whinewine

i had a leather vest made from a pattern that I got from a large fabric store back in the '70s. It was a nice pullover style & zipped up the side. Luke is right- check out the large stores that carry lots of different patterns (although the particular style I mentioned probably doesn't exist anymore).

Dye sinks into & penetrates the leather; highlighters, all-in-ones & antiques tend to be more surface colorants. They all have their advantages and their disadvantages. russ

You have to understand that people like this are very needy individuals- if you don't give them immediate stroking, immediate gratification, you then become their enemy. There are prisons full of guys with exactly this attitude- I know this from experience. Eventually, someone on the other forum will piss him off & then that group will also be his enemy. russ

My point exactly- there is a tremendous amount of 'arts & crap" out there, both in etsy and on ebay, too. A lot of people truly think that their poop is worth more than gold- and their selling prices do reflect that philosophy- but said items usually remain unsold. The other side of the coin is that some finely crafted items look so perfect that, on a website, some have trouble distinguishing between that quality & the low quality found at wallyworld, because of the inability to do a side by side comparison. This is what I mean by 'finding one's niche'- make your product so it stands out in the marketplace- make some distinguishing feature that sets your stuff apart, so it doesn't look like it's machine made. russ

Wyoming Slick has written an ebay guide on Craftools Very Very Short version: Craftool Co, no number... 1950 or before Craftool Co, number only... prior to 1953 and thereabouts Craftool Co, letter and number... '63 to '68 Craftool USA... after '69 Wyoming can give much, much greater detail than I, so I defer to his expertise & knowledge . russ

There was also a plastic version, in addition to the metal version that you have, so I'd expect the metal version would go for more. russ

Di, you need to call & speak to either Kevin or Emma about these things. They are a discontinued item & are not listed on the site. Springfield is great, but they don't list everything, especially the small quantities and/or a lot of the discontinued or 'odd' stuff (this comes under 'odd' stuff). The call is free & they absolutely do not bite... Just mention that Kevin told the people on Leatherworker.net about this particular item.(I think it's a poly plastic, NOT teflon, & tell them it's used for beveling, is plastic & fits into a swivel knife barrel). (Btw, if you want some snow, we have lots for the taking- free- just come & pick up, including a 2 story high icicle on the corner of our house...lol) russ

You know, sir, that it's not nice to flame this forum just because we all didn't drop everything and answer your question immediately if not sooner (especially in the light of people giving you answers on that other forum...- What exactly do you want to hear- the exact same answers? ). This is one of the nicest and the best forums out there. While we all have our differences here from time to time, we are all a good group and we all mean well, and yes, there are times when posts go unanswered... oh well And as UKRay would concur, attitude is important

Bylers 3025 Irishtown Rd, Ronks, PA 17540 717 768 0174

Gunter, I have seen many of the first stamp (the Wolfsburg crest) on ebay on a fairly regular basis. I have not seen the others in circulation. Baron made the Wolfsburg stamp- do you know who made the others? russ

Yes, I did find a pattern about a year or so ago. It was in with a group of patterns that I got on ebay. Just keep looking, eventually it'll turn up. russ

Jeff: I hate to disagree with you about etsy. While most of my time is spent building stock for our shows, we do sell on etsy, and it is a welcome bit of change between shows during the winter (we are not nomads & don't follow the shows south & then go north in the spring...). Etsy gets our name out there, which is more important than the $ amount that we sell there, and people can go from there to our website for other info about us & the shows we do. Everything we make is essentially custom, and since I get bored very easily, I detest having to do the same item/design over & over & over, so whatever I create for stock (& etsy) tends to be different. While we do take custom orders, really I prefer not to- I'd rather make whatever is in my head at the time. I always love to experiment, & etsy is a good venue in which to 'test the waters', if you will. If it's liked on etsy, it'll probably sell at the shows. The biggest thing I've found is to find your niche for your area. I know from experience that Western style & horsey stuff & Sheridan style simply don't sell in my area, so while we feature some of this stuff on both etsy & our website, I know it won't sell. But it still shows what we can do. As far as others making comparisons, I really don't care. We name our prices & we sell at those prices. I'm not too sure about what you mean by 'too crafty'... While there are many individuals on this site who I consider true artists, I would believe that very, very few of them go around considering themselves 'artists'. I would think that the majority believe that they are accomplished craftspeople, perhaps 'artisans', or simply 'craftsmen', but for sure they all do it for the love of it, (and of course, for some money, too). If, by being 'too crafty', you mean 'arts & crap', yeah, there is that element there too, but there is also fine stuff being exhibited & shown on etsy, including other members of LWnet. russ

