Mijo

I guess the first thing you need to figure out is the size of the dog that your going to be making the collars for. This will help determine size of the hardware (i.e. buckles, d-rings) and weight of the leather you'll need to use. I make both lined and unlined dog collars for small dogs, using 9-11 oz latigo. for my lined collars I just split the latigo and double up, with 5/8" being the minimum width. for unlined I don't bother to split the latigo at all. If your planning on making collars for medium to large sized dogs and only using 7 oz leather, I suggest doubling up and using the same leather as the liner so that your overall weight would be around 14 oz. IMHO, using only 7 oz with a liner of deer skin or thinner leather doesn't have enough weight for a medium to large size dog collar. Conchos, bling, decorative spots and studs seem to be real popular on collars these days so if you incorporate those into your collars they should sell fairly well. I don't like to use those things on my own collars, I prefer a simple and understated look, but I get a lot of people asking me about them. Good luck and post what you make, if you have time...

I inquired about the press offered by creative leatherwork, link posted by stelmackr, several months back and it was over $1000 usd. The shipping and custom fees put it out of my budget but its smaller than the one weaver offers, which is a plus b/c I don't have a space either. I'll make do w/o until I can justify / afford the cost but it really seams ideal if you don't have a lot of space. If any one has that manual click press from creative leatherwork, I'd be interested in what they thought about it. I read some okay comments about the weaver version from members on a different thread.

I'm liking the changes as well, thank you Johanna for all you do for this site. The only compliant I have about the update is the new color, but it was mentioned in another thread that the current color is only temporary.

Thanks for posting this, I've checked out that site / her products before but didn't realize that classes were available. I'm going to go in and talk to them about classes, I live in the city so tuition and my work schedule are my only hindrances.

The picture is kinda small so I can't really make out the details, interms of construction, but it looks pretty good to me. I know absolutely squat about armor though...

I second chief's suggestion on local craft events. We didn't initially do those events b/c we were focused only on pet events (I make small dog accessories), but we've actually had better sales than some of the pet events we do annually.

I like it, the stamping patterns and color making it very striking.

I have an Osborne 86 that I've been using for more than a year. You pull the leather through by hand, you could definitely split leather thin enough to roll over as I've made a couple of rolled leashes. I highly suggest paying the extra money for the 86a or the 84 instead, I hate hand skiving.

That's a really nice chest piece, I'm a big fan of the stuff you post. Do you use a die to cut the the leather into that shape or do you do it by hand? How are you going to connect the bottom part of that chest piece, I noticed that there's no strap sewn on?

I've noticed the same thing when I've made collars for my own dogs that have a center bar buckle, which is why I don't use them. It's even harder to use one when the collar is only 1/2" or 5/8" wide. I tried them out so that I wouldn't have to install a belt / strap keeper. Off topic - for those of you that have used the roller buckles, do you have any issues with fur getting caught in the roller section? That's actually my main concern with the roller buckles and why I haven't really tried them out yet.

When I started out all I bought were Tandy tools and over time i've slowing been replacing them with osborne tools (i.e. bevelers, needles, awl, chisels, etc.). IMO, osborne tools are the next tier up from Tandy and when I need to I'll replace those and move up another tier (i.e. Barry King, Douglas, etc.). I don't regret buying the tandy tools as that's all I could afford at the time and i really didn't know what else was out there, this was before I discovered this forum. I've read posts from other forum members, in other threads, suggesting to save up and spend the extra money on better quality non tandy tools and to some degree I would I aggree with those posts. However, I feel a got my moneys worth out of those tandy tools as I was just learning how to use them and now I can really appreciate the difference in the quality of the tools. If your interested in Osborne tools checkout, http://www.campbell-randall.com/ , they carry a pretty wide selection and in most instances cost less than if you are buying the same tool directly from Osborne.

Go2Tex - Thanks for the tip on using two shorter pieces, that's a great alternative to using one long piece. I've been meaning to make one of those collars, since Legion posted a pic of one he made awhile back, but I don't normally have or order those roller buckles. Lightingale - when I stitch D rings into my collars I sew three separate sections around the D; 1 section that runs parrallel between the D and the buckle, another section that runs on the opposite side and one long continious section that starts on the billet side of the D and wraps around. I haven't had any issues yet, but my collars are for small dogs and the amount of force the dog is going to apply is pretty limited. However I've seen collars for working dogs sewn in the same exact manner, except there's additional stitching that runs perpendicular to the length of the collar along the D.

Here's my understanding regarding your questions; Splitting involves reducing the thickness of a piece of leather so that it uniform / consistent throughout. Skiving on the other hand tapers the thickness on one end of the piece of leather that your working with (i.e. end of a strap). In addition to hand skivers and round knives (already mentioned), you can also purchase bench mounted splitters that can also skive. For what your doing though (i.e. making bags, chaps) a bench mounted skiver might not be an option b/c the area to be skived is limited by how wide a piece you can feed into the bench mounted splitter / skiver. If you have a very wide section that you need skived then your only option might be a hand skiver or round knife. If your area you need skived is relatively short, in terms of width and not length, then you could potentially use a french beveler. French bevelers come in a variety of widths, I'm not sure how wide the largest size is. I'm not sure about those machines as I've never used one but my understanding is the same as kayak, that they are for shoe making. Aside from the Bell Knife Skiver that Twin Oaks posted a link for, I haven't seen any other type of machine that only skives. I've seen varous bench mounted splitters that can also skive but I haven't seen a bench mounted skiver only. I bought an osborne bench mounted splitter last year and I really wish I had spent the extra money on a splitter that can also skive.

