chainedrose

thank You Joe

Thank You

what is the braid in the center please?

i do test on a small corner. but i usually just apply the soap, wait for 5-10 minutes and then continue if there is no change. what would be the ideal testing time?

Sorry I think I worded myself wrong there. The leather has not changed colour. There is just a white coloured paste like layer on top.

I had prepared braiding soap at home, substituting materials with all that is available here. i used Dove Soap, vegetable shortening. 2 months ago i had applied it on some black strands. however i could not complete the braiding due to work commitments. today when i saw the strands, there was white all over them. i immediately thought mildew, however when i rubbed the strands, it disappeared. a moist cloth was even better was this just excessive braiding soap? or should i be worried about my substituted formula?

i have a query regarding leather grease (or saddle soap) as i've read it... id seen similar recipes during my web readings, so in my version i substituted with products i could find. i used a vegetable shortening, and grated dove soap. i cooked the mixutre on low flame till the soap melted and then i let it cook before storing in boxes. now abt a year later, the surface has water droplets when i open the box. i live in a humid city. but its winter now not monsoon. why would this happen? it doesnt seem to be affecting the leather adversely, but can it?

Thank You :-) yes I did see the chisels you've mentioned up on Tandy.

thank you. how do you go abt the corners please?

i didnt try going o2-u2. I changed the placement of the white to 2 black, 2 white, 2 black on the RHS and 6 black on the LHS; resulting in a chequered flag going spirally across the dowel..

@knothead thats a wonderful looking belt. what did you use to make those holes? and how do you measure it to get matched holes on both sides. also in edge braiding is a slanted straight line hole better than a round hole?

Thank You. i will certainly try looking for the razor blades. perhaps i can find a way to cut a double edge one into two.

I am braiding 12 strands around a wooden dowel: 10 black and 2 white. I had placed the strands in the following order: Right Hand Side: 2 Black, 1 white, 3 black Left Hand Side: 3 Black, 1 White, 2 black such that I had 5 black strands between the white strands. This is the design i get with an under 1 over 1 braiding. The design seems a bit asymmetric to me, and I'd love to get a better design, showing off the white at regular intervals. What would be a good placement of colors given the set I have? I dont wish to add more white, but i can replace one white with a black strand if it will look good.

i have an australian strander, a safety beveller and a super skiver, all from tandy's. All of them use the safety blades. since i live in India, and dont have an easy access to the blades, i was wondering if there is any way to maximise the utility of each blade. can i re-use the blade across the 3 tools? eg: since i need the sharpest edge in the strander, i use it there first and then on the beveller or skiver? or will a slightly dull blade not work efficiently on a beveller/skiver? also how can i re-sharpen the blades for using again?

would this method also work for more number of strands than just 8? if i use 12 strands, can i just make 3 strands on each point, instead of 2?