Cogs

I don't think you need any advice. I think you're "spot-on"! That's award winning stuff! Good luck trying to out do that on your next pair! Bill

Such a fine job! Love the carving. Especially those raised leaves. A Master Craftsman at work! Bill

Nicely done, John! Love the hops. And the Bass! Cheers to you on a real nice set. Bill

Hi Swth20, Did you mean to upload some photos? Care to expand on "leather projects"? How's New Mexico this time of year? Are you skiing? Bill (One time visitor to Taos. Loved it!)

It's done, shipped and received. He says he now has the coolest knife on base. He tried to flatter me by saying "It's too nice to strap onto my Molle pack, it should be hung on the wall as a display!" Well, I gotta admit, it made me smile and sounded nice. Bless his heart. The web straps on back are so he can weave it into the molle webbing on his back pack. Couple things I wasn't too happy with... Background stamping; I should have left it to just around each symbol then smooth leather out to the sides. Symbol carving; darn things are too small for me to carve very well. I gotta stick with bigger objects. Couple things I was happy with... I did like the fit. Nice and snug but not too tight. There's no slop of the blade inside and the handle glides down tight in it's place. Happy with that. I lined the inside so the blade would not catch on the strap sewing or the snap metal. I did a little better on my edges, but I know I can do better. Best sewing so far. The stain color was off the mark of my original idea, but became acceptable with the Oxe Blood red edges. All in all, yeah, I'd use it! Bill

Chef, Feathers are so delicate that if any stain or finish got on them they might deteriorate, shrink or become distorted. I wonder if they could last. Inlaying them would be an interesting challenge. I would think you'd want to see the actual feather show through with the contours, color and all it's glory. Perhaps if they could be preserved and/or hardened? I haven't seen it yet, however, I've only been dabbling in basic projects for a few short of years now. This may be a new area of exploration. Go for it. Why not? Could start a new fashion and might even go viral, ya never know! Let us know what you discover. I'm sure there are plenty of us willing to help you explore potential ways to do this. I'd be interested to hear of your trials and errors. Good luck, Bill

Excellent! Thanks, artycpy. I found one with a ship and wings, found a separate pair of crossed pistols, erased the ship and wings, on paint, and cut-n-paste to MS Word. Came out just good enough to trace and tool. I like the ones you sent me. I'll save them for the next time I feel the need for a little evil tooling! Thanks, Bill

Looks great! Would like to see the edges with the welt top and bottom. Did you make the blade? Bill (Portland. We should hook up sometime. Only 2 hours away!).

I certainly can appreciate the amount of work in that! Oh, the planning, layout, carving, measuring and re-measuring... I would have quit in anguish and frustration! Imagine the cost of that much leather today! She did great! (could have left out the airplane, though). Is she still alive? If so, how does she feel about it being relocated and that her legacy is continuing on? Hats off to her on such a challenging project and a job well done. Bill

Cool design and nice work! I like the inside work. I'll bet you that twenty dollar bill he's gonna like it! Bill

Hey Ya'll, I have a son in the Navy, who is a Coreman attached to the Marines. He made a knife and asked me to make a sheath for it. He'd like me to tool in the Coreman symbol, Marines symbol and a skull wearing a Navy dixie cup hat with two pistols. It the skull with 2 pistols and a dixie cup hat part I need help on. Haven't found a good line drawing on that yet. Anything out there? Here's what I've got so far... Pics attached... Thanks, Bill

Sorta nice!? I guess! Man, that's really nice! Excellent work. Bill

Unique! Really neat. I take it the deer rawhide is the band across the top, with the rivet in it, and the belt loop. The veggie tan is the main body? How in the world did you get that texture and stain? Very cool. Bill

It does show much better in the Boot Pic! I like the belt. Nice stitching. I think you did a real good job. Bill

Been there! Done that! I found a good excuse, when that happens... I learned the phrase "Senior Moment"! It's my regular 'go to' cop out. Leah will be thrilled with that, name or not, because it is a very nice work of art. You did good! Bill

Beautiful work! My kind of belt! Bill

Way to go! Nice work. Love the colors. Nice floral work. How did you do the legs? Like the part that joins the legs together? (I've seen some are a ring and some with an eye bolt). Bill

That is REAL NICE! Looks FABULOUS! I'd like to have one of those. (Oh, your mask looks good, too!) :} Bill

Cyberthrasher, Way to go! Nice work! You nailed it! Now go and enjoy your Christmas time.

Classy! Honor given to God's Word. Commendable work, Tim. Bill

Update..... It was well received by both Mom and several Modoc Native American's who we there. They all expressed their appreciation for using natural materials and keeping it 'near authentic'. Last minuet change, as approved by her boyfriend Aaron, a Native Modoc, was to change the feathers from Goose to Owl. He provided Barn Owl feathers (it is legal for a Native American to posses Owl, Hawk and Eagle feathers, but they may not be sold). We had a great weekend! A thought came to mind while making this dream catcher; If a dream catcher catches dreams, then why not show the dream the dream catcher caught? For if a dream, caught by the dream catcher, is worthy of being caught, then why not catch the image of the dream, for the eye of the one who views upon the catcher of dreams? Good luck following that! from 'One who speaks with forked puns', Bill

You're a Doll, NativeAlien, thank you! Bill

That's a nice piece. I like the links. Good job on your first project. On this site you'll learn how to finish those edges and you'll be really happy with your finishes. Looking forward to more. Bill

Thanks CT and David. I appreciate the good words! Bill

Gift for Dear 'Ol Sweat Lovable Mom. Dream Caught in Web. Scene is of South Central Oregon, where she lives, and is home to many Native American Tribes. A few will be at her home when I present this and I'm kinda nervous about it! Tribes in that area, Klamath, Modoc, and several others, didn't do Dreamcatchers. I hope the accept it as a general symbol of Native American pride. I used materials that are common from that area and did not want it to have that 'commercialized' look with lots of fancy frills. Delivering next week so I still have time to make a change or two if needed. Bill