whinewine

Rick: It looks very nice. Good job! I like it. (At some point, I'd like to get a small lathe for myself, but I just can't justify one at this time.)

Sign up for their friday special. They're usually featured there- plus they have some really good specials on leather & 'stuff' (like crown tools that they're discontinuing). russ

And I've had to drill out a tandy knife to fit a ceramic beader blade. russ

How about something like "hand built" if you have to use a label of some sort (till that too becomes a cliche)?

I agree! Quality is quality, regardless of labels. russ

Brettuns Village carries 'north of cordovan' horsehide; Siegels of CA sells horsebutts & I believe Kevin Hopkins of Springfield Leather (see ad banner at the top of this page) carries horsebutts, also. Call & ask. russ

If I'm not mistaken, James, it is the butt cheeks of a horse. (Brettuns Village sells 'north of cordovan- which is forward of the horse butt). The grain is supposedly very tight & tough. Kevin Hopkins or Steven Siegel could answer that more appropriately.

Try Siegels of California. russ

I've seen articles on taking a standard round punch & grinding/cutting off half. (You'd need to watch so you don't ruin the temper). Also there are standard 1/2 round punches out there in various sizes. Tandy & other companies sell them. I know tandy sells Al Stohlman brand half-round punches in different sizes. It all depends on the size you need, so you can either buy or maybe you'll need to fabricate. russ

Bruce: thank you for the makers' link. The blade is not pitted or rusted, but has some discoloration (like most old carbon steel blades). So I guess I have a winner here? I have tried to sharpen it up a little but I haven't tried to strop it, yet- been too busy getting ready for shows right now. When I get time, I'll try to sharpen according to Rawhide's tutorial (or maybe I'll send it away for pro services if I can't get it right). Regardless, i'm glad I got a good blade. Again, thank you, Bruce & Hidepounder for the information! russ

They are for making hair textures on animal carvings (like on carvings of bear, deer, elk, mountain lions, etc). Someone here (Clay???) did a tutorial on carving a haired creature of some sort. Look through the tutorials on carving (animals) or use the search feature. Someone on this forum also made the cover of Leathercrafters Journal with a carving of a bear (sorry, I don't remember who- Dale Hialeta [sp]???). That should give you an idea about what you can do with them. Don't try this on yourself if you are balding, though. All it'll do is give you lots of scratches on your bald spot... russ

I just recently picked up a W. Rose round knife marked " W. Rose, WestPhila." It's 5-1/2" from tip to tip. My question is: what is the quality of steel in these knives compared to other head/round knives? I'm assuming this is an old knife- I just don't know the era in which it was produced- mid 1800s?. (I have a modern Osborne & well, it's OK, but I'm just curious about the quality of the Rose.) Thank you for any information. russ

In general, for carving, the thicker blades are used for thinner leathers & the thinner blades are used for carving thicker leather. You're carving to about 1/3 to 1/2 the depth of the leather +or - approximately, so a thick blade on thick leather gives too wide of a cut for the purposes of beveling. A thick blade on thinner leather can be used for decorative cuts, however, since you would want the cut to spread apart & show, whereas a thin decorative cut on thin leather wouldn't be as pronounced . Filigree blades are the thinnest of the swivel knife blades & are used to filigree out parts of a carving- but most people either use an xacto knife or a surgical scalpel. The reality is that many people get lazy & tend to stick with a blade they feel comfortable with & use it for both thick or thin leathers regardless. russ

Actually, after you've epoxied your Xacto blades together, you can easily drill out a cheap swivel knife to fit the width of the blade base. Use an inexpensive drill bit slightly wider than the width of the blade base; remove the screw first, drill & replace the screw (you may first need to use a small nail to punch out any metal that may have clogged the opening after you've drilled). [i've done that to fit a ceramic blade that was too large for a standard opening.] A second alternative is to take your epoxied blades & grind the epoxied bases down on a grinding wheel to fit the swivel knife, but you're running the risk of destroying any temper if you get it too hot while grinding. The third alternative is to make your own dowel-type handle. I made one from a piece of tack hammer handle the other night. ... Hopefully my son will post pics of mine later today...

Instead of doing leather last night (like I should have), I made one out of a piece of tack hammer handle that I had lying around. I epoxied 7 #11 Xacto blades together & inset them into the handle. The hardest part was getting the tips lined up & even while the epoxy dried.

It's a dressing/conditioner/whatever, that has a unique property: you can mix dye with it & the dye won't migrate all over the place, unlike dyes normally do. Springfield Leather (Kevin Hopkins' business) carries it, also Beilers in Ronks, PA, among other places. Just google Bick or Bick 4 & it'll come up. There are threads here also about it. Do a search. russ

whoops: the camp stools I did the article on were the three legged variety, not this kind. sorry. russ

yes, with 8-9+ oz. I wrote an article some time back which was published in Leathercrafter's Journal. It showed 2 stools (including construction) that I had done (1 carved, 1 with the corners stamped. russ

If it's a 'human swine flu', as they say, it only will affect men- after all, all men are pigs, right, ladies?

WOW! I can't add anything except russ

Rick: Hidecrafter used to carry what you are talking about (because I tried to get one myself) but does no longer. I believe I had seen a post somewhere here that you can epoxy several xacto blades together. The only problem is that this arrangement won't fit a swivel knife. I don't know of any other easy solution. russ

1. I don't know. I would think plastic boards are fine for cutting, but would have too much give/bounce to them to be rigid enough for tooling, especially if you need to get a lot of depth. A piece of metal would be more appropriate I would think, or perhaps a piece of stone tile from lowes or home depot (or even a concrete paver stone from there). 2. I have some craftaids that I keep whole & often I have a duplicate that I cut up into separate pieces. This helps an individual image fit into a tight area, and it allows it to fit without getting on other areas of the piece. Basically, if it is more useable as individual pieces, I'll cut it up. Only if it would be a super-duper-rare-collector craftaid vs a common craftaid (& who cares- craftaids are meant to be used- really!) would I not cut it up. russ

Mark, if it is the standard round knife that they sell under their own Weaver brand, it is probably the same steel composition/type/number used in the Osbornes. Several years ago, when I was researching round/head knives, I called them & asked them the difference between the two & I was told by the person I spoke with that the steel in both were the same. Whether it is still that, I can't say. russ

That could work: just make sure there are no rough spots on the drilling tube to catch the leather (1), don't let the tube get too hot or the speed too fast (2), and (3) you may want to coat the board with rubber cement beforehand & let it DRY COMPLETELY. This will help add adhesion to keep the leather in place from the backside, and, MOST IMPORTANTLY (4)... TRY IT ON SCRAP FIRST!!! russ

Love it! Phenomenal! russ