Bob Blea

Leather Wranglers makes an awesome filigree blade for their knives.

It's not a fast chemical process, it will probably take a while to show up.

OK, I think I answered my own question a bit. Doing a little research it appears the conchos we all use are primarily made from cast Zinc alloys, also often called 'pot metal'. These are used because they are easy to work with and have low melting points, but they can really be any variety of metals alloyed with Zinc, with a common one being copper. However, Zinc alloys are apparently pretty good an being corrosion resistant to salts but are not good choices when dealing with acidic foods so they are not good for applications that involve cooking or food service unless they have a coating. So, I guess I'm still wondering why we don't see conchos discoloring because of long term contact with veg tan leather. Maybe just having copper in the alloy mix isn't enough to cause the problem if the alloy's chemical properties are good (think the difference between steel and stainless steel). So maybe this means German Silver (aka Nickel Silver) is OK too? Hopefully there are some actual metallurgists or chemists out there that can give a definitive answer?

I'd be worried that over time and use the wallet will flex and run off any protective coating. I thought a lot of conchos were made from Nickel Silver, why don't they react with belts and things over time? Maybe they aren't Nickel Silver?

I think it will be a problem. That waxy green stuff you got is called 'Virdigris' and it forms when copper or copper alloys (like brass) stay in contact with a particular type of acid that is present in vegetable tanned leather. At first I thought you would be fine until I looked up how Nickel silver alloys are made, and it turns out they have copper in their mix as well. In fact German Silver can be as much as 60% copper so I think you may have a problem over a short time. Bob

Sorry I wasn't very clear. Acrylic paints and finishes are designed so that they are in a water base, so you can thin them with water, clean up with water, etc. But the acrylic itself is a polymer and is made from petroleum distillates. So yes it is a man made material for your purposes. Acrylic is basically a form of plastic.

Resolene is an acrylic, so it's petroleum based.

Nice work so far. Just my opinion but I think the size of the handle looks fine compared to the rest of the case.

Nice straps, and thanks for the information too!

Hello Adam, I'm assuming you mean a stitching groover? If so, one thing you could do is place a ruler on top of the leather to hold the edge in place and act like a clamp to hold it against your bench. Place it so it's as close as possible to where you want to run the groover. It should be able to keep the leather in place better and not allow it to stretch as easily. Hope this helps, Bob

That is an amazingly well thought out and organized shop! My hat is off to you for your ingenuity!

Hi efsam, I routinely use Herman Oak leather and I haven't run across the problem you are describing, though it is normal for the leather to dry out after dyeing with alcohol based dyes, and typically you need to oil it afterwards. One question: how are you drying the leather after dyeing? If you are using any sort of heat source that can make the leather harder after drying. Bob

Definitely get Bob Park's book. It is worth every penny. I have Pete Gorrell's book too but I wasn't 'getting it' from his book, but that's just me. Bob's book made things clear for me.

Hi Gilbert, The piece in the picture looks like it has no finish at all but you can get close to that. If it were me I would apply a thin lacquer coat (Neat Lac / Wyosheen (what I use) / Clear Lac, all pretty much the same product) to seal it. It would protect the leather but leave it basically that same color. I would also oil it first with Neatsfoot oil but that will darken the leather slightly. This will work to get you a very natural finish but please note that over time exposure to sunlight and other bright light will cause veg tan leather to slowly darken. You can probably get the same result using acrylic Resolene but it you put too much the leather will feel a bit plastic. However, Resolene does have some ability to block UV rays so it can better prevent the leather from darkening due to sunlight. Hope this helps, Bob

Neatsfoot oil will naturally darken leather, so will exposure to sunlight. Could one of these combined with your dyes maybe get the color you are looking for?

I think it looks very good. It puts my stitching to shame.

Very cool to make it from start to finish. I think your finished product looks nice.

Thanks all, you are very kind.

Very nice. I'm an Escher fan as well and you created that design in leather very well!

Very nice, I love the different shapes. It looks like it will last a very long time.

Looks really good Ron. And I like your lacing.

Thanks all, I really like figure carving just don't get many requests to do it.

Thank you all! It took a lot of practice tries to get it to where I thought it was passable. I'd never carved a turkey before and it took a lot of work to get the feathers to look right.

This was a custom order I finished recently. The customer wanted a notebook with a turkey and a deer carving on it because her husband likes to hunt both animals in Kansas. She also wanted turkey tracks to appear on it somehow. Finally it needed the message 'Love Mom, 2015' inside because it was really going to be a birthday gift from his Mom to her husband and she was just organizing it. Sound complicated enough? After a few practice carvings to get the turkey and landscape right, this is what I came up with. Apparently the husband was thrilled with it.

Personally I would dye before applying the Neatsfoot oil. Dyes often stiffen leather and the oiling helps return natural oils to the leather. Also, if you are tooling or carving, I would do that between steps one and two.