JLSleather

This is nice, gotta be a happy customer

I'll look at it again. Yer the man, Tina ... er ... well ....

Is the inside tooled at all? If the inside "layer" is smooth, I just: tool and dye the belt as normal. Cut the back a little wider (doesn't matter, just saves time not having to fit the thing down the length). Trim the back to the front. Groove and stitch. Bevel edges and burnish. One line makes this look faster than it really is, of course, but I think you'll find that's pretty standard order of events. One difference you may see is that I dye the edge of the finished project AFTER burnishing - some fellas may not.

I hope this is taken as helpful - and not rude ... Spell check your site. I admit I don't know nuthin', but is there really a expolding terget? Hope this is not offensive ...

Angelus spirit dye? I thought the Angelus line was water-based (??). I've been thinking about trying them for a LONG time, but if they have a spirit version it might just get me going ...

That's PRICELESS! Which is more work, the saddle or the little concho in the hat (I have 5 of those myself)

I need something like this, only brown-er. If you make these, give me a price. If you know where I can get them, that's fine also. I need this style, with 12 card pockets (6 each side). Last resort, if you know where to get a strong leather that doesn't end up saddle thick, ...

It all looks good, but that little bag (with the brass "sticks") is NICE.

NOt sure where to post ... suppliers, help wanted, sewing, ??? I'm [still] looking for wallet liners. Anyone making the "hipster" style with 10-12 card horizontal card pockets? If you know a supplier sellling small quantities (as in not 1000's) that'd be awesome. If you sew your own, and want to contact me with a quote for a JOB making half a dozen of these, that's fine, too. I need TWO, but I'd take more. I need it to be strong, but not bulky (that "mission grain" crap I see everywhere won't do). Money is ALWAYS "an object", but I'll pay a reasonable price for a good item. HELP ... uhhh - I mean THANKS!

3/4 oz carving back, 1-1/2-2 oz goat liner. Very tough, luxurious feel, yet thin. Ends up with a checkbook that's thinner than the checks in a book, even with pockets for cards - and will last for years.

And these from yesterday are kinda "floraly" ... still no antique.

Oh, forgot I had this one (some days I wouldn't recognize my mind if I saw it). No antique.

My buddy uses those slide things used for playing the guitar ... little plastic tube thing. I could never get the hang of them, and that athletic tape idea is sounding like it's worth a try ...

Tha's just funny ! I don't have photos of two of the same thing where I used antique on one and not on the other. Much of that stuff gone in the computer theft (hard to back up files when they took the computer AND the disks). And I can't even "do one up" , cuz I don't HAVE any antique finish. But I can sorta make the point here with a couple of other things. THING !: Here's about as close as I've come to that sort of thing (personally) in quite a while. #1 dyed and oiled, then tan-kote. No "resist", no buffing, no problem. Just put the dye where it goes and be done. #2 dark brown leather STAIN (which I felt compelled to try). applied to the basketweave design ONLY (deliberately NOT on the dark brown dyed border OR the oak leaves) wanted to see the distinction. This effect I can live with, though not my personal favorite. Even with this, you can see how the natural leather "lifts" more than the stained area, though nothing is actually lifted. The rest of my point can maybe be shown best from the original post, though a larger pic would have been easier .... More in a bit... Okay, thing 2: I've copied, enlarged, and cropped the original photo. This is the lower left of the front panel of the notebook, and I hope it was okay to do this Notice the line of "slime" left behind along the outside of an otherwise very nice border. NOT good. And you can't miss the "puddles" left in pretty much every depression on the project. I call them that because we've all seen a mud puddle - then the sun comes out and leaves behind this sludge sitting in the holes. Is that ribbed "thumbprint", or lined, or smooth? Or checked? You can't tell - the effect he was getting is now buried in the puddles. And all the cuts he spent so much time putting in are now filled in with cake. This "finish" serves to darken the deep spots - it's that simple. So, instead of "resisting", then antiquing, then buffing, then finishing again - only to have your entire project darkened (ruining the subtle colors, if you used them, and blending subtle shades and natural leather) why not just put the dark where it goes and leave the rest alone ?#$@&*! In fact, back up just a bit ... if the leather's moisture is right, then the tools will create their OWN darkening (fancy folks call it "burnish"). SO -- here's the thing for any English speaking folks. I think we all appreciate ( I know I do) your injected humor taking the edge of what was supposed to be a helpful suggestion. Guess I should have put it this way in the first place .... I think the guy's carving looked TOO GOOD to go dumping that stuff on it.

Sweet and sour review here (wife says I'm argumentative, but I disagree). The design and tooling look GOOD. But I've always hated that antique crap. Looks like what's left behind when the spring flood receeds, and I think it RUINS a perfectly good carving. Originally, it was the lazy man's color shading. So here's the thing ... this turned out "Okay" because the tooling looks good. BUT, if you're willing to take the time to tool all of that, I'd sure like to see you SKIP the antique (which I think is French or Latin for "crap"). I think you'll find the design looks SO much cleaner and nicer. Don't take this wrong, I think you got a nice lookin' project there. I just think that for LESS money and LESS time, it would look EVEN BETTER. TO be clear, I don't mean you did the antique wrong, I meant that antique should never be used. By anybody. Ever.

