Skald

Yep, there are quite some Celtic stuff called Norse, and some Norse stuff called Celtic - and some plain fantasy stuff called either, without following any of the cultural "rules" for design. And indeed, there was a large scale mix between early Germanic tribes and continental Celtic tribes in Europe, they actually got along so well (in the lack of a better expression) that they intermingled and created a sort of distinct Celto-Germanic culture in some areas of for example Germany. I have seen myself historical sites, where they have dug up both clearly Germanic and clearly Celtic artifacts at the same place, and some I couldn't tell to be either Germanic or Celtic specifically. The Saxon invasion of Britain also led to quite a "mix up" of the two cultures, so was also the case with the later viking invasion/occupation of the British isles. Speaking of such knotwork, have anyone seen any fine old books in .PDF format or so around the web? I found some book called Viking Art by a David M. Wilson and Ole Klindt-Jensen. It'san old book, and no longer copyrighted, so it should be available for free download. I bought some books earlier too, but it would be a crime to digitize and spread them, but if someone wants the aforementioned book and can't find it, I'd be glad to help you. It's a bit more difficult to draw these Norse knots free hand out of nothing, compared to the Celtic knots that are more geometric and "logical" - so I am always looking for as much material as possible, for inspiration - so any suggestions are welcome!

I don't mean to be rude, but the breastplate piece is clearly Norse, more specifically Urnes-style or general Mälardalen-style (Urnes tends to be more romanesque with finer detail and leaves etc). Anyhow, splendid knotwork, if you did this by yourself (which it seems you did), you are an true master of knotwork. You even whip Freki's ass on that. Quite an amazing work, I can't even dare to think of what it would have looked like, if I tried carving that knot in the middle lower part hahaha... Such a detailed knotwork is far beyond what I can do. Just how to you manage to lower the parts around those fine lines? Some really small stamp, or by using a modeling spoon? And what did you use for coloring and finish? You really could make a decent living from producing such masterworks, if you are not already aware of and currently doing that.

Isn't Fiebing's Resolene supposed to be somewhat UV-resistant? This is at least what I heard. Or is it just "UV-resistant" like a coat of anything you use? I am about to make some leather helmets with carvings for pure decorative purposes soon, and intend to use some acrylic dyes I have, and use Resolene on top of that. And it would be a bit sad if they faded completely in just a year or so, if they happened to stand in the sunlight an hour or two a day - so I find the topic quite interesting too.

Shaking a dead thread to life here, instead of posting a new one. I can't really grasp the differences here, between oil and spirit dyes. Might be a matter of what you intend to do, I suppose. Anyway, I am about to make some dog collars now soon. And I have quite complex patterns of leather carving on them, and I want to color these. I intend to stain them afterward, and "seal" with Fiebing's Resolene when I am through (or do you have better suggestions?), but what dyes should I use? The colors should preferably not "run" all too easy, as the works are quite detailed. I tried some spirit dyes earlier, and they did the trick, but now I want other colors - and I am not sure whether I should stick to spirit dyes, or try oil based ones? The most important is "solid covering" and durability, so what are the advantages of spirit dyes vs. oil based dyes?

It's hard to tell how the situation is there "down under", but here in Sweden you can find old leather sewing machines quite cheap. And by old I mean "antique looking", and in my opinion, that's the only ones worth buying if you ain't going to produce really large scale, and thus can buy a real heavy duty industrial machine of a more recent date. My father have had an old Singer machine (that he fitted with an electrical engine) since the 80'ies, and have been swearing and cursing it now and then when it's been malfunctioning. He eventually bought some quite expensive brand new machine, but never got pleased with it. He also bought some quite old industrial machine, but threw it out almost right away - and he keeps sticking to this old Singer, even though they are not always best friends. I too have been using it quite a bit, but I prefer to sew by hand, using the good old awl, two nails and "pony clamp" (or whatever it's called in English). It's really superior for the more heavy duty tasks, even though I understand it's not possible if you are going to mass produce, more or less. So my two cents are: If anything, avoid cheap Asian machines (etc.), they are no solution. A good ol' Singer or similar (recently gone through by a professional), or making a quite expensive investment and buying an industrial machine is the way to go I guess. I have hear nothing but evil things about the new/cheap machines.

