WinterBear

oooof, the scout stamps in the first post are going to be hard ones to get for the most part. I'm sure you're familiar by now that it's an uphill battle. I've been working on building a Woodbadge set for over 8 years, and the only eagles I've seen sold for over $300, and I haven't seen any eagles for sale unless for part of a set (and prices around $1000 for the set) in several years. For the rest, I've only seen beavers for less than $30 recently. I've only seen a few of the Eagle Scout stamps, and none less than $50, and only one of the Order of the Arrow arrowhead. Our council decided against getting the OA Indian head, so I haven't been watching for those. Spring field Leather Company, Steck Store, and the Scout Shop have the universal emblems in the lower left corner of those pictures and some of the Cub Scout stamps. So at least you can fill the some of the camp needs with those. These are modern replicas, and aren't all that crisp in my opinion. I suggest to the camps using a press rather than a hefty handle and a mallet. You just can't get a very good impression without a lot of work unless using a press with these, I've found. https://www.springfieldleather.com/Boy-Scouts-3-D-Stamping-Tool-Set https://www.springfieldleather.com/Stamp-3-D-BoyScout https://www.scoutshop.org/universal-emblem-leather-stamping-tool-17472.html https://www.stecksstore.com/boy-scout-emblem-3-d-leather-stamping-tool-8518-00/ https://www.stecksstore.com/bear-scout-leather-stamping-tool-8516-00/ https://www.stecksstore.com/cub-scout-leather-stamping-tool-8515-00/ https://www.stecksstore.com/webelos-scout-leather-stamping-tool-8517-00/ I read your other thread, and yeah, haunting ebay and etsy is about all you can do it seems. And due to some issues with the local scouts and council, some stamps I started collecting for use in the camps are mine--I can't afford to loan them out when they are so careless and if the kids abuse the stamps--one counselor was letting some kids bang on concrete with them (no leather, just stamp applied on the concrete) and even give the stamps away to the kids!! Which means I've lost the use of the stamp, and the stamp is no longer available for anyone else in other troops or camps to use either! So they don't get the stamps unless I am there with them, and the stamps go home with me after class. . . And yeah, with ebay, you wind up with a pile of duplicates. And like you I HAAATE selling the extras. I will hover go poke around my extras sometime today or tomorrow and see if I can fill any of your camp or personal needs. It looks like there is a seller on ebay right now with a "Cub Scout Set" with a Wolf and Tiger stamp for under $25 and also an actual Craftool Co. Universal stamp for $20 right now.

Caiman flank is real. Ostrich and lizard remnants look real, not sure about that gator. You can always contact them and ask. help@tandyleatheroutlet.com Springfield Leather also sells real exotic remnants. Their ostrich was super nice, and there were several pieces big enough for a wallet back and more that were good sizes for knife inlays and buckles. They might be out of their ostrich scrap package--you might have to call and ask them if they have any.

I'm not sure why you can't see the picture--anyone else able to see it? Try this link instead. http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?app=galleryℑ=18248 I use the lino blocks to make a sandwich. No particular reason, they were what I had on hand. You just don't want to put pressure directly onto the letterpress block with the clamp, or you could damage the metal or crack the wood. Picture of lino-block sandwich here (http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?app=galleryℑ=18247)--this was a lino block, cased leather, some small flat foundry type (metal letters with no wood backing), and another lino block. The lino side of the lino block supported the leather and "gave" slightly, which resulted in a better impression on the very thin leather I used than the results I had with a very hard backing (a steel plate). The gray part of the lino block isn't a foam, but more a very hard rubber or a slightly rubbery hard plastic. A wood block should suit very well, but it will need to have no distinct grain--the grain can imprint on the leather too. You might be able to use a piece of thin masonite glued to a wood backing to give a firm, smooth surface. Cased leather is the vegetable-tanned leather that has been prepared for tooling or stamping by dampening it with water. If you use the search bar at the top of the screen on the right hand side, and search the forums for "Casing" or "Cased leather", you'll pull up tons on posts on casing. stelmackr on this forum has a great pdf on letterpress type and typography he posted a while back. You can find it here: http://aaleatherbigbookcovers.com/download/Typography%20in%20Leather%20Article.pdf

It looks like a piece of letterpress printing equipment, what they call a letterpress block or cut. You can use an arbor press if you are careful, but a good impression can be made by sandwiching the block and cased leather between lino blocks or something similar and using C-clamps.

It's a cross patonce. http://www.americancollegeofheraldry.org/cross.htm https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crosses_in_heraldry http://www.theheraldrysociety.com/articles/heraldic_devices/crosses_by_HSL.htm http://www.seiyaku.com/customs/crosses/patonce.html I don't think it has any particular modern meaning though, other than being a cross.

