Bob Blea

Thanks Quillleather, that did make for a nice looking case. Thanks for sharing.

Nice and simple, I like it. Did you have to form it around the cards prior to sewing or does it just naturally expand to allow for them? Hope that question makes sense.... Bob

Very nice, I like all the detail.

Give it a try and post your results, we would be happy to help out with any questions. Bob

That wallet has an antique applied to it after tooling. When I do it, I will first let the item dry after tooling. Then it gets a thin coating of Neatsfoot oil to condition the leather, then after that has set in overnight I apply a lacquer coating (Wyosheen, Clear-lac, etc.) and allow that to dry. Then I apply a antique gel or paste and wipe it back off. The lacquer keeps it from penetrating the leather and the antique remains in the tooled areas, creating the contrast.

I have the Douglas awl blade and it came very sharp and it works well.

I'm with you, 6 oz seems a little thin for a quality belt. I would recommend lining and I think that is a sign of a higher quality belt. Can you get a thinner version of the leather you are currently using for the front side, say 2-3 oz? And yes, I would stitch that the length of the belt too. The contact cement you're using may weld the leather together but I think again that stitching it is another sign of quality. For what it's worth....

I really like your design, it looks great.

I think it looks great!

Here's the thread Stephenpuhakish was thinking of: http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=56473 About 2/3 down the page electrathon posted the die he made using razor blades. It's pretty cool!

Hello and welcome to the forum! That compass rose is going to be kind of challenging. I can see how I would want to create it. The line that goes down the center of each arrow would probably be the highest point on each arrow with the leather sloping down to the edges. To do that, I think I would use a modeling spoon to sculpt a smooth surface down to that outer line. I would probably carve this in an inverted style where I would use a smooth beveller to bevel down the inside of each compass arrow line, mashing down the surface towards the center of the arrow. Then I would use the modeling spoon to smooth the rest of the arrow surface so it evenly drops from the center line to the outer edge. Hopefully that makes sense. You will definitely want to try making several of these as practice first till you are satisfied with your results. Hope that helps and good luck on this! Bob

You could always skive down the fold on thicker leather to help it fold the way you want. I do that on my notebooks along the spine to make them more flexible.

I really like the color on this and the brogue corners look very nice. I agree about the back of the strap too, an English point would look better. I'm sure my wife would be happy to own that wallet!

You old bag looks good but your new one looks awesome! You should show that off with pride!

Your work is definitely inspiring!

That is beautiful work!

My wife has a small wallet she made that has a carved butterfly on one side that she painted with acrylic paints. It has survived several years of use in a hip pocket and two trips through the washing machine, and the paint is still intact. It's just needed some oiling after the washing to get it back to useable condition.

I'll use an Oxalic acid solution to clean leather on occasion, but often I don't if I'm just antiquing a piece. If I was going to dye it then I would clean it by gently wiping it with the Oxalic acid solution to remove any oils. I would definitely recommend oiling well after the cleaning (any dyeing) because the Oxalic acid really seems to dry out the leather.

I warm up my Neatsfoot oil prior to applying it (was a suggestion from a saddle maker) as it supposedly makes it penetrate more evenly. I use either a piece of sheep skin or a cotton ball depending on what is convenient. I don't usually dye my pieces so I oil after tooling is complete, but if I am dying something I will do that first then dye.

The Gel-Antique isn't a dye. It's really just a surface treatment and it doesn't penetrate the leather at all like a dye should. I'm almost always applying it over a resistive layer, Wyosheen in my case, and I rub it on and then rub it back off before it has much chance to dry. It stays behind in the recessed areas or areas with checkering/backgrounding and makes them look darker, and the color does penetrate the resist a bit and darkens everything overall. Depending on the depth of the area and how much antique got in there, it could still be wet when I stop rubbing the excess off, but that seems to dry into a water resistant color a lot like an acrylic would. That's why I've thought the Gel-antiques were acrylic based colors. I don't let is set too long while it's wet because it can penetrate the resist and leave streaking, especially if I didn't do an even job with applying my resist. It all seems to dry completely within a hour (I live in a dry climate) but it usually ends up sitting overnight.

I use Tandy Gel Antique and have never had a problem with it rubbing off after it has dried. It's more like an acrylic and once it's dried it stays put and behaves more like paint that dye.

Good question! I think a lot has to do with Al's ability to illustrate his books so well, and the fact that he did a good job explaining things so others could understand. Not everyone can explaining things well. I'm always amazed that he had the time to do the leatherwork he did, write the books, the doodle pages, etc, and illustrate it all. When you look at the volume of his writings it is truly amazing. That being said, "Sheridan Style Carving" is a great book if you are looking to learn that particular style of carving, or even just floral carving in general. Bob

Welcome redhat! I'll bet the folks in the sewing forums will be able to help you with this machine.

Welcome David!

My wife wants something similar with a stingray inlay, but I haven't gotten around to that project yet. Your looks great.