Bob Blea

Here is a custom order I just finished and sent out to it's new owner this past weekend. He wanted a cover to hold a hard bound field notebook with floral designs in the corners and the state of Texas in the center with his initial and a star for where his corporate office is located. It was originally supposed to be basket stamped around the state but after a few unsuccessful tries we ended up using a Robert Beard matting tool that gives an effect like fiberglass, and the final result turned out great, much better that the original basket stamp idea. Finished it off with round braid on the edges, Due to the thickness of the leather it took a long time to lace the whole thing. Just heard from the customer tonight that he received it and he said he "cannot say enough good things about it." That is the best feedback I could hope for.

Nice little case, thanks for sharing!

Welcome to the forum! Good advice above, especially Red's about the step by step carving post. Also, I'd encourage you to post your work here for critique and advice. The people here are very good about providing kind critiques to help you improve. Bob

You did! Let me know if you think the oxblood dye will work. Bob

That looks really cool! Absolutely, I have made similar things in the past. Contact me at 'candbleather at frii dot com ' or via my Etsy shop. I would be honored to make this.

Hello, I believe I can do this. I would like to see the pattern you want on the leather but I would be glad to make this for you. You can see examples of my work in my Etsy shop or gallery entries on this site. Bob Blea

If it were me, I would use a thin vegetable tan leather, around 2 oz thickness, for hatbands. You can easily crease or tool that kind of leather with very little in the way of tools. I'm not sure what you are planning to attach those billets to, but it looks like a braided or beaded band in your picture. With that thin of leather you could probably machine sew with a home machine assuming it's not a really cheap one. You could certainly hand sew that without much trouble, but with some practice. The only other required tool would be a punch to make the holes for the buckle tongue. If you up size to belts, a thicker leather would be in order but the process and tools wouldn't be much different, though sewing would become more work. Bob

Hello and welcome to the Forum! The answer probably depends on what they are being used for. Are these belts for people or horses?

Splinters, going back to your post about resists. Clear Lac is supposed to be the same thing as Neat Lac just a different brand name. There is also Wyosheen, which I use. It used to be sold by Sheridan Leather and now it's sold by Barry King. Again, it is supposed to be the same thing as Neat Lac or Clear Lac. RTC Sheridan Resist is supposed to be good too. I have a bottle I got recently but haven't tried it yet. Looking to give it a go on a small project here soon. Keep it up. Your knife cuts look great, but the leather does look a bit wet.

I like them, especially the last one. Nice colors!

God bless you Ray! All the best to you and your family. Hope we will still see you around here once in a while. Bob

I think I could use that template. I'll need to check that out next time I'm in.

Thanks, this helps with a project I have sitting on the back burner. I appreciate the info here. Bob

You're going to do great! With those books as reference and some practice you will be surprised how quickly you progress. I was planning some tooling practice last night but our power went out! So much for getting any work done.

Those look really cool! You should be very proud of those!

I believe Barry King is Don King's grandson. And yes, I'm pretty sure the Porter's he worked at was the Porter Saddle Shop in the Phoenix area. If you got to visit there in it's heyday you may have seen some top talent indeed.

Hello Hailey and welcome to the forum! The Hide House in Napa, CA carries sides of it. You might be able to buy it direct from the Wickett and Craig tannery as well. They will do special orders and will sell you just one hide too.

Welcome to the site! Look forward to seeing some of your work.

Welcome to the site! I spent about a month on the North Island many years ago. Really enjoyed it and want to go back someday.

I think it turned out nice. It has a cool saddle bag look to it.

Thanks Mike! Those were some of the best leather carvers in the world. The level of talent at that show is amazing!

Nice work and Congratulations!

Practice does help. I recommend picking a really simple floral pattern (ideally something from a craftaid) and carving it five times in a row, critiquing it yourself each time. Take what you learn, like and don't like, and work on that for the next one. By the time your finished you'll be surprised how much you improve. But beyond practice, study the carving styles of people you really admire. Take really close looks at how they do things, the tools they use for certain effects, etc. You can learn a lot by looking at how the artists you look up to do things. And if you ever get the chance to take a class in person with a Bob Park or Robert Beard (or any of the other master leather carvers out there), take it! You will learn a huge amount from them. Hope this helps, Bob

Thanks for posting these, they are very helpful!

I know I've seen a description of sewing a cantle binding on a saddle where the stitching is hidden. I thought that was in the Art of Hand Sewing by Al Stohlman but I might be wrong about that. It could have been in the saddle making series of books. I can't remember now.