bluesman1951

White pen called a Jelly Roller also known as a gel roller . Available at art supply stores costs 1.97 washes off with damp cloth .Nothing better in my opinion . Comes in other colors and has a fine point .

I have a different approach . Learn the techniques before making something . One at a time ,learn to cut straight and square ( for card holders and wallets etc) Learn to join two pieces together by sewing or braiding lots of ways to do this seam with a bead ,french seam, learn pattern making . Then with a half a dozen techniques under your belt a project is now possible . Good luck .

Texas threads you wish a BZ-415Nylon Rust bonded TR-350 there is nothing better for hand sewing in my opinion .

I asked the question and waited for a response,nothing more. At that point there was 129 looks and no comments .Seems like it was being left alone. I respectfully withdraw my question . Rude ?????????????????????????????????????? I am speechless .The maker did not respond so I thought his answer to my question was no. Hence no futher input .Simple as that .

Do wish the truth or atta boy nice job ?

Pictures say more than a whole bunch of words . This looks like a good opertunity for bag decorations . Hope this lights the imagination spark . Bill

This will work ! Looks just fine . How we learn is totaly up to us . We chose our own paths . I dont think you wasted any time here . I wish you continued sucess with all your projects .

Pictures would help . If you are bottoming out your chisel you have damaged the points. This makes ugly holes . Time to strop your chisel and use a little glycern before you punch the holes .

I came and I looked . Thanks for sharing your work. I am neither a holster maker nor a expert in this area so all I can say is I honour the hours spent on these projects. They are pleaseing to the eye and look very well done . May all the hours spent at your bench be good ones . Thanks for being part of the leather workers brother hood you honour your craft . I enjoyed seeing your work ! Bill

Very nice ! When I saw number 4 my thoughts were " Now Thats Really Nice " . Craftsmanship is superb on all the holsters everyone a work of art . Number 4 just really rang the bell for me . Excellant colour combination there . This was time well spent you should be very pleased with your efforts .

Looks just fine to me .The sewing is very good ,for me the only place where the eye gets hung up is on the flap . I might give the flap where it leaves the bag body and crosses over a gentle curve adding perhaps a 1/2 inch to either side as it crosses over . The main part of the flap matches the bag bottom profile so its perfect . The main bag body has just the right dimensions to please the eye ,congradulations on that . As to the finish I am partial to a natural oil look ,so I put my leather in the sun and let it darken naturaly . Then using a extra virgin olive oil I work that in with my fingers giving it several coats . After that its a water proofer of some kind and a buff . For me at that point its done . Each to his own on the finish there are as many different ways to finish as there are people . My compliments on your project it will age well and give years of good service . Its pleaseing to the eye and you should be pleased with your effort . Well done . Bill

These bags work for me . Bill

I like your work ,I also agree with 50 years leather "Too Much Shine" . From a money stand point I would focus on your masks and the naughty side it brings out in people . That in my opinion is a retail winner with lots of directions to go in . Spice up your booth and imply "Naughty" its just crazy enough to be stacking up the dollars . I tried bracelets some years back : result ,in stores with a high traffic volume they were having birthdays on the shelf . Not a good thing . After a month I dropped that line of stuff and will not be bringing it back . My suggestion is take the time spent on those and do a hot looking chocker ( Not with bone or native American looking) Go for the high end jewellery look with sparkle and flash . Something for the bedroom and the night club look. Marry that with your masks and you will have a attention getter at the shows . All you need is a chance to sell and that requires getting their attention and getting them to stop . Put your chokers and your masks in a custom box and sell as a unit, the steam punk design with the gears is a good idea . Here your market focus should be "Bridal Shower Gifts " Combining items allows for a hefty price upgrade . I am just thinking out loud here so take my words or pass them by . You have a good line of stuff and a tiny bit of tweaking will make you smile all the way to the bank . Just think "Its all about having fun " Bill

Nicely done ! Thanks for sharing these .

One way to get a free product review is to put it in front of as many people as possible in a tight focus group . This saves a lot of time bringing something to market to say nothing of the cost savings . Lots of people here are making one of a kind stuff happily selling the same way one at a time . Their understanding of mass production is limited . My personal opinion is that the makers of things are less likely to buy . Any way thanks for showing us your products .

This looks good stitching fits the time period so all is well with that . Not a big fan of "speedy rivets or rapid rivets " what ever they are called . Just have never thought they were a strong fastner . That aside the instalation is clean they look good and for a lack of better words "they look like they belong with this holster" meaning they are correct looking for time period of this holster . I like your project and think its very well done . Time well spent .Thanks for sharing your work . I enjoyed viewing it very much .

There seems to be a intrest in pattern making . I have a method that gives me good results ,dont mind sharing it . Its not the only method its but one of many I am sure . My question is : explaining this will take a bunch of pictures and here it looks like you can add only one at a time making the process very long and drawn out . Is there a way to add many pictures one after another in a step by step manner to help explain this ? Not a computer genius so if your method is complicated its not going to work for me . Thank you in advance for all your help . Bill

I enjoyed very much the story along with the pictures . Often the work says one thing and the back story quite another . I must confess the back story to me is very interesting ,most times when I guess about folks I am far from the mark . I have been making native bags for many years and would be interested very much in your patterns . I have found the smallest changes in dimensions make a huge difference in a bags appeal over all. I like the way all the embelishments are arranged its a pleaseing symphony of components . Just enough to make the bag interesting and still un cluttered . New Mexico has a huge native population with many sub cultures from tribe to tribe and from one publeo to another . My life has had me involved in this comunity for many years. I have enjoyed all my adventures and friendships greatly . Bill

Well this is BAD TO THE BONE !!!!!!!! Any Austrailin bush man would be proud to have this in his gear . This is a real life Dundee knife built to go the distance. My compliments .

What does one say when its as good as it gets ? Top of the game ! Mighty fine ! My compliments superb job ! Bill

WOW!!!!!!! Thats a whole bunch of little perfect steps resulting in one big perfect product . My compliments first class work from start to finish . From concept to completion time well spent! !!!!! Hours of flawless work ,you are a master of your craft ! Thank you very much for showing us your work ,I am re dedicated and inspired . It was a privilege to view this and thank you for both taking the time to post this and for loving your craft enough to achive this level of craftsmanship . I am honoured to have seen this . THANK YOU !!! Bill

Hi ,welcome to the forum . I enjoyed reading your story and of your life . There are a great many people here who will lend a hand with just about any thing . My work is nearly 100% with deer skin and native style bags ,so I will be of no help with saddles. I do a lot of braiding and lacing in the course of my work. I enjoy lots of blues music and some zydeco waltz as well. If I can be of any help just ask . Bill