Glendon

Pre-dyed veg tan is somewhat rare in the best situations. In extreme colors, you're going to have a hunt on your hands. There just aren't that many places that do it. Black, brown, and burgundy are easy enough to scare up, but blues, greens, and yellows are going to be tricky. I assume you want veg tan because you plan to stamp it?

I just opened my first bottle of Angelus leather dye today. Man that stuff is some strong juju odor wise. Fiebings you need some ventilation for, but Angelus dye seems to really be up there, even among other alcohol based products. Thought I would put a warning out there for anyone thinking of trying Angelus dyes in the future. It is kind of strong, so be prepared to deal with that.

Here is some very basic information on trademarks http://www.thomasfir...trademarks.html Like copyrights, a lot of trademark protections are automatic when you start using a clearly uncommon image. "he key word in this question is "earned." Trademarks are not born; rather, they must be earned. By using a mark in connection with a good or service, the user acquires some trademark rights. Interestingly, though trademarks are protected under both state and federal law, you do not have to register a trademark in order to have it protected" You would want to talk to someone with more legal training then I have (see: none), but basically whoever started using the name first has the claim. Even if they registered and you didn't, if your business is the clearly older claim, then their trademark would probobly be invalidated if it went to court because they didn't do a proper search.

another more expensive but interesting option would be small magnets. A cheaper simpler option would be Velcro.

Here's a picture of BRLs "Saddle Stitched By Hand" stamp in use. I like it. I've included a couple different dying options of what can be done with it. The left hand impression was done by hand, and the other two where done with an arbor press. After doing the stamping, I decided to try out some eco-flo saddle tan I never used. As you can see, it didn't come out so hot.

The more dying I do, the more I figure out that you need to figure out what type of dye works for your technique. I can pretty much whip on spirit dyes and not think about it too much, and they come out looking the way I expect. Water based dyes on the other hand always splotch on me. Spirit dyes seem to work best when you get heavy handed with it. Really glob it on and then wipe it back off. One or two applications will do it. Water based on the other hand, less is more. Lite coats, and a lot of them seems to work best. In ether case, large applicator, dobber, sponge, cloth, wool. Do not try to paint it on. You can paint with acrylics. You can not paint with leather dyes. It just will not come out even using a brush. Cover the most area as quick as you can without rushing. after the whole project is covered you can go back and touch up. Then once the whole thing has color, go back over it with a very thin coat, just enough for the entire project to look wet again. It should look nice and even at that point.

Seems like a decent deal on the face of it. If you toss some photos and descriptions down in the Marketplace forum, you might get a bight or two before you have to deal with ebay.

You do see all styles here, really. A lot of the old timers are from the traditional Western school of leather. But there are also those of us doing 18th / 19th century styles, and a good number of people doing renacance and older stuff. There is a guy local to me who does a similar style to what you like, Eric at www.corterleather.com might want to look him up for inspiration. He doesn't teach though, too busy actually making a living at this the blood, sweat, and 14 hour days way.

Good luck with your fist projects! Try to do one at a time at first. It's real tempting to jump right in at first. Trust me, you will be a lot happier getting a couple projects done and off the bench then having a number of them on the go. Thanks for the link. Those look like great tutorials. The designs are a bit too hipster for me, but look easily adapted to my more Victorian style. Always something new out there.

I do believe that look was kind of the point. They are billed as "camp" projects. But I agree. It wouldn't take a lot to improve them.

Personally, my favorite wallet design is a traditional 7 pocket bi-fold with a fold out ID case. It really comes down to what you like to carry. I think narrowing it down to bi-fold, tri-fold, biker, card case, or money clip would get ideas going. There are a million variations on each one, but I think getting the basic type down would allow everyone to play with details. Good luck with this. It is a hard choice to make knowing you will probobly be using this wallet for a long time.

The cutting mats are fine for cutting leather, but I wouldn't use them for hole punches. They are very thin. A knife wont cut in too far, but a punch could go right through them. You do need something. If you have one of those green cutting mats usually used for paper, that will work great for cutting. No need to buy something else. For punching, just pick this up http://springfieldleather.com/32228/Cutting-Board%2CPoly%2C6%22x6%22/ No need to pay for one of the rubber boards in your case.

You just need to know the terminology. You will also see them called poundo boards. http://springfieldle...Poundo%2C12x24/ If you aren't going to be stamping, one shouldn't strictly be needed. What I use for punching holes is HDPE (High-density polyethylene), the white plastic cutting board material. For cutting, I use one of those soft plastic gridded cutting mats you can find in office supply stores. I do have a piece of poundo board under my granite to deaden some of the sound from stamping, but if you have a good punching and cutting surface already then the poundo board is just another option. If you look at my avatar picture, you will see my stamping stone on the left side. That black line under it is poundo board.

