bluesman1951

Dont know exactly what to say ,are these going to be "Rings " to wear on ones fingers ? Armouring stuff is out of my area of expertise . I came I looked and I want to say thanks for sharing your work and welcome to the site . Perhaps if I knew more about this area of leather work I could say more . Its nice you shared your work and hope you will do so again . Bill

Thats one fine bag sir ! Clean well constructed ,sewing is sharp tight straight and clean . Its a mighty fine case ,you can be very proud of this its well done . Your mom will enjoy this a lot . My compliments its very nicely done . Time well spent ! Big round of applause for this project ! You have set the bar mighty high here LOL so now lets see number 2 . All my best John Merry Christmas to you and yours thanks for showing this . I am impressed ! Bill

Nicely done ! Efficent clean simple functional a very nice job .

Very cool nicely done . Stitchin looks good ,finish is nice . What does the strap look like ? Keep up the good work and thanks for sharing your work with us . I enjoyed seeing this post . Bill

Flawless craftsmanship as always ! First class all the way ! My compliments very well done . Bill

Very nicely done ! Stitching stands out very sharp and clean . The eye just keeps making laps around the project not a single snag very smooth . I like this a lot ! This will give many years of good service . My compliments ! :thumbsup:

Superb Craftsmanship ! Well Done !

First class all the way very pleaseing to watch . Nice belt and a quality video that was a day well spent . My compliments ,well done ,flawless work . Bill

My personel opinion is I would cut off a couple small pieces and sew them together like you were making a bag . See how the seam holds up when you twist and stress it . Next I would give it the wad test simply do to a small piece what would happen to a bag or tote in its normal life . Here you want to see if the top grain will crack . Over all feel is a matter of personal choice ,I have found that people do not wish a bag to feel too thin ,next they want it to have some weight but not too much . Weight has a very fine line between to heavy and to light . Something with the buttery soft feel sells before something that feels dry . That has been my experience . Market research helps, cut a small piece and hand it to a woman with the question "What do you think "? Pay attention the feed back here, touch matters here and is a important part of making a sale . There is simply no substitute for research and doing your homework so pass a sample around and see. The only opinion that matters here is the customer the one with the cash. Its their perception of what you have made that gets you a pay day . I wish you good luck with this . All my best Bill

Thank you for your post and sharing with us . I am not qualified to comment on holsters and tooling as those items I do not make . However I can say The craftsmanship is outstanding .Its very tight and clean in a small space . Its visually appealing and the eye flows over its details smoothly nothing to slow it down or hang it up . My impression is it says : "I am Quality " quite nicely . My compliments sir this is time well spent something to be proud of . Bill

What else do you do ? Like to talk to you about some contract work . This is interesting not my style but interesting non the less . Bill

Hello Emilie!!! Welcome to the site . Bill

What does one say at a time like this ? To quit or not to quit ? Shall the powers that be pull the plug or keep the patient on life support in hopes of better days . There is a sad reality to the last line on the yellow pad it says either what you are doing works or it dont . You can look at it and protest if you wish ,might even convince your self its not true ,but in the end it remains . There is lots of truth in the saying "Throwing Good Money After Bad " Choices : You must ask yourself if having more knowledge and skill will fix things . If so then how do you get the knowledge ? Who is willing to give you what you need ? Disicipline to get to the bench and work all day is a must nothing happens if you have no disicipline . Having no avenue of retreat is a big key to sucess when you must have sucess or go off the cliff is a great motivator . I ask myself if it was my money would I continue to back this enterprise ? The solution to your dilema is : A larger skill set and more knowledge ,better disipline and a guide . How you acquire them is your challenge . Best wishes for a harmonious out come . Bill

Nice idea those should be a great revenue producer for a long time .Thanks for posting your pics . I enjoyed hearing of your craft show adventures as well . I keep saying I am going to do one of those and never get to it . Maybe before Christmas there will be a pow wow I can do . Like those better any way . Thanks for all you do here and may I say I always enjoy your posts . Good to know you are enjoying life and your time at the bench. Bill

Nothing at all wrong with this . The key to the edge is sequence ,cut your stitching grove while the leather still has a shoulder on it . The tool used to finish the edge is called a "EDGER" they come in different sizes according to the thickness of the leather . Some cut a round edge others a flat edge ,that will be your choice . The edge can be sanded and shaped before its burnished . When you consider the line between being too close to the edge and too far away is maybe a 1/8 of a inch how can you find fault with your self for that ? Its a good looking project ,a good design ,should give you good service for a very long time . Bill

Nicely done for first attempt . There is a oval punch available for the holes ,just a small detail for later . Thanks for showing your work . Bill

I have no expertise in holsters ,but they certainly look well done . Thanks for sharing your work . The stitching is perfect the whole project is "Tight" any one would be proud to be using a fine piece of gear like this . Bill

Done all delivered cash in hand . Finally got the draft paper I need to complete the patterns for the horse . Cant belive large graph paper is 22.95 fo a pad . Send the patterns on Monday and off to Santa Fe on Tuesday . Long trip by train takes all day up and back . Need to learn something new this week end so its back to the bench . Time to make some bags that I havent done in awhile . Bill Thanks for the kind words and encouragement . Bill

Must be the technique these copper rivets are good enough for rodeo gear correctly installed they arent coming apart . After you have set the rivet punch a hole in some belt leather scrap ,place on the post and use your setting tool to bottom it out . Use your nippers to cut the post off close to the scrap . Take a fine file and file the post down to the leather taking care to file flat . The scrap should be large enough to prevent the file from making a hickey on your project . Now remove the scrap and take the domeing tool and give it a couple of good hits to dome the post . Makes a finished look to the post ,looks just right . Might wish to pick up a good hunk of steel for a pounding /setting base . It makes a difference a real big difference .

Big round of applause here . Nice ,well done . My compliments ! Bill

That will make for a great story later . The last time I did that I ended up selling a fancy bag to Randy Travis wife Elizebeth on the plaza . That was a nice day she paid 250.00 for that bag . Bill

No substitute for Location . I have watched people try all manner of things over the last 25 years looking for the magic formula for success .There doesn't appear to be one discernible reason why one business succeeds and another fails . If you are having fun people seem to be drawn to that . Doing more with less appears to work no substitute for creativity and imagination . In the end its all just fishing a baited hook into the sea of life . Having a purpose and giving to a cause is a huge plus in receiving rewards from the universe . Being good at something and lovin what you do helps. Bill

No I believe thats just the second hide . I found a big clean area good both sides on the first hide so I cut a piece 10'' X 30 inches for the fringe on a large bag that sells for 75.00 the front and backs were already cut . Got the long strings for the braided handles out of the first hide .The rest was used for these bags .There is enough left from the balance of these hides to get another 40.00 in small bags maybe . Long and short of that is there is more left before cutting the next hide . Seems on average all I can squeeze out of the hides is 2.5 or 3 times money selling wholesale . Advantage is when I sell all to one client the profit and prinicple come back in one stroke . I really do get to see my principle again in one lump . Bill

They are hand sewed . I use a tandy tool that pre punches all the holes making the sewing lots faster making all the holes takes about 60 seconds ,sewing about 3 minutes .