Nighthawk

Hello, all. My parents went to Jamestown, Pa without me recently (what kind of heartless monsters would do that??) and they met this fellow: I would love to know who he is so I get can some detailed photos of his leather working kit. Does anyone here have any idea who he is, how to get in touch with him?

I have had a problem with Feibings green. The spirit dye turns black, and the oil die turns into an ugly pea soup yellow. I have thought about using Angelous greens, but their dyes are more expensive. Are they worth it? Is there any such thing as a stable green dye? Not only have I had this problem with my own work- the company I work for has had the same problem. Any thoughts and ideas would be great. Green is a rather popular color.

You know something that I have found to be incredible for removing that excess color is blue microfleece. It's a cloth you can buy at Home Depot. I work for a company called Renaissance Leather, and the truth is that even after we've sheened, carnuba-ed/buffed, and finished black items, we still keep them isolated from everything else. You're having a pretty normal issue. Just buff the living hell out of the piece before you wax it. (And for the record, even though we use carnuba creme at work, I still prefer the luster of the leather balm/atom wax and use it exclusively on my side projects.)

Something I've recently discovered is the existence of microfleece at Home Depot. It's a soft blue cloth. When I apply the parafin to the edges, I polish it with the microfleece, and it really mellows the look- gives it a beautiful glow! I also have started using it as a buffing cloth for the surface. It's made a small, subtle difference, but one that I really like.

A buddy of mine bought himself a set of knives, and the sheaths they came with were absolute garbage! So I made him some good ones. This is the artwork I tooled. It came out really well, but is hard to photograph in black! And a sheath for a similar, but smaller, knife. It's like a miniature bowie. It's so cute! And last, but certainly not least, my new set of custom-made burnishers. Thanks to my buddy Colin Cunningham at Scottish Wood Art for making these for me! These sheaths were their trial run, and they worked like a charm!

I use the cork from a bottle of Highland Park. I do a lot of Celtic festivals, and the various distilleries do whiskey tastings. I just get the corks from the empty bottles! It holds 2 bottles of Aquafina, however much that is! After 3 minutes, the wax is still really hot, and really fluid. I do poor out the excess. The purpose of the wax treatment is indeed to waterproof the bottle. The waterproofing is permanent, as the leather is permeated with the wax. The leather actually feels like plastic once it's dried. I've been using this bottle for 2 years now.

Well, new for me, anyway! This is a sporran I made: Not the effect I wanted. So I tried again on a cell phone case: Nailed it! I started with a yellow base, and then dry brushed a medium brown over it. The first time, I used a dauber to apply the yellow, and it came out way too dark. On the cell phone case, I used an airbrush to apply the yellow. It came out much better, I think.

Sure! First, here's a picture of my own personal one: Here's the pattern: The inside lines are the stitching lines.When it's all sewn together, I soak it in a bucket of warm water for about 10 minutes, and then I pack it full of barley. I pack it as tight as I can and stretch the leather as much as possible. I like to use belly leather- it stretches really easily!As far as using pitch goes... My workshop does double duty as the bathroom for three cats. The smell of litter boxes AND hot pitch would be unbearable! I like the way hot bee's wax masks the odor of cat poo...

I have used both bee's wax, and paraphin. I recommend bee's wax. It's well worth the cost. However, if you don't want to spend the money, then there's no need. There also, by the way, is no need to go to the hassle of dipping the bottle. What I do is heat the wax almost to the point of boiling, and then I fill my bottles to the top and let them sit full for 3 minutes. I do time it just to let you know. The wax will soak into the leather like water, and when it cools, the leather will actually feel like plastic. I have had people open my bottles and look inside because they don't believe me when I tell them that it's just leather and wax! And on that note, if you use bee's wax and let your bottle (full of water of course!) warm up in the sun a little, the water will get a nice subtle honey flavor. And it smells so good when it's melting!

Yep! That's it... Stupid typos... I really need to start proofreading my posts... So- I personally like to use acrylic resolene to paste the fibers down, myself. It seems to me to give them a good moisture barrier, as well as making it look a little polished. And thank you, Frank, for making my garble a little more clear!!

Well, I like the basket weave, for sure. Not too sure I like the flash side pulled out for the belt loop, though. It makes it look a little unfinished to my eye. So- you make your blades from railroad spikes? That's some hard steel, man! My son has a tomahawk made from a spike. That's some impressive work.

Lovely!! How did you reclaim the leather? I tried that once- I soaked it and oiled it and worked it... and it still cracked. What did you do to replenish the oils and soften the leather?

That avatar is great! If you do, can I immigrate?

Wow!! The detail is impressive!

Yeah, it's comfy! I look forward to pairing the targe with an historic kilt, though. I was feeling lazy when I had that picture taken.

It's awesome that you posted this! One of my upcoming projects is a Scottish powderhorn. Thanks for the detailed shot!

I have a buddy who works as an advisor to the family trust(whatever that means!) to a family who own some incredible Scottish antiques. He showed me some pictures of a targe from the late 1700's, so I decided to make a recreation of one. I say "recreation" because the family asked that reproductions not be made. I made an aproximation- I kept the concentric circles and nail layout intact, and kept the overall look and feel of it, but changed the knotwork graphics. The one on the left is the original. The one on the right is mine. I had to guess at the back. My friend told me "Both were apparently used as butter churn covers during the Proscription era. The backs are somewhat tattie but the fronts are amazingly well preserved." Somewhat tattie is an understatement. There's almost nothing left of the backs, except the wood.

What a beautiful set! I'm going to be starting a Scots powderhorn in the near future, so that particular piece was what really is of interest to me. I love the use of the rawhide! I inherited some and was trying to figure out exactly what I was going to do with it. Now I know!!

There's actually a canvas tent company here in Denver. It's just that... well... I procrastinate.

Thanks!! That's a great tutorial! It's more in-depth a process that I use. The biggest difference, I think, is how you slick your edges. I prefer canvas myself, but I don't have any, so my slicking wheel is the best tool I have at this point.

That's pretty much what I've been doing, too.

Yeah, I'll be unconscious!

I have a question for you all- As some of you know, I am in a living history group called the Renaissance Scots Living History Association. Throughout the summer, we travel to all the Celtic festivals in the midwest region. Last summer, I started giving leatherwork demonstrations. It was my first summer, and I only did a few. This summer, I will be making a reproduction of this: Left is my design, and right is the original. I'll be using this project as an opportunity to give demonstrations on tooling, and to show the different kinds of leather- particularly the elk hide that I'm using on the back, and to teach about finishing techniques- dying and edge finishing. So my question is this- if you were to see one of my demos, what information would you be most interested in learning? History, techniques- anything you can think of that would be of value to people who know nothing about leather other than what it's made of! Any and all ideas are welcome. And there is one more thing. On my new FaceBook page, I posted a pictorial guide to the technique I use for edge burnishing: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?id=100002109169454&aid=16175 Any comments or critiques on this would be helpful, too. Thanks in advance!!

Thanks! My airbrush is my newest toy. I'm having some fun getting to know it. I learned that breathing Feibings fumes sucks though...