Just at a quick glance, the card case does look a little tight. If you look at the bottom of the page, they are suggesting 4-5oz leather. That might not work even if the pattern is printed correctly if there isn't enough extra room on the sides for the pockets to give a little. I applaud the effort to promote leather, but there are some details missing that would make a beginner screw up.

I am never buying the EZ thread needles again. So last time I placed a big supply order I tossed in a 10pk of the EZ thread needles figuring why not. They're cheap, so if they work great, if not then I'm out less then a buck fifty. From now on I'm sticking to good harness needles. The dang EZ thread needles have so little material around the eye that it takes almost nothing to snap them right open. I was saddle stitching a small simple card case, two layers of 3oz and some less then 1oz lining, and I snapped eight needles. Not the thread, not the leather, the metal around the eye of eight needles pulled apart sewing pre-punched holes. The strain of pulling the knot of the thread through just pulled them apart. And honestly they are not that much easier to thread anyway. A longer eye doesn't seem to help me all that much when it's still just as thin. So yeah, not recommended.

And I bet you thought the limits of leather went from soft jacket up to a stiff belt. Not quite.

I agree, soft chrome tanned isn't going to do it. Harness leather, boot leather, stiff veg tan if you want to go to the trouble. 6oz and up. Call up Springfield Leather and tell them what you want to do. They might have some oil tanned sides on the cheap that would work.

Here's a good video on wet molding from Ian from Leodis Leather. Wet molded leather can be that hard, almost acrylic feeling. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIOGDykXJFQ

You found a good mine. Being a craftsman yourself, you're not going to turn around and sell these of course. None of the books are super rare. The vast majority of them if not all are still printed. So on the high side $5 each would probobly be reasonable. The alphabet sets go insane on ebay. The pic isn't good enough to tell if you have any of the rare ones, so $50 a set. I'm not even going to guess at the hand stamps. Some of the resident vintage tool sellers should be able to give you an idea. Rough guesstimate market value for the lot, $600 to a $1,000 depending on what the stamps are worth.

Pick a width for your strap. Measure out the length needed and add two inches or whatever works to attach D-Rings. Space out your bells on the strap. If you want to get creative, cut a scroll pattern, decorative hole punches, whatever you want to do. It would be hard to do a set in stone pattern because the size of the horse or other animal you plan to put them on varies. If you want a carving pattern, look for a Christmas belt pattern.

I think you'll enjoy playing around with ideas. I haven't done it, but I've seen people wrap their kindle, phone, whatever, in plastic wrap and mold a piece of leather right over their device. Then attach that form that makes the front, sides, and bottom to a flat back piece, and they have a perfectly fitted basic case. You want to be careful of your electronics, but it can be done.

Even amung veg tanned leather, there are different characteristics of leather. The firmness of leather is usually called it's "hand". You can have two pieces of leather the same thickness, where one has a very soft hand and will drape right over your arm, while another has a very firm hand and is like a piece of cardboard in rigidity. That's why if you are ordering leather and aren't sure of what you want, the supplier will usualy ask what you are going to do with it. You can have 3oz leather that's soft enough for clothing, and 3oz leather that is stiff enough for bookbinding. You don't want to get one when you need the other. Those phone cases look like they are wet formed, soaked all the way through and then molded and stretched over a form. Once dried, wet formed leather holds it's shape very well. Not particularly hard actually. Just a technique you need to learn.

I'll have to try that. You learn something new everyday, and that never stops being a revaluation.

I have used Fiebing's regular spirit dyes. I'm quite happy with them. I will give you one word of warning on the USMC black. It's the best looking black out there, but it is particularly bad about dye rub off. It leaves a lot of particles on the leather when it dries. You will want to really buff those projects well before any serious handling.

Alright, lets see here. I should be able to save you some money. You can drop the strap end punch. The end punches are faster for sure, but you can do the same job with a template and a knife. You can use a paper template or go to blackriverlaser.com and get an acrylic template set that covers 8 sizes for standard and english strap ends for less then $20 shipped. You can drop the plastic slicker. It takes a little practice, but your bone folder can be used for burnishing until you know you are going to stick with this and invest in a proper wood or glass slicker. The overstitcher set you can probobly drop and just get a no. 5 overstitcher. You can figure out if you want to do tighter stitches later on. I think you would get more out of this scrap bag http://springfieldle...ng%2C2-lbs-Bag/ then a cut of leather, especially something as thin as 2/3oz. One square foot is of course 12" x 12". A lot of the items you want to do can be done with scrap. Buying a specific cut is probobly best saved for your second order. EDIT: One other thing. Here is a great tutorial on finishing edges: http://leatherworker.net/bob-park/FinishingEdges-2-15-11.pdf If they are easier for you to get hold of, you can use saddle soap or beeswax instead of gum trag to slick edges. I know it's what Ian uses in his videos, there are other cheaper options if you live in a part of the country that saddle soap is regularly used or you can get beeswax. Really water will do in a pinch as well. You just need to understand what you're actually trying to accomplish.