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Bob Blea

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Everything posted by Bob Blea

  1. Bob Blea
    Welcome to the forum! Ditto to what electrathon said, but you could also back your project with a piece of scrap leather and a piece of wood. Originally this was how I did it but now I just do the same as electrathon.
  2. Bob Blea
    Thank you for sharing. It's very interesting watching this come together, and it looks like your doing a good job. I really like you stitching.
  3. Bob Blea
    It looks great! It came out with a really nice vintage look.
  4. Bob Blea
    I generally work only one item at a time. I do pre-cut blanks for my notebooks and sometimes I premake a few pocket flaps or interior linings, but when it comes time to carve something, that gets my full attention until it is completed. I am only part time at this so I don't have enough free time to carve a cover in one sitting, so it will happen over multiple days with the project going into the refrigerator between sessions to discourage mold. When there is spare time in a project, such as drying time, I might work on something else like making spare liners or preparing wallet pockets.
  5. Bob Blea
    Thank you for sharing this. It is amazing to watch you construct one of these products.
  6. Bob Blea
    Can't wait to see the results. Sounds promising.
  7. Bob Blea
    Thanks all!
  8. Bob Blea
    Yes, I thought that would make a nice hatband too. The geometric is a Wayne Jueschke stamp and I think he makes that particular one in a smaller version, but he definitely makes other designs in the smaller version.
  9. Bob Blea
    Really awesome! One of these days I want to try making something like this.
  10. Bob Blea
    I started a floral one a long time ago, but I was working on a small table and the long length was awkward and a bit frustrating, so I never finished it. Now I have a real bench to work on, plus I'm about a hundred times more skilled than I was back then. Think I need to make myself a belt too.
  11. Bob Blea
    Tommykay, you have probably opened a Pandora's box to a very odd and rewarding addiction. My recommendation to you would be to make your wife a nice wallet, purse or belt, something she will be proud of and use. She will feel much better about your hobby then. Welcome to the club! Bob
  12. Bob Blea
    I presented this to my wife yesterday. We've had the silver and turquoise conchos and buckle for a while but the original belt had rotted away and they were now on a plan leather strap. I finally made something specifically for the conchos. I played with my geometric stamps until I found a combination that worked well with the conchos. This belt is just 3/4 inch wide so the design needed to be narrow. And to top it all of this is the first belt I've ever made. Not thrilled with the finish but it's OK for a first attempt. Let me know any critiques or suggestions. Bob
  13. Bob Blea
    Hi Avion, I think you will need some sort of tool to skive with, maybe only a safety skiver from Tandy. You will also need something to filigree the leather. I just use a inexpensive set of wood carving chisels I got at either Hobby Lobby or Michaels. They are fairly sharp and do a good job cutting out small areas and nice tight corners, better than I can do with an Xacto knife or scalpel. Also, you will probably need to sew the layers of the belt together, so maybe a good sewing awl or sewing machine that can handle leather. hope this helps. Others on here with more experience will probably have other suggestions. Bob
  14. Bob Blea
    Unfortunately contact cement makes a really good resist, and (depending on the type) the solvents can really penetrate the leather. There may not be much you can do to remove it. Any chance you can hide that spot somehow?
  15. Bob Blea
    I was wondering the same thing....
  16. Bob Blea
    Odin, the inside of the notebook is lined with pig skin. The pocket is a 3 oz vegtan. One other note regarding the lacquer, I've heard of people using what they called a 'brush lacquer' made for wood on their leather. Apparently it works as well as the 'lac' products we traditionally use on leather, and it may be the same thing. I'm told the product that was sold as Neat Lac and is now sold as Clear Lac or Wyosheen is really a lacquer that is made for some other use. It may be originally intended for sealing wood. Definitely try anything you find on some scrap first and make sure it works. Bob
  17. Bob Blea
    I've used Super Shene and it takes multiple coats to get a good resistance built up.
  18. Bob Blea
    Thanks Odin! I first apply a thin coat of Neatsfoot oil, which darkens the leather slightly. I then apply Wyosheen (it's the same as Neat Lac or Clear Lac) over the undyed leather as a resist, then I applied Eco-Flo Saddle Tan. The leather still absorbs a little of the color but the bargrounded areas pick up a lot to give it contrast. I then faded the bargrounding into the rest of the area that was matted with a pebble matter. Does that make sense?
  19. Bob Blea
    Thank all! I do like how this one turned out. The stamping down the spine was to cover a flaw in the leather. There was a small insect bite in the hide that caused a blemish that would have shown up when antiquing. I cut the leather so the mark would end up on the spine and then stamped it so you couldn't see it. Might have to try it on more notebooks though as it turned out nice.
  20. Bob Blea
    Here's something I finished recently. I've made the Trinity knot design before but not with the knot design in the corners. I like this corner design, it seems to go well with the knot in the center. Any comments or feedback is welcome. Bob
  21. Bob Blea
    Your referring to the one that is like a ring that you put your finger through, correct? I've seen some new swivel knives that had these. Check with Barry King. I think he might be offering them but they just aren't on his web site. Also, I think Leather Wranglers offers them too. I thought I saw someone showing off their new LW knife with one of those recently online somewhere.
  22. Bob Blea
    Monica, I think any piece large enough for you to have space for your other hand to hold the leather in place while your primary hand skives will work great with a round knife. For my pen keepers it was just really hard to get a finger to hold it securely with the larger blade. But for regular thicknesses of leather on anything as big as your describing I think you would find a round knife to work great. Personally I would buy a round knife first because it is more of a multi-tasker. And I do really like both my LW knives. They are made from the same steel as the swivel knives and they hold their edge just as well as them too. My knives require very little maintenance.
  23. Bob Blea
    OK, my two cents worth... I have a Leather Wranglers round knife. It's a little different design from the standard round knife and it has a pull cut ability which makes it very easy to cut precise corners. It is a fantastic knife and it does just about everything I need it to do, including skiving in most cases. However, when I'm making my notebooks I make a pen keeper out of a 2.5 inch by .5 inch strip of pigskin and I skive the edges before rolling them over and gluing them down. Because of the size it was really hard to skive with a round knife. After seeing this demonstrated by Paul Zalesak at Leather Wranglers, I was sold on their Tranto skiver. It also works well as a trim knife, but it works great for me for skiving small parts or areas. My round knife is a necessity for my work, the skiver is more of a luxury but it definitely solved a problem. Bob
  24. Bob Blea
    Resolene would probably be a better choice. Mix it 50/50 with water and apply several light coats. It will give you more water resistance than super shene but it won't make it water proof. It is usually the product people choose that make motorcycle gear that has to get wet from time to time.
  25. Bob Blea
    Krusatyr, welcome to the forum! Often times it is because the leather doesn't respond well to burnishing. Chrome tanned leathers will not burnish well where vegetable tanned leather (carving leather) burnishes easily. Sometimes it just a lack of knowledge...
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