Go2Tex

My round/head knives are my first choice for most leather. Cutting, skiving. A carpet knife works great for rough cutting parts. For trimming I use a small trim knife, one straight blade and one curved, purchased from Weaver. For those tight corners, I design the curve to fit one of my hole punches or strap end punches. It leaves a bit of clean-up work where the two cuts meet, but it's better than trying to get a round knife around it on thick skirting. As for sharpening, I use a Galco sharpening system with the guide for the correct angle. It's the only thing I've been able to get a good edge with. I can shave with it. A strop board keeps all my knives nice and smooth between sharpening. Straight lines are not a problem with a head/round knife. It does take a while on thick, firm stuff but you have the control and you can see where your cut is going. I find that pulling a knife is more difficult to control and I can't see where the line is going because it's behind or under my hand and arm.

Who carries this Texas Refining neatsfoot oil that you're using Keith?

Yes, it is good to re-oil once in a while, depending on conditions of use. If the saddle gets really wet, soaked in a stream or some such and then dries out, it probably is going to need some more oil. After a real good cleaning if lots of water is used, same thing. A little oil. Too much oil is bad.

Oh yeah, ditto Bruce on that. I have boxes of the stuff. ......... WHAT SIZE AND HOW MUCH???!!!!!! Now watch, as soon as I get rid of it all, I'll come up with a good way to use it up. I had one of those Marlboro sheepskin coats back in the day and it was made from square pieces sewn together. I'm thinking, now why couldn't I do that? Or, maybe a vest? Then I think about those sheepskin mocs I made........... hey, they may be ugly but they sure are warm!

Neatsfoot oil and Tankote and then on plain saddles, I've been using Bick 4. Resolene is a good resist but I use it very sparingly on the carving because it does seal the pores of the leather and inhibits penetration of oil as well as antique. The resolene makes things look like plastic but I found that deglazer works good for taking the shine out.

Looks to me like it would also make a darn good deer blind. Just hang some camo cloth on the sides, a cooler of beer and a nice comfy lawn chair and Ol' Dad will be happy for hours.....

Another vote for rubber cement all over. No problems so far....(knock on wood). Been using it on the fork cover too, in case I have to rip it off and do-over. Anybody see any long term problems with that?

Nothing in the way of critiques. It's beautiful. Just have a construction question. What is the advantage of using the binder piece? I've tried it both ways but can't decide which is better. Seems I recall the binder just made is easier and used smaller pieces of leather. I sure do like the look of yours! And the knife cuts on the lining is definitely taking it to the next level.

Great gift idea for that mechanic who has everything! You could kick it up a notch too by using veg tan for the back and do a little stamping or carving.

All so very true, but hard to apply to a custom order business. Every order is a bit different and more often than not, you're sitting there at 2: pm on Tuesday waiting for the leather to dry wondering what else you can be doing. Or worse, with no orders! Then, I guess you work on your new business plan.

Well, yeah.... that's what I was thinking from the start. Not only would it break down but probably not add a very good taste to anything you put in it. You could use it for a beggar's cup, though. The way things are going, it just might come in handy....

Now that's a sunday-go-to-meetin' dog collar, for sure. Very nice work!

The first leather I ever ordered way back when I first got serious about leather work was from Zack White and I thought it was a very nice piece of leather. I always wondered what their source was. It actually compared to Wickett and Craig. I'm wondering now if their leather is still as good as then and what their prices are. I just paid over $200 for a side of chestnut from W&C. (incl shipping). I almost never buy Tandy veg tan. It's way over priced for what you get. It's all imported and most of it has grain damage to the point that you can't hardly work around it. Hermann Oak is still the best and now that W&C is over 2 bills for a side, for a natural tan project, I'll probably opt for that. Goliger's out of California carries No. 1 grade HO and no minimum. http://goligerleather.com/

Well, I don't know of a way to make the back side look really good but you can make them presentable if you use a good rivet setting tool set like the one from Douglas Tools. If the bur side will be visible, I usually try to peen it good enough to hold the bur on and then dome it real nice and smooth.

OK, now we know what is the Porter style and the Sheridan of course, but what are the other 2? Any examples?

And you are also free to call it anything you want if it makes it easier for you to understand how it all works, but as you just said, all money is ultimately backed up by hard wealth, gold at Fort Knox. So, credit/debt and cash may spend the same but unless you get your credit/debt interest free, it is NOT the same. It's actually worth less because you have to pay extra to spend it. In that respect they are not equal and therefore not the same. For the life of me I can't figure out why calling all money debt makes the mess more clear. But that's just me. As for degrading anyone's class or social status Jbird...... Look, merely pointing out that folks who live off the public dole generally don't make wise spending decisions with the money they're given is just a well established fact of life. If that offends, then I'm sorry. The truth hurts sometimes. But that's why I don't like Comrad Uncle Samski coming after me for more of mine to spread around. I believe in a hand up, not a hand out. Anyhow, gotta go make a beer run..........