Thank you for that really in-depth post of yours, feels like I know a lot more of what to do right off, after this and the other posts in this thread. I too have been thinking of airbrushing on whatever I'll use, when I come to that point. I have no "real" airbrushing kit right now, but I have some simple "hand pumped" plastic spray bottles, that I'll try and just hope for the best.

I tried making some centimeters of stitches, and it doesn't seem to "run" if you try to tear it apart (and believe me, I tried pretty hard!), at least if you make some backstitches, and/or use some brains when you use it for sewing. So, the only downside I can think of at the moment, is the heat factor, as was pointed out by Art too. I am not making firefighter equipment or welding gloves, so I think it's quite okay anyway (most people are careful of putting leather near heat anyway). As I have understood, it's only slightly more sensitive to heat than nylon thread, and even less (it seems, after some not so scientific tests I have done) sensitive than for example dental floss, a kind of thread often used here in Sweden when sewing leather (my father have made horse gear for years, and used it quite a lot). I'll try make some prototypes and test them without mercy, and I'll be sure to let you know if I find any problems using it. Some people at eBay sell pretty decent Dyneema fishing lines (but beware, many sell pure crap too!), and it's really cheap too, compared to many or even most other kinds of threads I have seen and used over the years. So we might be on to something here.

I don't know why I mixed up the thread thickness, the thread I got is 0,5 mm, nothing else. I tried stitching up two pieces of leather with it, and it seems to work pretty well. The only downside I can think of, that it's a quite stiff kind of thread (it doesn't flex), and thus it's a bit "slippery", i.e. you can't make an ordinary knot on it for example. And that might be a problem. One other thing, is that it's not very heat resistant, it's a little more sensitive than nylon thread, but I don't know if that matters all too much. The positive aspects are: - It does not absorb any water, and it can't rot. - High UV-resistance - Exceptional strength - High abrasion resistance - Very low cost, compared to most other threads. What worries most is that it almost doesn't flex at all, and therefore might "run out" of the stitches, even though I didn't see any such tendencies when I tried it today. If anyone has any opinions or theories about this, I'd be glad to hear from you. In any case, I think I'll need to make some prototype gear and simply try it out.

I got some large roll of Dyneema thread, it's like 0,8 mm's thick (or maybe it was 1 mm), actually about 1 kilometer of thread. It's like really strong, and can hold more weight than steel I heard (often used in bullet proof vests etc., as you may know). So, my question is - has anyone tried using it for hand stitching leather? Are there any downsides of doing it, that you know of? I know that Kevlar doesn't really feel comfortable in sunlight, it becomes brittle an eventually breaks down by UV-light and so on. But for Dyneema, have you tried it? Heard about anyone who has? Or do you know why I should not be doing it?

Yah, I understand that there must be quite a lot different methods for the finish, as someone pointed out, as many (or more) then there are fishermen. That's partly why I asked, because knowledge and "trial and error" of others, who are a lot more experienced than myself, is truly worth more than gold. Over all, it seems resolene might be the answer. I'll also take into consideration the generic/high-tech aspects. The thing I wonder about most when it comes to resolene, is: Will it more or less "capsule" the leather completely, making it impossible to apply other products? Seems like the interior of the holster could very well be covered with resolene, but that I use something somewhat more "generic"/organic for the outside. I guess that in the end, I'll be forced to "test drive" one of these myself for some month, before I actually make them and charge people for them. I wouldn't want to end up selling stuff that doesn't work to my military friends.

Thank you for your in-depth description, I'll make sure to keep it in the back of my head as I give this a try. Do you have any experience from using shellac? (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shellac). I put a little extra effort in trying to find out about suitable compounds for these issues, and I came across someone mentioning shellac, for the inside of the holster. It's supposed to make the inside less rough, and also a bit more water repellent. I guess I better not use all too water proof compounds for both the inside and outside, as leather preferably should have at least some possibility to breath? Most people seem to talk about resolene however, when they prepare their holsters. Feibing's Leather Sheen, seems like a good choice as well, according to what I can make out of the product description. When I have made stuff earlier, it has not been a matter of these form shaped things, so I have just used some old traditional Scandinavian leather care products, but they tend to soften the skin quite a bit, and that's not what you want with holsters I suppose.