Beautiful work, Paul! I love Franzetta's stuff. (I wish I could afford your piece, but I'm unable to at this time ) russ

Ya know, I think this thread's gone off the bobbin, a bit, and I don't mean to sound crabby, but all I want to know is WHO ARE YOU MOST SATISFIED WITH AS FAR AS TV SERVICE- DISH, DIRECT TV OR ATLANTIC BROADBAND????? Comcast is not available in this area & an antenna is not an option where I live. Dish has been nasty to me and they will not make a deal- they would rather lose a long time customer over attracting first timers with low prices, so I'm probably going to change providers. (So I really don't give a ratsass about black&white tvs or licenses...)

I have had Dish Network for a number of years & they keep raising the prices. I called to re-negotiate price (they constantly are advertising low, low prices to attract new customers), & the customer rep was nasty, & didn't want to make a deal at all. All I can get in this area is Dish, Direct TV & Atlantic Broadband (where I live,antenna is NOT an option). I need to know who is the most flexible & the most reasonable. (I don't need all the sports HBO, etc). Any & all help is appreciated. Thanks in advance russ

Hello Gary if it's the old stuff, [not the wax crap that they market today] turpentine is the solvent to use. russ

Tandy doesn't carry them anymore. Try Hidecrafter or Springfield Leather (click on Springfield's banner )

That's a very good price, Ed. I have both Ottlite & Verilux, both I got on sale- the Verilux from Ollies Outlet & Ottlight from Michaels. russ

Best thing would be to call Tippmann directly. Toll free # & they're very helpful. And they don't bite! Just remember, they build the machines- they're the source. Go directly to the source!

I was taught to tilt it on 1 edge & hit it, just to get a deep impression, then roll it to get equal impressions all around. If you can get one successful edge, you can use that to re-align the stamp for all the other edges. If you don't have a good edge for alignment, everything will bounce into misalignment.

Or, one could use an almost dry dye cloth wrapped around a sponge or block & lightly go over the edge. Same thing, but with a dauber instead of the block. russ

Joe, if you do a search through the posts, you will find many, many references to the black spirit dyes crocking (rubbing off). Black is notorious for this, and it doesn't matter the maker of that spirit dye, be it under the Tandy label (when they carried spirit dyes), the Fiebings label or the old Omega dyes. (I have never used Fiebings oil dyes, so I can't comment about that product.) But a short version of the multitude of posts is: black CROCKS. You've got to rub & rub & rub with a cloth to remove as much as possible before sealing. Most people would lay down a coat of dark blue or green or brown to prepare the surface, let dry, then apply black, let dry, then buff, buff, buff, buff, buff & buff till no more comes off on a cloth. Then seal. I have used eco flo black and I do like it, because it doesn't need a pre-coating of another dark dye before application, and it doesn't crock to any great extent. While it doesn't crock like the spirit black, the color is not quite as rich as a spirit black, but relatively close. What I don't like about it is that is is water-based, which means that, unless well sealed (on ALL sides) it will bleed under moist conditions (rain, perspiration, etc). Then there's always vinegaroon. russ

Their website http://www.wickett-craig.com will give you a history of their operations for 140 years. At some point I will make the trip there & purchase some really good leather. russ