whinewine

For the permanent marker, go to a photo store (a REAL photo store, not your basic walmart or kmart) & get PEC-12. It was formulated to remove magic marker marks from photographs (& other non-porous surfaces). Upholstery leathers tend to be on the non-porous side, so it's worth a try. It will not work on porous materials. PEC-12 may even be available on line. It's a bit pricey, but is worth every penny, & you use so little (it's a pump spray) that a bottle will last for years. russ

I just bought another pair today from Tandy- this makes 5 now (actually I had my son pick one up on his way home from Pgh today-they're on sale right now)... Little bit stiff through part of the cut, but superb cutting nonetheless...they'll loosen up, & with a little bit of lube, they'll be perfect. The current ones are made in Mexico, & I believe some were made recently in Brazil, but (& I may be wrong) I believe the originals were made made in W. Germany- I can't verify that because I can't find my first pair. The first pair I had had black handles, & this was back in the '70s. (So enough rambling on, & on, ad nauseum, already...) russ

Mercury based chemicals, they were (I am also a repository of arcane {& often useless } 'stuff' in my head).

Dave, tandy DOES have sales. they also have a 'wholesale club' that you can join for (I think) $35 per year. It's better than paying full retail & you get a newsletter every 2 months which has some really neat ideas & tips & sales (+ you get a free craftaid & craftool each month). If you can, go to the store in person- MUCH, MUCH better than buying on line. you can SEE and SELECT what you purchase in leather & test drive the tools (craftools are notorious for being quite variable in quality), rather than relying on some anonymous doofus throwing together whatever is within easy reach. The managers & staff are very knowledgeable & willingly share their expertise. Talk to them, ask questions, pick their brains, ask if they have better prices than the listed full retail (& often they do)- what's the WORST they can say: NO...??? russ

Ginghers. absolutely the best! Springfield Leather sells them & tandy is now carrying them again after 20, 30 years. They make tandy's 'pro super shears' look like (& act like) first grade scissors. I have had 4 pairs.: 1 I can't find, 1 I gave to my son, 1 I got on ebay & the last I got recently as a backup for shows. russ

I will be so glad when it's all over. In our state (which is one of the 'battleground states') the tv ads, robocalls, full page newspaper ads... ad nauseum, are SO nasty, SO inaccurate, SO flat-out-lying-wrong, SO divisive, SO mean spirited... I've NEVER seen it this awful, even during the height of the vietnam era. It's terrible in its childishness- over the weekend a local GOP official was arrested for stealing Obama signs from peoples' yards. Churches are getting into the looney game & threatening moral sanctions for those voting for the 'wrong' candidates (BTW, whatever happened to Jesus' admonition to "give to Caesar that which is Caesar's and give to God that which is God's"??? It seems that this is no longer a part of Church teaching anymore.) I've even seen reports where on Halloween, children were turned away from houses by people if they said their parents supported the 'wrong candidate'... what kind of country have we become, to make children cry & go away empty handed on trick or treat night because of their parents' beliefs??? I will be so glad when it's all over. Whoever makes it is going to have one hell of an uphill battle just on the economy alone.

I have to add, that my preference, if given a choice, would be to have checkered bevelers instead in the set. I almost NEVER use smooth bevelers & I also prefer checkered pear shaders. I just think they give an added burnishing that is not present with the smooth tools.

There is a zinc embossing plate on ebay. The seller is duckcreektraders. russ

Hey, even a total wussy could wear this in a ghetto & not be bothered by the thugs! That is so impressive! Wow!

My son bought my mother-in-law's house about a month ago & came across the same thing when he replaced the bathroom medicine cabinet. He was absolutely astounded and confused as to why there were razor blades in the wall. We had a good laugh telling him about 'the good old days'... russ

Luke: very, very nice! I like. russ

And on my side of the state, Pittsburgh has Primanti Brothers... which has a sandwich consisting of grilled steak topped with cole slaw which is topped with french fries, all between 2 thick slices of Italian bread. Quite good, quite filling. It was developed for the truck drivers on the go in Pgh's Strip District (the warehouse/market area along the waterfront) The sandwich is listed on their online menu as their #2 best seller.