Talking about these, or some other style?

http://cgi.ebay.com/VINTAGE-LEATHER-CLOCK-CARVING-PATTERN-/190477237889?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2c5953fe81 From Ebay, right now.

I don't do a lot of holsters these days. No objection to them, just not so many requests for them. You guys must be doing them too well I have, though, made some pretty nice holsters from shoulders. THE nicest one - I think - was a double hip western rig for matching long-barrel .44's (target pistols, complete with scope) AND the belt to carry both. I found a 14 sqft shoulder of 9/10 that cut all of it - and not much left. Now if I can quit reminiscing long enough to answer your question. I think folks like shoulders for holsters - not so much that it's a better cut of cow (cuz it isn't necessarily) - but because it's fairly economical. Shoulders let you cut squares/ rectangles / straps without a lot of waste. Backs are generally firmer leather, better for tooling / forming,. Sides are cheaper per sqft, but then you have one shoulder and one belly. The shoulder might be okay, but I think the concensus is that belly shouldn't be used for anything that is going to take stress (or carry a load). I say "generally" above because there's always variation. As a rule, if they're all cut from the same hide ... firmness in the hide will be bends, backs, shoulders, well, that's about it. I don't have much use for bellies or neck, which both tend to be spongy. I don't generally buy sides, because I know I'm paying for 5-7 sqft of belly I don't want. Same reason I buy boneless chicken - I know it costs more, but by the time I throw out the part I don't want it's the same thing, only somebody did the trimming for me. For what it's worth, about a week ago I ordered ONE side from Wickett / Craig. First order from them and wanted to see what I get. I called, talked to some lady about what I wanted, and a few days later got exactly what I asked for. And this "special" grade (which I guess would be a "B" or a "C" on someone else's list) is just fine - certainly better looking than your photo. About $5 / ft (delivered). Not sure what you mean by "untanned", and I haven't used the HO (which gets great reviews around here).

Tough to say without knowing what you're trying to do. Too close that a lacing "nipper" won't do it?

Yes and no. Yes, those are fat wrinkles. Actually fairly common on shoulders (and neck). But that's pretty bad. And no, you can't "color" them out. More than the wrinkle appearance, I'd be concerned about stretch. It looks "mooshy".

SUEEE WEEEETTT .!! News gal says "over 100 hours" in a saddle. Hmmm ... adds some perspective to those comments of folks who claim 100 hours in a wallet or handbag ...

I went to Etsy yesterday and just typed "tooled leather" in the search from the main page. 1100-something listings of some of the most hideous "crafting" you'll ever see. Of over 1100 listings, I saw about a handful of items that didn't cause a gag reflex. They weren't especially nice, they just didn't make you sick. Then, I didn't view all 1100 .... just maybe a dozen pages, and into some of the "shops" where these were sold. I was surprised to see some of the stuff people will spend their money on. Guess that's never gonna be my thing. Reading through the "stuff", Etsy recommends talking up your items on facebook, youtube, myspace, yerspace, whatever ... which I don't do, and I'm not going to. Apparently, the concensus is that if you talk about your pathetic, hideous, and often unnecessary item enough then someone will buy it (I've seen spongebob, so there is apparently some truth to this). One thing they said I agreed with, though ... if you're going to make stuff, it should be a product you like. But then, it's no longer about the money at that point.

From the old days - when I iused to work for a living - the force required is equal to the length of the cut (inches) times the material thickness (inches) times the shear strength of the material (tons). In other words, F=LxTxS It matters how big a part you have. If you're cutting 10 oz leather, then your "T" = .160" (or so) and your shear is 1.5. Those won't change much (some leather a little "firmer" than others). So you can combine those two right from the start, which gives you a simpler formula ... now you know that the force you need is .24 tmes the length of your cut. If you want a little "padding" on the force (which is good) you could figure on a press that lets you DOUBLE that, now you have .5 times length of the cut. This is faster, safe, and reliable. Now, with all that long-winded crap, here's the point about the size of your part. 3" diameter circle: length of cut = 9.42, tonnage = (9.42)(.5) = 4.7 tons 6" diameter circle: length of cut = 18.84, tonnage = (18.42)(.5) = 9.4 tons Wallet back; length of cut = 25.25, tonnage = (25.25)(.5) = 12.6 tons 9 x 12" notebook (one side): length = 42", tonnage = (42)(.5) = 21 tons This is an educated guess, and will put you pretty close (keep in mind those numbers are DOUBLE what you should need). Normally, you want to go up one size heavier than you think you need, because of lots of factors. Wear in the slide, firmer leather, dies not dead sharp, all increase pressure. More down to earth example, if you need to get to the store for a loaf of bread, you could buy a Porsche. The Porsche will work to get the bread, but did you really need to invest $50k ?

It's thinned. We just discussed this, so I'll let you follow the link instead of clogging the system with a repeat OVER HERE