Merlin2

G’Day Jason: Wow; a lot of firsts for you on this project, that’s great. As a craftsman you will always be your hardest critic, but I think you did a great job on this project. I can’t comment too much on the design of the chinks because I have never made a pair, but they look good. My greatest reward with making things for people was knowing they would be used and used hard in some cases. I made it a point with my returning customers to ask to see the old items I had made for them so that I could see what they looked like and how they held up over time. You can learn a lot about construction practices by seeing some of the structural failures that you weren’t aware of when you made them and that lets you continually improve your work. In some cases it is the addition of an extra piece of leather to stiffen a hard worked area, the addition of a rivet, extra stitching (maybe doubled up side by side stitching) or so on. Some people cringe when their beautiful handmade items leave their bench because they will get scratched, scuffed, etc… But I think the use of an item actually makes it better and gives them more character. There is an old saying in traditional archery that goes “Nothing does an arrow more good, than to be shot out of a bow”. I think that holds true for the things we make, nothing does them more good than to be used by someone. Keep it fun !

Chris: Projects with a deep rich history behind them sure are a lot of fun to work on. It’s pretty cool to think that you are now connected to the history line of these binoculars from WW2. Your boss should be very happy with this case. Nice work, I like it. Keep it fun !

Amazing work on the card Peter, you should work for Hallmark. Merry Christmas to you too.

Daddy’s Juice Box . . . . What a great idea, and I really like the eyelets for the back lacing. As a hunter, I think your sling is top notch.

I hear ya about the potential black dye accidents. I have made the “walk of shame” to the garbage can a few times while screaming myself. I have never done seats like this before, but I sure would like to give it a try one day if the opportunity ever popped up. Really nice work and I think the black bits add nice contrast. Good symmetry on the design. How does the antique hold up in the weather and abuse a seat goes through ? I have never heard of whiskey dying ? But I am all for a little whiskey while dying – ha, ha. Keep it fun !

Merry Christmas to you too. You say there are things you would do differently . . . . What are they ? ? ? We are always our toughest critics. Very nice overall project, I like it a lot. Nice contrast with the darker spine, the concho’s are a nice addition instead of just using Chicago screws or rivets, your tooling looks nice, sewing looks good and the inside cover work is nice and clean. You have to look hard to notice anything that could be changed, and at that it would just be personal taste. If I had to comment on anything I think (maybe ?) your geometric border stamping could have gone all around instead of stopping at the double bevel at the spine. And perhaps the addition of a smaller acorn and leaf similar to the front cover corner placed on the inside flap where you have the geo stamping. But both of these things are really stretching it; it is fine just as it is. But I always find myself “what if-ing” myself on everything I make. Keep it fun !

Hats off to you, that is a fantastic first attempt at tooling. Having your basket weave line up in a straight line can be a real challenge, but you did a fine job. It is the creation of knife sheaths that got me hooked into doing leather work years ago and ended up being my highest volume of sales. I had several custom knife makers here in Washington that I made sheaths for, and I must admit it is what I enjoyed the most. I would love to see some of your knives and sheaths. I will try to get around to posting some of mine soon too. Keep it fun !

Sorry to hear about your bad luck ! there is hope in the New Year. I recently spent 7 days in intensive care for 2 blood clots that went to my lungs after a knee surgery; so any day I get where I am still breathing is a true blessing. Your work is "TOPS". It is leather workers such as yourself that put the wind in my sail and inspired me while learning this craft. I didn't start off in the western items until I visited the leather crafters expo in Sheridan one year and toured the King Museum, and I was hooked after that. I am new to the forum here, but I look forward to see more of your work in the future. THANKS FOR SHARING ! and Merry Christmas to you and yours.

Kudo's; you are a master craftsman. This is beautiful work. This is one facet of leather working I have never tried, but I watched an amazing show on one of the cable channels not to long ago about the folks who make whips, and it is quite a specialty. Sounds like you had to push yourself and expand on your skills to get the look you were after . . . . GREAT JOB !

Hello everyone; this is my first post with pictures after joining the community yesterday; I hope my pictures load OK. This was one of the last projects I completed before taking a break from leather working a few years ago. This briefcase combo was for a business woman in Seattle. It is fully lined and hand sewn. Edge corners, latches and binder hardware were purchased through Ohio Travel Bag Company and the buckle on the front of the briefcase is from Montana Silversmiths. There is a matching day planner and cell phone case (you can see cell phones have gotten smaller since then). My photos unfortunately don’t show the removable cross draw holster for a Colt Detective Special 38 inside and the matching shoulder strap. I either hand draw all my patterns or use a CADD program to draw and plot them out. I usually spend far more time creating ideas, designs, sketches and patterns, than I do the actual construction of the item. Hope you enjoy the photo’s and please feel free to comment and critique.

WOW ! - Fantastic work, especially for your first project, I am very impressed. You are on the right track though with trying many different techniques. Don't be afraid of wasting leather, thats how you learn. Don't forget to keep all your "not so great successes", they will be fun and educational to look back on in the future. You have clean work and nice contrast with your colors. Is your hand sewing just for decoration, or do you have a backing piece on it. Key fobs take a lot of abuse and a backing piece of leather glued and sewn will help keep their shape and last a lot longer. Keep up the great work and your fellow firefighters will certainly love these Christmas presents.

Dink: I just returned from looking at your new site; overall I like it. It's a big step getting your business on the net. I will give you my first impressions: Pro's: Site loaded very fast on my computer with no navigation problems. Good colors that are pleasing to the eye, especially the back ground. Good quality pictures and a nice variety. Appreciated the scroll feature on the picture, it made looking through them very quick and the click on picture to enlarge image is very nice. I liked your BIO, "About Us". A picture or two of you creating your items in your shop would be nice. Con's: (for me) I didn't care for the scrolling text in the small box. I think most people expect to see some sort of pricing on a web site, at least a general high and low price to give them an idea. If you start to get a high volume of interested clients, they will "ALL" need to take their time and most importantly your time (away from manufacturing your items) to talk pricing. Wish you all the best with your new web site . . . . . NICE JOB !

Very nice work; creative, unique and your edge burnishing is “perfect”. Black and red go great together.

Hey Tom; I just joined the site myself (just now) and you are my first post or reply. I am from Washington too, Snohomish to be exact. There sure is a lot to learn, but remember we all pretty much start at the same place. I am in Structural Engineering by main trade, but I also ran my own custom leather shop for close to 20 years. I am just returning from a self imposed break from leather working because of a bad case of burn out. But I am fresh and ready to get back in the game. It looks like there are a lot of great people on this site, and If there is anything I can help you with, just ask. Heck, if your in the neighborhood, stop by the coffee is always on. Keep it fun.