Well, you misunderstood my point, because I naturally did not mean to include everyone who isn't wealthy, whatever that is. It's understandable how you might have been confused because the term "wealthy" seems to be a moving target these days. I'm really sorry for bringing politics to this forum, but a frank discussion of the economy and how it is affecting our leather industry is going to touch on, if not center on politics. I don't know how we can avoid the subject. If I have to be politically correct and avoid anything that might be interpreted as remotely aggressive or hostile to someone else's belief or class, then I'll just refrain from the discussion.

......."The first thing to understand is that all Money Is Debt. You create money by taking out a loan, and you destroy money by paying that loan back, and you destroy even more future lending capacity by defaulting"....... Well, I didn't study econ but even I know that all money is not debt. If I EARN money and put it in the bank, it's NOT debt, it's MONEY, cash. And if the guy that paid me the money had to take out a loan to do it, then, yeah, maybe that's debt, but in most cases, he didn't. He worked and was paid that money himself. There is, of course, a lot of debt out there, and in that respect, you're right. All that debt is, in fact, debt and a lot of folks have been living pretty high off the hog for a long time on all that debt but that's about to come to a screeching halt. True, it's a very complex subject but let's not make it even more difficult to understand by saying things like "all money is debt". It's not. Money represents work, life energy, worth. Debt is created by the absence of money. If I don't have money, I must borrow it and thus I have created debt for myself. I haven't created money, I have created debt. The money theoretically already existed in some form and merely changed hands.

Don't know where the money is going to come from? How about trying this novel idea. LOWER SPENDING!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well, if Ebay is any indication of buying trends, this is gonna be a very bleak season. Nobody is bidding on anything other than the really cheap crap that one usually sees. High priced, quality saddles, and there aren't many right now, aren't selling. I think next year is gonna be very bad for anyone trying to sell something. I just read that DHL is laying off 9600 jobs. Pulling out of intra US shipments. GM is literally going under and begging for a government bailout. Personally, I hope they don't get one. The unions ate the company alive like a cancer and it's time they paid the price for their greed. Looks like we're headed for record high unemployment. No jobs, no money, no sales. This ecomomy is bad and getting worse by the day and the Democrats have no answers except to raise taxes on the very people that have the capitol to fund a recovery. It's the same old scheme of the Left. Take from the rich and give it to the poor who then throw it away on lottery tickets and beer. It never works, but the Left never figures that out. The fact of the matter is, they don't care if it works, it still gets them votes. Amazing.....

bwahahahaha!! Misery loves company, don't she? Been there done that so many times I don't even wanna count 'em. I guess it comes from being a bit of a perfectionist, never satisfied, always trying to improve on something. And sure 'nuf, 9 times out of 10 that last little touch is the one that SCREWS IT UP!. Hey, thanks for sharing. It's nice to know I ain't the only moran that can't leave well enough alone. heh heh

Thanks very much for taking the time to explain your method. It's just about the same thing I did on my last roll. I had it layed back real nice but when I put the binding on, there wasn't enough room under the roll for the binding fold and my fingers without pulling the roll up some, which naturally spoiled my angle. I think the key is how one installs and shapes the back cantle piece. Cutting those pie shapes out and stitching is part of it but making room under there for the binding is, I believe now, where I need to work on it. Thanks again for the help with this. Brent

Do you use a filler that fills in the dish and folds over or just nails to the edge?

Very nice job! I really like the clean, sharp break on the cheyenne roll. Lays back just right.... just the way I like but I must admit I have a hard time achieving that affect with any consistency. I've tried various methods but I either end up needing a very long stitching awl due to the steep angle or I end up pulling the roll up in order to get the binding up tight under the back side, thus losing the angle I was after. I do skive the heck out of the binder too, trying to make it fold tight in the back. I've tried using dry rawhide as a filler nailed to the top edge of the cantle and that works real well but it needs to be real flat and most the time rawhide has a tendency to buckle and not lay flat. If I put it on wet, then it draws up out of shape. I've tried leather fillers carved down to a sharp edge but then they are weak and floppy and/or just add to the thickness of the binding. A thin firm piece of leather, the width of the intended roll, pulled down tight against the back cantle piece and tacked at either side at the base of the cantle seems to hold the roll at the correct angle and adds firmness but then I'm left with the problem of having a that long angle to stitch. So, long story short.... am I on the right track with any of this or do you have a better, easier way to do it?