Bob Blea

I'm with you on the time for stitching but that's quicker than lacing, which would be my other option.... If it were me I would line it with another piece of veg tan and put the grain side out on each, like you would on a high end belt. It even gives you the chance to carve or otherwise decorate both sides of the strap if you prefer, but the strap leather probably needs to be fairly thin so the strap doesn't end up weighing more than the purse. You could also use something like a suede or some other garment type leather but you would have problems burnishing that edge if it was a chrome tan leather.

Hi Corey and welcome to the forum! Personally I try to avoid having the flesh side of veg tan leather exposed in my projects. That being said, in your situation I probably would make the strap out of a unlined piece. I don't have a sewing machine and my hand sewing isn't what I would call adequate, and I've had luck with treating the flesh side with leather balm with atom wax and getting a smooth surface. That will still wear off over time and the flesh side could get fuzzy over time. If I was more confident in my hand sewing I probably would line the strap and carve or stamp something showy onto it. And if I had a sewing machine, I would definitely line it. I think it just looks more professional. That's my 2 cents anyway. Bob

A correction I wanted to add. I found out over the weekend that aluminum oxide is also susceptible to being broken down by acids, so the leather may effect it too. I didn't find anything that would suggest it will react with leather like steel will and discolor it, but as Mike and Michelle mentioned, aluminum dust is bad for people. Aluminum can impair your body's ability to use iron, causing anemia. It can also damage the nervous system and cause bone damage. There are some that believe aluminum intake is somehow connected with Alzheimer's disease though apparently it's never been proven. Aluminum toxicity apparently isn't something you normally need to worry about unless you are working with it as a metal and breathing in the dust, then it is a big concern. So it's not the best substance to work with unless you take lots of precautions.

Nice work Chief! I'm impressed with the volume of work you are making. I'm lucky to get one notebook made a week, if that! Can't image making all that stuff so quickly.

You might try wrapping the knife barrel in foam insulation weatherstripping tape. It comes in varying thicknesses so you could add as much material to the barrel as you want and still have a soft grip. It might allow you to experiment and find a diameter that works better for you.

I'm learning a lot too as I'm considering getting irons. Would love to see pictures of the Dixon irons for comparison too.

You could also modify pawpaw's recipe a bit by substituting Glycerin for the Lexol which might be hard for you to find in London. Glycerin acts a bit like a moisturizer (it's used in soaps and lotions) and at least here in the states you can get it at any drug store. I wouldn't add more than a tablespoon to the water. The Glycerin might help the leather to be softer and at least in my experience it seems to help the leather retain moisture and not dry out as quickly. Just my 2 pence. Bob

Is the yoke height on your knife adjustable? I had lots of problems with my hand cramping on my knife after prolonged carving sessions. I just kept playing with the height of the yoke above the barrel until I found the spot where it was comfortable. I always would get a cramp in the muscle at the base of the thumb.

Pure aluminum is very reactive to oxygen, so exposed surfaces tend to oxidize fairly quickly. Aluminum Oxide is a very inert substance and it doesn't tend to react to much at all, however it can react somewhat with strong acids. I don't think any of the acids that remain in leather would be a problem as they are probably too mild. Aluminum Oxide is used as a protective coating in many industrial and chemical applications because of it's hardness and lack of reactivity. However, that hardness isn't enough to make aluminum a good choice for a stamping tool. Aluminum is very reactive to acids. That's why it's a poor choice for a cooking pan. The acids in tomatoes are enough to leach aluminum from the pan and introduce it to your food. That's not good for people to eat but I don't think it does anything to leather like the discoloring you get with steel and leather.

I wonder if it is the same kind of darkening you get on leather when you oil it. Maybe an uneven application of the Sno-Seal caused it? Did it spread out any overnight? Then again, maybe it wouldn't spread out or sink in without more heat?

I don't have a lot of experience with acrylic paints but from the very little work I've done it didn't seem to be a problem to oil first then paint. I put a very light coating of oil on a project and I let it dry / soak / disperse (whichever is the right term) at least overnight and often for 24 hours. Once that happens you don't notice the leather being any different except a little darker. It certainly doesn't seem oily. However, I don't have a lot of experience and maybe someone here that works with acrylic more can answer that question.

They may have dyed the tooled area but my guess is that the overall piece was antiqued after all the dyeing was done. My guess is the leather color you are seeing in the tooled area is just the natural color of the leather after they oiled it. When I carve something I oil it after carving which darkens the leather. For something like this I would probably dye the background/border areas first then oil, so I probably wouldn't put the resist on the tooling until after I did the dyeing, so change that around from what I said in the first post.

Good morning! In this particular case it looks like they have dyed the background and border areas and it is fairly simple to do if you have a steady hand. First I would put a resist (Wyosheen or Clear Lac or the like) on the tooled parts with a small brush. Then I would take a dark dye and dye the background areas and untooled areas around the carving with another small brush. You will need to be careful on this step because the dye will bleed away from where you touch the brush to the leather, and you will want to be careful with how close you put the brush to your carving. If your not careful it will bleed up onto the carving and probably ruin the piece. Your best bet would be to make a small test piece and practice background dyeing until you get a feel for how much the dye will bleed. If you don't have your brush loaded with dye when you put it to leather you won't get too much bleeding and it's pretty easy to control, but a little practice beforehand won't hurt. Hope this helps, Bob

Mrdabeetle, let me join the others in thanking you for your efforts on this. I'm excited to try making a few pieces of this. History has always been a fascination of mine.

Thank you Tom for all the work you put into these.

I do the same as Troy. When I finish working for the evening I add a little moisture if necessary, bag it and put it in the fridge. I lightly mist the front as my leather is usually backed by packing tape or shelf liner to keep it from stretching.

Tony, another member on here (Spinner) who makes motorcycle gear had a post about this same issue. http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=42390&hl=%2Bmatte+%2Bmedium#entry264052 He recommended using Acrylic Matte Medium to cover the acrylic paints before applying a finish to protect the paint.

Amazing and inspiring work Bob!

Looks great. I want to try something like this one day.

Redochre, This isn't a UK supplier (they are in Germany) but they have Craft Japan tools and recently started carrying the Leather Wrangler's SK-3 swivel knife line. I also saw they carry the Barry King swivel knife. Maybe they can help you out? www.ledermacher.de

Love the coloring Ed. It looks great.

Looks good, good use of the natural texture to that leather.

I've participated in several of these classes and I'll watch the videos afterward, and I keep learning more stuff. I really like Chan Geer too.

Ray, I'm jealous of your model railroad and lantern and signal collections. I've got N scale model railroad equipment. That's what first got me interested in electronics when I was young and led to my eventual career. I've always loved railroad history but I've never collected much actual memorabilia from the 1920-1950's steam era. It's probably time to dig the model railroad stuff back out because the kids are old enough to appreciate it now and one just loves trains.

Let us know if this helped any. You've got my curiosity now.