Bob Blea

Recreating this with that thin pocket is going to be difficult if you want the pocket the same color as the rest of it. Different types of leather will dye differently, and even the same type from two different hides and come out different shades. If it were me, I would make the pocket out of the same 2-3 oz leather and then skive it thinner, which I know isn't an easy task. However, when dyed they should all be the same shade.

My $.02, For carving or stamping, definitely Barry King. For the best geometrics or basket stamps, Wayne Jueschke in Elko, NV. For the absolute best of the best, Robert Beard. For swivel knives, Barry King's are very good but my favorite is Leather Wranglers. I like their round knives too and own one, but Terry Knipschield are really good too. For other hand tools (edgers, etc.) probably Jeremiah Watt or Ron's Tools. Both seem excellent though I don't personally have any yet. Barry King makes some of them too and I have one of his french edgers and love it. Also, you can contact Bruce Johnson who is part of this forum and moderator in the saddlry section. He sells used tools (brucejohnsonleather.com) that are in good shape and properly sharpened, plus he can tell you about the different makers and what would be a good tool for the kind of work you want to do. He's a great resource that would be happy to help you out. Hope this helps, Bob

Nice work, and welcome to the forum. Keep on posting!

Also, you might be getting this because you are undercutting with your swivel knife. Make sure when you are cutting that you hold the swivel knife stright up and down, and not tilted to the side. I had a similar problem and it turned out I was leaning the knife over when making sharp turns. Bob

Welcome Glenn and thank you for your service. If you have questions please post them. Everyone here is very glad to help! Bob

Spectacular work! Nice to see your work here again. Bob

Thanks Tex, I've got some older lacing chisels that I've thought were pretty sticky and I've often thought about trying to sharpen them up. You've made me think I should give it a try. Thanks for the tip! Bob

I like it too, nice job!

Thanks Hunio, I'll be watching too!

Hi Hunio, I would love to see how all those parts go together...... Bob

That is exceptional work!

Tex, what did you use to polish the points? Was it a grinding wheel or just some fine grit wet/dry sand paper?

Very cool! You won't be disappointed.

Be glad you don't Shaun. Michelle's story is far too easy to repeat at Barry's booth. Believe me I've been there, several times! Bob

I bought a ray skin about a year ago and my experience has been that it's sat on the bench staring at me while I stare at it. I don't have a sewing machine and I've heard about how hard the little beads can be, and I don't want to try and push my sewing awl through them (at least not my good Douglass one). I hadn't considered pre-drilling the holes till I read it here. I might have to give that a try. I wanted to use this as an inlay in a notebook, but haven't taken on the project just yet. This has been encouraging.... Bob

Hi Cheryl, Trying out making different things might help you find your niche, but a lot of different things can be trouble. So what sort of things are people requesting you to make? Is there anything that they ask you for on more than one occasion? If you get multiple requests for a particular type of item, especially if they are making the request because they have seen something similar you have already made, it might mean that is going to be your niche. For the most part your customers and your market are going to tell you what your niche is. You have to find something that has a demand for it (customers asking for it) and that you enjoy making or at least that you won't loose money on. It's hard to come up with a product and then create a market for it. Most entrepenuers fail because they come up with a great idea, but the idea doesn't solve any problems in the market place or doesn't fill a need. Bob

That would be tough to do. You would need to case the leather for these kind of stamps to work. Casing would probably ruin your finish or dye.

Thanks Cyber, what you say makes sense. And I understand about the lines being just a bit off. I can be the same way whenever I am working with parallel lines. You've definitely put a lot of thought into this. Bob

I had too many interruptions while I was typing my post and didn't see Cyber's. He's got a good point and I could see where that would be a problem. I don't make many straps but I do crease pockets in my notebooks often, and haven't run into his sort of problem yet, but he's got good reasoning there. I maybe have just been lucky and haven't had that kind of problem. Bob

I would crease the strap before doing anything else to the edges. I want the full edge to guide my creaser. I've never tried to crease Latigo or used heat creasers, so I can't say anything about them. Bob

Thanks Chris and Rosiart!

That does look cool. I would like to try making something like this someday....

Thanks all for the kind words! I like how it turned out but it did take a lot more time than I thought. It seems like the amount of work to be done on notebook covers goes up much faster than you would think for a small increase in surface area. Bob

I actually made this back over the summer, but I had never managed to get it posted here. This was a custom order from a ranch in Nebraska that wanted a legal sized notebook that would hold an 8.5 x 14 inch pad. They wanted a full floral cover and basket stamping across the back, and their brand featured on the front. They also ordered some small notebooks (3x5 spiral bound) to go with it. One of those had a floral pattern similar to this one and the other two were just backed stamped, but they all had the same brand on them. Thanks for looking. Bob