Watch the sales!--Tandy had a good sale on these around Christmas, they were 60-something percent off the retail price, dropped them down to about $10. Also see if jmkjmk2 here on this forum has any still. I've bought a couple from him and wasn't disappointed. He also has some of the older craftools, and might have some on hand that you might be interested in. I've bought from him both on this forum and his ebay site--nice stuff. There are also some facebook groups that sell leather tools and stamps--they are closed groups, so you have to join and be approved first, but the nice old craftools come up pretty regularly--mostly in lots (i.e., you have to buy the whole group), but you can occasionally buy one or two at a time. I also like the old Midas and Basic Tool L.A/U.S.A geometrics and basketweaves, but those can be a bit of a pill to find. You can also find some of the Horseshoe Brand/Jeremiah Watts, Clay Miller, Barry King, and Robert Beard stamps for sale too--those are all good ones. But they aren't cheap--they are such nice tools that they demand a high price, and people are generally reluctant to sell them. There are also a couple of people that make stamps with brass heads that a lot of people have been highly complementary. Sergey Neskromniy in Bulgaria (not cheap, but people are loving the quality--shipping is $15 to US, $10 to EU, $15 to Australia, and $15 just about everywhere else). I believe he's on this forum too, but I'm not sure what name. He only has one basketweave at the moment that I'm aware of, the rest are some really nice border and geometrics--he's on facebook and in a couple of the facebook groups that I know of. Another maker of unusual stamps is "Toolpaw" from the Czech Republic -- they have a website and sell on etsy and ebay. Toolpaw has nice borders and baskets, and some herringbone-weave stamps, but also geometrics and a lot of "paw" or track stamps--wolf, dog, ferret, bear, horse, turkey, deer....

Well, if it seriously offensive, the moderators take care of it. The moderators can ask someone to tone it down via a private message, give a warning, or drop the ban-hammer, so I don't worry about that too much. I may ask a mod if I feel a signature is going to cause problems, but ultimately, they make the decision to have it removed--if they feel it doesn't warrant removal, that is that. (Edit--It's not my website, I don't get to set policy, and I'm ok with that.) However, I also have my own options that I can implement as needed. If it is a picture I personally have issues with, I have ad-aware, and can right click on the picture and block it from showing. If it is a signature I don't like (too big and I'm tired of scrolling past it, too wide and it's stretching my screen, too political/religious/anti-religious/whatever), I can block individual picture elements with ad-aware or use the forum's tools to block the signature or even all signatures (just under the signature line on the right-hand corner, if you hover your mouse there, there is a gray X--click it to ignore a single person's signature, or all signatures). If it is a user I have issues with, I can use the forum settings to ignore the person entirely (http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?app=core&module=usercp&tab=core&area=ignoredusers).

Good luck.Everything I've heard is that you have to really work hard to get all of the fat off, and as much oil as possible. You might check out taxidermy, archery, and knifmaker's forums--they often have advice on tanning rather odd things for knife sheaths and bow grips, and someone there might be able to give you a rundown on how to tan beaver tail.

Centralia leather (https://furandhide.com/products/raccoon-1) Chichester/Natural Exotics (https://naturalexotics.americommerce.com/store/c/270-Raccoon-Skins-North-America.aspx) F&T (http://www.fntpost.com/Products/Tanned+Wild+Fur/Tanned+Raccoon)

Haven't seen you in a while raysouth, hello. Back on topic, here's my two cents---if the customer is undercharged, it is the seller's fault--they undercharged you through their mistake. You were rung up, paid the price you were told, took your items and left. There was no falsity on your part. And when the manager noticed it, they should have never been short with you---it was the manager's fault--they or their employees rung it up wrong. You hadn't altered the price tags, changed the markings for the square footage, passed a counterfeit giftcard or coupon--you didn't do anything to make the price come up less than it should be---so not your fault, and you weren't defrauding the store. That being said, it was quite likely illegal for the manager, and certainly unethical, to charge you the money the next visit. The manager should have never done that.

If you just want to get a hold of a beaver tail so you can eyeball a commercially tanned veg-tanned beaver tail and compare it side-by-side to what you are able to do with your beasts, these places carry veg-tanned beaver tail for $20 or less: Sheridan Leather in Sheridan Wyoming Chichester, Inc., Niagara Falls, New York Centralia Fur and Hide, Centralia, Washington The Leather Guy, St. Charles, Minnesota

To follow up on another joke someone told here: If someone is a vegan and into crossfit, which do they tell you about first when you meet them? Ah? Ok, I thought it was Carlin that said that, and Twain said "Never argue with a fool; onlookers may not be able to tell the difference"? Still both funny men with a very clever way of getting their point across! Like reading both their work.

"Never argue with an idiot. They will only bring you down to their level and beat you with experience". George Carlin

Run a magnet over every inch? Where it sticks, that's where your needle is.

Scaring the bejeezus out of people is definitely one of its points. I'm scared of mine, so you better believe I am darn sure where my fingers are when cutting--result is I haven't cut myself with it, but I have cuts from just about every other blade I have. I do like cutting away from myself--I also find it easier to see where I need to cut and control the blade. I don't cut a whole lot, mostly because I have a full time job and don't get to monkey about with leather as much as I'd like, but so far, a quick touchup on some extrafine automotive sandpaper glued to glass (since I haven't bought a waterstone big enough yet) every couple of months and a strop between projects is keeping it plenty sharp.