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TheCyberwolfe

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Everything posted by TheCyberwolfe

  1. TheCyberwolfe
    Well, you can't see the other half of the closure snap, so I'm guessing that it's a 2-layer sandwich for the main body. This allows you to do some shaping like bikermutt said - two layers of material wrapped around a cylinder will have different radii, and therefore different circumferences. If you glue them together, they will tend to maintain that shape. You'll run into this if you start making watch straps too - if you fold the leather strip in half and stitch, then wrap it around your wrist the inside will scrunch up a bit because it's trying to compress the same length of strap into a shorter circumference. If you instead glue them, and then wrap it around your wrist while the glue is still wet, the inside will slide a bit. Let the glue set, then trim off the excess from the inside of the strap before stitching. The strap will always maintain that bend.
  2. TheCyberwolfe
    Nice mod! My idea was to make a cutout of a letter "V", then turn the top of the two arms 180 degrees inward and stitch to the inside at the main fold. It makes a tube when looking at it from above. Found a super-skinny pen (with refills) on Amazon so it doesn't make the stack too thick.
  3. TheCyberwolfe
    My Mom's boyfriend back when I was a kid decided we should get all fancied up and go out to the "nice" restaurant one Saturday night. So there he is in a collared shirt and sport coat shaking up the ketchup bottle when the cap comes off, and sauce goes all over him. Poor waitress was in tears apologizing about how she was in the habit of loosening the caps for the older folks who come in... To this day, I put a finger over the cap when I shake ANYTHING. And I point it away from me, or anything else I have to clean up.
  4. TheCyberwolfe
    The only way to achieve a truly straight 90 degree corner in an organic product (wood, leather, etc.) is to use clamps and machinery. You're never going to be 100% doing it by hand, so shrug it off and reach for the sandpaper
  5. TheCyberwolfe
    It's got a "refined barbarian" feel to it - I dig it!
  6. TheCyberwolfe
    The Japanese philosophy is to always be pulling the work toward you, so Japanese tools are always designed to cut on the draw, not the push. Usually takes woodworkers a few minutes to wrap their brains around Japanese saws.
  7. TheCyberwolfe
    Yeah, going with something other than veg-tan could save you a bunch of finish work in the end. I'm too stuck in the "everything must be carved and stamped" gear at the moment
  8. TheCyberwolfe
    To achieve "super exact" results, I'd say paint. Dye will vary with the leather it is applied to, but you usually get more precision results with paint.
  9. TheCyberwolfe
    Ahh, another SCAdian that dove headfirst into Celtic knotwork on a first project. Why do we do that to ourselves?
  10. TheCyberwolfe
    "A special way to lane the leather to reduce bulk" is called skiving, and there are several different types of tools for the job.
  11. TheCyberwolfe
    I would say it's better to trace onto the leather and then cut with a knife rather than trying to cut around a template. This way you don't have to worry about your template wandering off mid-cut. As for which knife, that's a personal preference - there's no right or wrong here if it works consistently for you.
  12. TheCyberwolfe
    I don't know about best, but I recently used 1/8" lace and made a 4-plait braid that ended up being about 1/4" in diameter all told, and looks good.
  13. TheCyberwolfe
    Angelus makes empty felt-tip markers that you can load up with dye. They work really well. http://angelusdirect.com/products/dye-pen-applicators
  14. TheCyberwolfe
    In the model-making world, a cup of coffee is a great way to 'age' an object. Never tried it on painted leather myself, but perhaps worth a try.
  15. TheCyberwolfe
    Dying the leather will affect how well it absorbs water for the casing stage, so typically you will get better results by stamping first.
  16. TheCyberwolfe
    With oil-based dyes, I get good results by oiling first, letting it sit for a day and then applying the dye. It helps get an even coat by normalizing the moisture content of the leather across the piece. I carve and stamp almost everything I do, so it doesn't really matter how dry or old my leather was before starting, it's already been moistened up for working.
  17. TheCyberwolfe
    Or you could look at it as having to re-shape the edge on the hatchet is a fine punishment for being so careless with and destroying fine leatherwork On the ones I have made, I did not use a welt in the seam, so I positioned a couple of rivets in such a way as to prevent the blade edge from rubbing against the seam and wearing through the stitching.
  18. TheCyberwolfe
    Step 1: Get a bigger knife for heavy leather. A small exacto is designed for delicate work, not muscling through heavy leather. The razor knife Red Cent linked is fine, there are many styles to choose from. Step 2: make sure the blade is sharp. Even razor knives can be improved by stropping, so strop as needed with any blade and you will see a difference. Step 3: maybe don't rely on getting through it in a single pass if it's getting mangled in the process.
  19. TheCyberwolfe
    There's also the consideration of which stitch is ultimately better for the project. The lockstitch provided by the awl is ok, but in the end is not as strong a stitch as what you get with a proper two-needle saddle stitch. If you just need to tack something down, it does just fine. If it's a stress point and may get some surface friction that may wear through the threads, you want the saddle stitch.
  20. TheCyberwolfe
    I've found that a single wide (ish) belt loop is better for today's larger phones. With the two connection points, if the wearer has it on their side, they may end up placing some curving force on the phone. If you're using two outboard loops like that, you may want to build some extra slack into them to avoid stress on the phone. Also, very much in favor of a belt loop, since that $500 phone can't be just yanked off your belt in a busy store or something.
  21. TheCyberwolfe
    The surest way for me to screw something up is to try and cut against a template - sure as <whatever>, that template will slip and I'll waste a couple inches of leather doing it over. So, my method is to trace onto the leather and then cut. If I'm having trouble seeing my lines or just want to make sure I know where I'm cutting, I turn my template and my leather grain-side down and trace with a ball-point pen on the flesh side (gettin' old sucks...) And if anyone tries to tell you a true corner can't be cut with a straight knife, have them watch the video on Round / Head knife use on the Springfield Leather channel. Denny will prove otherwise.
  22. TheCyberwolfe
    The new Jeremiah Watt Quick-change tool is a good way to figure it out - you can get a whole set of different sizes for the price of a single Barry King tool. Nigel Armitage did a review and thinks very highly of them.
  23. TheCyberwolfe
    Heh - one of my first projects, I stabbed my finger and managed to hit a nerve - couldn't feel the tip of my finger for a couple months after that. Now I use one of those pink pearl erasers or a chunk of wax to support the back side.
  24. TheCyberwolfe
    That bandsaw trick would be fantastic for those that have a bandsaw - great idea! I think most of us have a block of wood cut at the right angle and then place the blade against that for consistency.
  25. TheCyberwolfe
    That is just a couple passes of the needle through each hole and tying it off. If you wrap one of the threads around on of the needles, it makes a knot inside the hole. search YouTube for Nigel Armitage, He has posted some good stitching tutorials that explain it better.
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