Peter T

Nice one, Brian. I like how that knot covers the whole foundation. Pete

I'd be interested in seeing the edges of some of the knives I've made under a microscope sometime. I reckon I could learn a thing or two. Might have to look at getting one. Thanks for showing your pictures. Pete

Wow, that's pretty cool. Can you also use it to get a good look at your knife blade edges? Pete

Nicely done. Pete

Excellent sheath for that knife. Great work. Pete

Looking good there, Buck. Nice to hear your selling some stuff too. Pete

I like your work on both those items. Really nice. Pete

I use the split needles also the way oltoot suggests (except I use pliers instead of a hammer to press the teeth in). I find they can last a decent amount of time if you look after them a bit. I try not to split them any wider than I have to to get the lace in. I also make sure when I'm pulling lace through that I pull on the leather as soon as I can after the needle goes through. I can get quite a few projects out pf pne but they certainly don't last forever though. The needles that Elecrathon mentioned sound interesting. I've never seen those but they sound like they'd be worth a try. Pete

Thanks Sovran81. I'll keep my eye out for something similar to ivory soap. Traceym, I wish I could give you more feedback on the Packer pre-cut lace, but I've never used it, only their full hides. I've never been disappointed with their leather though. Pete

I would be interested in some plans for a splitter using a woodworking plane. I have some old ones in my shed and if I could make them useful again, that would be great. Thanks! Pete

Yes, shellac can deliver poor results if not done well. Some of my early attempts ended up flaking a bit. After a couple of bad results I realized I was putting it on too thick. Here's the brew I use as was taught to me by a champion whipmaker (plan ahead if you want to use it). Half fill a container with shellac flakes. I use a big instant coffee jar. Then put in enough methylated spirits to fill the container. Give it a shake every couple of days and let it settle (this might take a week or so, hence plan ahead!) Pour off the liquid that looks like a strong cup of tea into a jar. However much you've got, double it with methylated spirits and then you have your brew. To apply, pour some on to a lint free cloth and rub it onto the whip. After a minute or so when it is dry, give it a light roll, then give it a buff with a soft cloth. Repeat that step. After the third application, no need to roll anymore, just buff when it is dry. For working whips, 3 coats is about right for a nice shine without overdoing it. For show whips, I might do 5 or so. Since using this method, I've never had any of the issues that I experienced early on. I very much like the shine and feel it gives. Takes a bit longer to do than a coat of leather lacquer but for me, it's worth it. I know some very good whipmakers that use lacquer and their whips also look very nice, so that also works if done properly. Pete

Packer leather sure is great to work with and they are big supporters of us plaiters and whipmakers here in Australia. They are great people too. Being only a bit over half an hour from their tannery would make it pretty easy for me to sort any issues out (never had any though), but it sure is nice to hear how they look after their overseas customers as well. I've never really used pre-cut lace. The advice I got early on was to learn to cut my own so that's what I did. The quality of the lace I cut from Packer hides is very high and could quite easily be plaited without greasing. I always do though as that is my preference. I would always encourage people to cut their own lace, but I also know full well the constraints of budgets etc. Ivory soap keeps getting mentioned as something people use. Might be an Aussie thing but I don't know exactly what it is. Is it a brand of soap? Or a type of soap? Pete

Congratulations Leatherpownder! It's great to see your fantastic work recognized. Pete

My goodness they look great! Very nice work. Did you win an award with those? Pete

For things like hatbands, belts and the like I use a product from Maclace called Seal and Shine. One coat or maybe 2 simply brushed provides a really nice finish. I haven't used any of the products I hear about on the forum such as Neatlac so I can't compare but surely one of them 'seals and shines'. For my whips, I apply several coats of diluted shellac. This gives a shine like polished boots which I think for whips is much nicer than a lacquer type finish. Pete

Hmm sounds like it might be worth a go. I'll have to chase some up sometime. Thanks for the feedback. Pete

Hi BIS Leads, I have gone the other way to you where I have tried quite a few home made brews and have ended up at Bick 4. My main reason for this is due to darkening the leather. Most of my home made brews darken the leather a bit much for my liking when I'm doing 2 tone work where I really want to keep the colours close to the original colour as possible. Bick 4 is pretty good for this. It says on the container that it will not darken leather. It does a little bit, but the least of anything else I tried. I know what you mean about the cost though. It does add up. For this reason I'll only use it on certain items where the colouring really matters. I have a home made brew that is my favourite plaiting soap that I use on most things, particularly single colour whips, where it doesn't matter if the leather darkens. It contains 5 cups mutton fat, 2 cakes Dove soap, 3 cups water, 1/4 cake parrafin wax and a squirt of dish washing detergent. I made a batch of this a couple of year's ago and am still using it. It's in a 2 litre bucket and cost me less than $10. It cost me $15 for the smallest bottle of Bick 4 so it's certainly cost effective to make your own. I don't put anything else on at the end of a project after using either of these. Both of them will help the leather, not harm it. If there's a bit of soap residue I just brush it off with a small scrubbing brush (one with bristles not too soft or too hard). I have only seen yellow saddle soap. I would be interested to know if the white saddle soap darkens the leather much. Pete

Classy work! Pete

That is very, very nice! Pete

Hi renegadelizard, You've listed some great whipmakers there and I'll bet regardless of what leather they use, their whips will perform great. I personally much prefer roohide over cowhide. I think that a roohide whip is classier and performs better. You can certainly make nice cowhide or latigo whips though. It sounds like what you have got in mind for the construction of your whip would lend itself to roohide. That many layers with cowhide would be very thick. Sorry I can't help you with suppliers over in the US. Hopefully someone can put you on to a good place where you can get some roo at a good price. I almost feel bad telling you that Packers tannery is only about half an hour from where I live and I can go and pick out the hides I want for around $70 each. If you can get roo tanned by them, I highly recommend it. Pete

I really like these bracelets you make, Brian. It looks great. Pete

That's pretty cool, Frank! I wonder if whoever made it thought at the time that in over 100 years time someone will still be using this stitching horse they've made. Pete

Nice work, Buck. Keep 'em I reckon. Pete

That is excellent!! Good on you. Pete

Good story, good deal, good keyring! Thanks for the show and tell, Buck. I like that. Pete