Lightingale - I think your harness came out pretty good, in fact I think your stitching looks better than mine. I agree that the brass eyelets are over kill, particularly b/c my harnesses are for small dogs. I had originally planned on expanding the size range of the harnesses to include medium size dogs (15-20 lbs) and I ordered over a thousand of those brass eyelets. my intention was to use the brass eyelets only on larger sized harnesses but I have since scrapped the idea of making harnesses for dogs larger than 10 lbs. Most people seem to really like the reinforced eyelets, even though it's not really necessary, so I'll probably continue to use them based solely on customer feed back (they are cheap and easy to install). The tandy thread that I used on my posted harness is also too big / thick, using the correct size thread really makes a huge difference in the look of the stitching. I also tried to make a harness using the EasyWalk harness as a template, however I didn't use a d-ring in the front like you did. It didn't work out at all b/c it just wasn't adjustable enough for my liking. I like the traditional harness pattern b/c you can vary the length of the strap that connects the neck and body straps, to get a better fit for a specific breed. typically the standard harness I make for small dogs won't fit a doxie, b/c they have an elongated body, but when I get an order for a doxie I just make the connection strap billet longer. I tried a number of different harness patterns but I keep coming back to this one b/c it just works really well; very adjustable and good overall balance (doesn't fall to one side or the other). PS - I like your dog, is it a suluki?

ypsicamp - good luck with your harness and please post pictures when your done. If it helps you out, let me know and I can post pictures of the my harness unbuckled in it's three main sections. One thing I learned from my first attempt was to make the billet strap that goes around the body shorter and make the associated buckle strap (that comes in from the bottom) longer. By doing this the buckles sit higher up on the dog, and away from the dog's front legs. Santo - I'm a fan of what you've posted in the past, though your agitiation collar isn't something a small dog could really use. I need to start practicing with an awl again before I get too used to using a chisel...

welcome David, from another forum member in NorCal.

I was curious to see how people were going to respond, so I didn't want to be the first person to post. I'm in the same boat as Jester, I don't really add a sealer per se. When I'm finished with a collar, harness, leash or dog bag holster I'll either apply a balm or a wax (which is suppose to add some waterproofing). The balm and the wax are pretty much the same thing (both are more than 50% wax). I apply either and let it sit for a couple of hours or overnight and then buff out the excess. Jester - I'm going to stop using latigo once i've used up the rest of what i have. I tried bridle leather and I like it a lot more than latigo, in terms of the look and feel. Harness leather was also on my list of things to also try. I started with latigo b/c that's what everyone else seemed to be using. How's harness leather in terms of finishing the edges?

I have the Osborne version of that splitter, it works well when you get it dialed in right. I also have a need to split straps and this was a huge step up from a knife / safety skiver. I'd recommend paying the extra cash and getting a pull splitter that can also skive, which is what I wish I had done.

If your not interested in dying or waxing your own linen thread checkout http://www.royalwoodltd.com/cat14-17aw.htm . They offer a deep selection of colors, but not in all the various cords. Last time I ordered you had to have a minimum order of $100, before then price breaks kicked in.

Great thread, as I'm always looking for ways to use scrap leather. Glendon, I've been meaning to get a "$" stamp made so I can make price tags out of scrap leather as well (thanks for the reminder). Since I make small dog accessories, i've been using scraps to make id tags. The id tags are only 5/8" by 1" so I can use really small pieces for scrap leather. If I have scraps that are about 2" long I save them and use them as strap keepers, on my collars and harnesses. For large pieces of scrap leather (or leather too soft to be used for collars, harnesses or leashes), i've been making book marks and dog bag holders.

Thanks for the heads up. I've got the hand press and several of the dies already, they work well and I've got no complaints but I would like them more if I had gotten them on sale. I might pick up the 24 setter...

I use the 700 and it's 6 spi, the blades are not angled. I started with the Tandy diamond chisel and I prefer the osborne 700, with the 7 cord wax linen that I'm currently using.

I have a set of their 1/4" alphabet and number stamps that I'm very happy with. If they had a smaller size I would have ordered those as well.

I'm out of town till Friday, but I'll take some pics and post them when I get back.

I purchased a "Colt Stitcher" from Sheridan Leather a couple of months back and absolutely love it. Prior to this I was using a lacing pony that i bought from tandy, that wasn't bad but I found myself hunched over it all of the time. The thing about the Colt Stitcher is that you can mount it to the table / work bench , and that helps with the ergonomics. The Colt stitcher does have a screw but instead of a simple wing nut it has a plastic knob, which is also more ergonomic than a wing nut. The colt stitcher also holds your project at a slight angle, which I didn't really like intially but I've gotten used to it. If you want I can post of picture of it, but there's an image of it on Sherdian's banner on this site. At the time that I ordered the Colt Stitcher it wasn't listed on Sheridan's website so I phoned in the order.