herself (she's not paying it actually, the check she gets from tax payers will just be reduced a little, but she sees the that as the same thing). And these people are not immigrants, politicians, or youth.

I'm not doing this until after I'm settled from the move. It's a bit pricey to order ONE from the factory, but I use enough of 'em to justify spending the money for "dealer" pricing, and if the next guy can benefit too I'm okay with that. Honestly, I tire of waiting for "distributors" to stock a model, only to find out that they've jacked the cost by about $10-12 on each one. Jacked up $10 once, so what?!#!! Jacked up $10 50 times, now that starts to matter. Maybe a lease program, for the folks who just need a particular gun model once or twice, but dont' want to stock it. Like pay the shipping (both ways) and you can 'borrow' one...