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?

and just when i enlarge the corner holes and am about to sit down to complete the project, i lose the bag containing it ! its gone! lost forever! thankfully i have enough leather left to start all over again! please advice on how should i punch the holes this time? closer to the edge and to each other? and corner holes + adjacent 2 should be bigger than the rest. also i use a punch and a hammer. is there any other easier way to do these holes?

Thank You everyone for Your help. i first tried to do as per Bruce's instructions on how to end the braid. so i essentially went through the corner hole thrice on one side. but this doesnt help cover the corner when i move to the next side. (pic: first attempt) I then tried continuing the braid as normal as Braider recommended. Again here, the finished look isn't nice. the gaps are too big and dont cover up the edge properly. (pic: second attempt 1&2) im still to go through Chief's videos but i'll try that too.

i am working on a rectangular piece of leather. ive punched evenly spaced holes all around the perimeter to work on an eight string round edge braid as mentioned in Bruce Grant's Encyclopedia (Plate 121). each corner has one hole, as a common point between two adjacent sides. However im stumped on how to go around the corners. Please help!

oh my! those are some really nice tools! i'd love to get a strander like that!

i came across a post in another forum which recommended dipping a leather piece in a weak solution of white glue and water and letting it dry before making strands with an australian strander. The person said this method is called "sizing" in millinery. does this help cut even strands as the leather would be stiff? would it work even on tanned cow leather or would it be too difficult to get the glue solution off the leather?

so i did start wrong! i even have the Ron Edwards book but i didnt refer to it! feel like such a fool now!

thank You

im using 6 strands for this braid, 3 on each side. black, brown black in that order. i started from the left hand side, took the farthest (first strand) behind to the right hand side, took it under, over, under, back to the left side. then repeated similarly for the top most on the right hand side. took it to the left, under over under the 3 left hand side strands and back to the right side. now the front side looks like the first pic. while the back side looks different. why? what happened here? what went wrong?

i need help with plate 7 "Simulated four string round braid" on page 34 of Bruce Grant's Rawhide Braiding Encylopedia. in fig 3, when he says that the working end needs to be wound round the basic twist, how tight am i to wind it around? are the twists to touch each other? or should they be spaced? please help, i really want to do this braid. also does anyone know how i can work this to a thicker braid? more than 4 strings?