OMG, I did forget 'pop'! 'Pop' is what the elitist yokels here (you know, the ones who feel they have to dress up to go to Walmart) call 'soda'... Sorry, but a soda is 'pop' poured over ice cream in a glass. It's like saying 'lava' is the volcano, rather than lava is the liquid part of the volcano... Jordan: if there are no fish in the Great Salt Lake, then where do they get 'salt cod'???? huh? huh?

Ray: 'redd up' is a regional coloquialism for 'clean up'; 'warsh' is wash, 'youn'z' & the gramatically incorrect 'youse' are on a par with 'y'all'. Boiled peanuts are mushy & I can't remember for the life of me whether or not the peanuts are boiled in the shell & you eat them, shell & all which by this time is as mushy as the peanut itself (I do think so)- it's been years since I ate them & I only ate them twice (which was really enough). The liquid by this time is also mushy & thick.

There's also a North Carolina delicacy, boiled peanuts. Strange, interesting...pretty blah, but strange, interesting... they're sold along the roadsides in NC. As far as wash tubs, in western PA, lots of people pronounce them "WARSH tubs" ... fer usin' when youn'z (pronounced with one syllable: younz, NOT 2 syllables:you unz) gotta warsh the clothes, and youn'z better warsh up after youn'z guyz redd up yer rooms (pronounced with a long 'o', as in 'boom! goes the thunder', unlike many midwesterners who say it with a short 'o'- like the sound a car makes revving its engine: vrum, vrum.- as in 'fall down & go boom'.). Eastern PA (& other places, probably,) say 'youse'. "Youse" ain't gramatically correct.

Maybe some well meaning ex-pats could import a few to the UK to 'just to remind them of home' , just like we got those damn starlings & the Aussies got those damn bunnies... russ

Tomato juice works rather well. Had a old mutt (who was no rocket scientist among dogs, btw) who had a run in with a skunk. Saturated the fur with tomato juice, shampooed, and I believe we repeated the process several times. He was good, except when he got wet, or when the weather turned damp. Then you could smell it, but faintly. Good luck russ

Tandy sells 1 & 2mm goat (at least in the US). The natural stuff is VERY weak, the coloured (notice the 'u'), much stronger. I use a lot of the dyed stuff in 2mm, very little in 1mm. If you have hobby type stores in the UK, such as AC Moore or Michaels, they also may tend to carry it (very definitely Michaels has the 1mm in the US). russ

And possibly airbrush the edges, also. russ

Personally, I like the mottled effect & I try to get it when I use all-in-one (The older tandy dark brown). It just gives a certain distinct 'character' to the leathers that set them apart from store-bought.

I purchased a snakeskin that, in addition to being very dry, was folded, instead of being rolled. There are many folds, not just 1 or 2. So my question is: How do I get the folds out & make the skin flat again- is there something I can soak it in to relax it so the folds flatten out? (It's not so dry that it cracks when I unfold it, but it's just that the folds are there & won't go away). Thanks. russ

Cal: I've also seen Baron stamps that feature logos such as the chevy impala, an early toyota symbol, a Porsche crest, among others. Good luck!

Right now, ebay has a Baron sportscar, a Baron forklift & a Baron Wolfsburg crest (early VW crest). They were posted 10/6/08 by seller drbeck. just fyi: they are out there

Since eco is water-based, I would be hesitant to use oil of any sort... I've always used either neatlac or super shene to seal it. Try it on scrap first, or use a water-based oil, like lexol??? THen seal... good luck russ

Baron tools probably have more car thingies than enyone- but they're no longer in business. Call Springfield Leather- they had a bunch of them a while back- maybe they still have some. It's worth a free call. Other than that, they show up occasionally on ebay ( sometime rather frequently). russ