It's Fiebing's Resolene I guess? When you buff it before that, do you use any sort of "buffing compound", or just a plain piece of cloth? Instinctively, it feels like resolene or similar stuff wouldn't work as well as usual, if you use something else before applying that. If I use some colors from the Eco-Flo range of products, and treat it with "Eco-Flo Block Out Resist Finish" (there shall be some minor colored carvings), would resolene still be a good idea on top of that, or would the Block Out be good enough on it's own? I guess using products from the same range of products is a good idea, as they have been tried out together, and there are less chances of "compatibility issues".

I am soon about to make some pistol holsters, sewing and forming etc. is no problem, but I have never done anything like a gun holster before, so I have no clue about what to use after I am done with it, to make it withstand "wind & weather". Being somewhat "tactical oriented" (still wanting to use natural materials), I wish to do stuff that you can rely on through a shit storm, so to speak. Therefore, I need professional advice about what to treat it with afterwards. There must be some stuff to help it repel water, and keep the shape etc.? I tried to search this forum, but as I don't know exactly what I am looking for, and since I don't speak English that well, I ended up pretty empty handed. If you got any recommendations on specific brands and products, don't hesitate to mention them. And if there are any "several step procedures" involving several products, I would love to get to know too. I know that some substances makes the leather a little shiny and plastic looking, but that's no problem, as long as they work well and as announced. Rather a bit shiny/plastic looking, than endning up as a sloppy piece of leather after some rain.

Ah, now it worked. I tried several times earlier, but the submission just timed out. And then I read something at the site, that they had ceased to accept new members for free lessons, so I though that was the reason. Thank you for the help.

Unfortunately, it seems they no longer accept new members, so I can't get hold of the "free lessons" there. Are there any specific books there that you can recommend - based on my needs as described above? Jag har faktiskt kikat lite på just den boken, han verkar ju vara en ganska så stor dignitet inom området. Jag siktar egentligen på att försöka hitta det jag behöver hos någon försäljare på eBay, och köra på en beställning där. Även om frakten drar iväg en del från utlandet, så ligger ju priset rejält under de på t.ex. Tjäderläder. Just den är inte jättedyr hos Tjäderläder, men många andra böcker kostar ju mellan 400-600:- där, vilket känns liiiiite våldsamt. Men hojta gärna till om/när du lägger upp något på Tradera, jag fundelerar på lite fler verktyg också. Främst "background tools", då de jag har är för breda och inte kommer år i skrymseln och trånga passager.

First, I want to apologize if there are threads on the topic already. I am all new here, and this forum is huge! As for my question, I first and foremost have experience from sewing leather, not much else - and not too much of the sewing either, to be honest. Now I want to try out leather carving. I have been experimenting a little bit, based on simple on-line tutorials etc., with simple tools like a sharpened screwdriver, spoon etc. I recently bought some decent equipment, and it made things a whole lot easier - to say the least - and I feel that I really want to try it more seriously. For that, I guess it would be a great help if I had some good books. So, do you have any suggestions? I have tried to look around, and there is a lot of them, but I mostly found stuff with mainly patterns etc., and that isn't really what I want. I want info about the techniques, how to use different tools etc. for leather carving. I don't feel like wasting loads of leather and time for the "trial and error" way of learning, I am a little too pennywise for that. I also wonder about dyeing/coloring leather, do you have any suggestions for good books about that? Even though it's a bold thought, I really would like to be able of making coloring like on this one: http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_T69Nm1Iz_sw/TA5ys8XqVGI/AAAAAAAABd4/0ntdeVr7b-w/s1600/the-oath-leather-wristband-viking.jpg I am dying (or maybe dyeing?) to learn stuff like that, thinking primarily of the "shady" look on the beveled motif. I have tried a little bit, but I can't really figure it out. So, to sum it up I would be really glad to get some tips on books on basic carving techniques (even really "pro" material too, of course), and the dyeing/coloring process. It seems to be a jungle of books out there, but I don't know where to start!