Aven

I love it. Everything about it, from the color combo to the little details. Well done.

I read your last comment whilst having my afternoon tea and I guess I was suddenly twelve again and it made me laugh.

That almost made me snort my tea.

I honestly don't know how they compare to each other. They do have a much better selection than Tandy does, but I don't know how it compares to Oregon Leather. All I remember of my really quick visit to Oregon Leather was them seemed to have a much better " scrap" (I use that word very loosely) section. The stores are laid out very differently. Oh I don't know if it matters one way or another, both stores are owned by the same company.

The only other real option in Seattle is McPherson's Leather. If you are planning to come down on a Saturday, be mindful of their hours. They are open from 10 to 3 on Saturdays.

I wanted to offer this here before I put it up on Craigslist. I have a Landis leather cutter that needs to move along to a new home. Its in great shape. The blade is sharp enough to cut through 11 oz latigo with ease. I would rather not have to ship this because it's so heavy, but I am willing to drive within an hour of Tacoma to hand it off to its new owner. I have $300 in it, but I'm entertaining reasonable offers. The forum software and I are fighting over photos, so if you want to see more, pm me your email address

Check out pages 98-104 https://ia802605.us.archive.org/32/items/farmwoodwork00roeh/farmwoodwork00roeh.pdf

Gene, if you have some free time, check out this video and maybe give it a go. The guy used some seriously basic hand tools and still turned out a good knife.

Thanks for the endorsement Bikermutt. I've saved his info. I like his "stainless steel press edge clamp" and his shoe bottom edge skiver. Actually, I like a lot more than that, but those two just got saved for when I've got a few extra pennies I don't know what to do with.

Wow! That turned out awesome. Nice job Duke.

I did the same thing, ordered the big one first. When I got around to getting the smaller one, I didn't go "Where have you been all my life?!?" I just found myself reaching for it more often. It may or may not mean anything, but I don't have large hands. I can do an octave on the piano, but it is a hard stretch. I've also have arthritis in both my thumbs, so maybe that 1/4" makes a difference in comfort, I don't know. I try not to think about anything but where the knife point is when I'm skiving. But I do use the larger one often enough to want keep it around. So.... you might find that the larger one is all you really do need. In another one of her videos, Lisa shows how she does all the skiving for the inlay/overlays she does on the boot uppers. Of course she makes it look so easy, after how many years of doing it? But she uses a marble lazy-susan to work on that really seems to make it easier, more efficient. So now I look for a marble lazy-susan every time we good into Value Village. Worst case, I don't use it for skiving and put tool stands on it instead.

1+ on Lisa's skiving knives. I have both sizes even though I find myself grabbing the smaller one most of the time, I'm glad I got the larger one as well. Keeping them sharp has been easy, just strop them. Easy to use too, but if you dig through Lisa's youtube videos, she does one on skiving that is worth the watch if you struggle with skiving.

Well done Mike! Good on your godson for choosing to serve. My uncle was a firefighter in his younger days. I loved and respected him even more when I found out.

Thanks!

That's an awesome weekend bag. You did a splendid job of it. Would you mind sharing a link to Tony's page. I would like to check out the pattern, but my google-fu is weak. Thanks.

As frustrating as it is, he's right. It comes down to a ton of practice. If you are so frustrated that you get angry every time you look at the knife, put it away. All you are doing to making things worse because you are so stressed out you can't see straight and you are teaching yourself to tighten up every time you go to sharpen it. I opted opted to use a different style of knife when I started because like you I just could not sharpen my head knife and I was scared of it too. I bought two skiving knifes from Lisa Sorrell, they're on page 2 of the knife section. They are easier for me to sharpen and to use. I thought I would end up using one more than the other and I'd sell the less used one off, but I use them about the same. It all depends on what I'm doing. She has a great skiving video up on youtube that really shows you how to use them. Sharpening them is a dream. Since they arrive very sharp, I've only had to strop them. For me, they are well worth the money.

Thanks! Found several styles, now just to decide on bar or cluster.

kkg, Where did you get that 5 - in - 1 multi socket? I have never seen one in the lower 48. I got to say I like it. And the border isn't that far away.

Yes, sole leather is the leather used for shoe sole. It's really thick veg tan that's been seriously compressed. All the machines I know if that can handle sole leather are beasts like the Landis McKay stitcher.

If you are only going to be using soft leather, it will work, but it is seriously fiddly to set up. Medium firm leather is pushing its limits. It uses a shaving razor blade that will break easily if you put too much stress on it. If you are looking to split thin leather for something like a watch band, it might make your life easier. Emphasis on the might. As nrk asked, what do you want to use it for?

Check out Rocky Mountain Leather Supply's KS Blade Punch - Round Dent

Lotty, I have used wood moulds to make small bags with out any problems. If you are using a board, you have to be careful of the grain. Plywood works better John Welling has a good video on the process.

Yes, I've been fortunate to grab a few of Nstarleather's SB hides before the color I wanted disappeared.

Oh life is so unfair! I'm less than 4 hours from them and I haven't receive mine yet. Since it's a long weekend, the soonest I'll get it is Tuesday. *sigh* Totally jealous and very happy for you. Looking forward to seeing your new boots. FYI, Maverick Leather in Bend OR carries SB leather. Was looking last night and I've got to say their prices are really tempting. *sigh* Tuesday will eventually get here. Did I mention I'm jealous?

Someone ask about a setup very similar to your pictures, oh I want to say it was spring of last year, but don't quote me. The answer that came back was an Amish gentleman makes them and his contact info was given. Good luck digging.