mugwump

very cool, love the contrasting thread motif... eric

wow!... the both of you make me want to give all of my braiding supplies/stuff away... great looking braclet there... eric

very cool job. i especially love the wood for the handle, and the use of a frame to add depth for the knife in the sheath. take care. eric

actually, i saw that tandy had that in their catalog (in a set) until either the 1957 or '58 issue. eric

another source for plastic or thin metal are the no parking/beware of dog/etc signs, you can get them at any hardware store, or even target/walmart. eric

your stuff is always inspiring and very very cool, thank you for your site over the lasy few years... take care... have a great new year... eric

kevin, like most (well, all) of the stuff you post, i like what what you did with the finish... it looks absolutely great.... one question though (as always,hehehe...) did you line it with fabric? and if 'yes', did you have the fabric made/printed up? or did you do it yourself? take care, hope you hade a great x-mas, and have a happy new year! eric

thank you for the suggestion of this 'shop' ... i think i'm in love with a few of the products.... i guess i better put an order together to see if the romance will last.... again, thank you for the kink...i mean link..... eric

welcome... it's nice to see some new blood..... even if you are from kansas.... hehehe... just kidding ... all i can say, is that if you are starting out, this site will become one of your best friends... and if you get 'stuck' on something, there's always someone here who can help you out of the jam with atleast some suggested method or help... btw... since you said you were 'new' to working with leather, the tutorial section is great... so........ pull up a chair, and dig in... ... good luck... eric

that looks great and very well constructed, beautiful, and unique!!!... are you going to clear-coat it? or leave it 'in the raw' to patina? also... ...i used to to have copper acoustic and bass strings, they would sound fantastic (when fresh/new-very loud, clear and 'piano-like'), but had an issue with them causing my fingertips to blacken where they came in contact, and both the string and hands started smelling like you've been holding a handful or two of pennies in your hand throughout the summer... that wouldn't wash out/off immediately... so... two roundabout questions, does this have any issues like that? and second, did you make it for personal use, or are you planning on offering them up for sale? take care, happy carving.... eric

in theory, it would be blue... but i doubt that it would work the same way... and i believe, if i remember correctly, it would be at a min. toxic or cause rashes with prolonged contact with the skin.. and destroy the leather... eric

very cool looking strap... i truly love the stitching detail. congrats on the the build... take care... eric

wow! looks like a really clean job... i cant tell from here (i think my monitor is on it's last legs...) is the stitching blue? or black? either way it looks really cool.. eric p.s. is the main strap detachable from the cuff/pad section or is more like a 'bund' band? just curious...

thank you for the chart. i recently saw a lot of the non-standard colors in-person (without samples) and was concerned about buying some of the colors without seeing prior 'real-world' samples... so... eric

love the blue, and the belt turned out great also! congrats... btw, is the blue an acrylic, or dye with a gloss sealer? eric

have you made any patches for "watson's wizzers"? that has always been one of my favorite stores/units since i was a kid hanging out with my fathers associates... wizzers link #1 wizzers link #2 eric

WOW! that is a thing of true beauty... you definitely should have won 'something' for that effort, both pairs are truly great. congrats, you might not be able to put it in a frame on the wall, but atleast you've won the popularity, praise, and respect of your peers here... take care... i'm still trying to decide which i like better... the black is more my taste, but the red is stunning... eric

not really into skulls... but something that is excellently executed has to be complimented, and that truly is great looking, i love the shading in/around the eye sockets..... take care... eric

if you were local, i'd say take a trip to all electronics(L.A.), but, since your not... you might want to give K&J magnetics a try, they have just about everything you could think of, and various mounting methods.... K&J magnetics link eric p.s.... i thought this was going to be a post about 'get ready' or 'celebrate'...

could always use a small paint brush... or block dye and resist method? eric

thanks for understanding... i havent had any issues here, but on some boards people get their back-hairs up at the drop of a hat. so.... as far as the lines, i've tried a few diff. methods with three types of tape that might be a little bit hard to locate (i dont know what area your in) first type... the black 'crepe' tape (it looks like black masking tape) that you can find in camera shops... it's low tack, and ph balanced. #2, is a white-waxed(?) paper tape that's for the freezer, it's got a 'rubber'-type of backing that is also low tack, a little more grip than the black photo tape... and finally #3, the one i use most often... if you have a local hobby/model shop, the brand is 'tamiya', it's their brand of masking tape. it's very thin, yellow-coloured, with moderate to low tack, low or no issues with leather. it's made to be used for masking when your airbrushing models on fresh or fragile paint, and leave no residue or lift the previous layers of paint. which is why i use it. of coure ymmv, but they work for me when i dont want to etch a guide line, or if i think the line wont get covered-up. one word of caution, always test on scraps before using on your main event... sometimes the various tapes can raise the 'nap'(?) remove a bit of the top coat/layer on the un-finished leather... which could be an issue (somethimes) if your going to leave the leather 100% natural, and un-tinted, but if it's always been covered-up when you go through the various stages of dye/burnish/sealers/etc... hope that helps you somewhat... eric p.s. i've gone to installing an white led light bar a couple of inches of the work surface to help illuminate the leather when i stamp/tool, the light is angled down at the surface and not sideways so the light stays on the object, and not in my eyes... led's... low power use, color-temp specific, cheap (enough), and no (or very low) heat.... take care...

that trick works very well... i've also used a cork tile between the leather and the board, it's about 3/16" thick or so... hope that helps... eric

.. i found the name of the book... here's a link... Leathercraft Tools Book eric

looks great, keep it up... the only suggestion i might have, and dont take it the wrong way, is that you might want to not use as much pressure when your laying out your lines with the scribe/calipers/etc... just my opinion... the strap still is great though... i like the red/black combo... take care... eric

i cant remember the name right now, but there is a stohlman book that covers the topic of how to sharpen and maintain all of the tools associated with leather work... sorry i couldnt be of more help.. eric