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.

JB Weld?

Do you mean the lines following the straight edge of the card pockets? Might be a thin leather that is folded in half and glued to give the appearance of a finished edge on each pocket, then a creaser is used to give that burnished design line along the edge.

Saturday, C didn't get the wake up call so I hustled down to the convention center with the idea that I would take notes and swing back by to pick her up later. I started out by telling Ed I was going to hug the daylights out of him--it turns out he and C had cooked up a surprise for me - a swivel knife that C had given me on Friday, but I had not been able to chase Ed down until that point to tell him how much I liked it and to thank him too. I don't have a lot of pictures of Ed LaBarre's (Bearman's) class as I was trying to keep the camera out of the way of leather conditioning fluid, hammers, and other tools. Ed shows the fat marks he looks for in leather here, along with his work from the previous class on tooling realistic leaves so you can see what a marvelous look the fat marks give the leather. The project we were going to work on was a small notepad holder with curved basketweave and oak leaves, like his example. But first he went over selecting the leather, preparing it by taping the back and securing the taped leather to a plastic sheet to prevent stretch, and casing the leather. Now, it wasn't properly cased as he would have preferred, but we weren't able to pop the leather into a bag overnight, so we all did the best we could. We had also covered the back of our patterns with contact paper, and we traced our patterns onto the cased leather. It was right about this point that C called looking for me, and I ran out to go fetch her. I'd been preparing her leather as well as mine, so I was hoping we could both keep up. We started cutting and tooling with the tips Ed gave us. I'm still really choppy on my beveling, and my swivel knife work needs more practice, but overall, I saw a pretty big improvement, and learned scads more than what I'd been managing on my own. The next day, C. headed back towards Cheyenne then to Denver (and she's posted her trials with the return trip--gads, almost as bad as the trip out here), and I got in my car to head back as well. I did have to stop in Casper for a catnap. I was tired and didn't want to risk falling asleep and running off the road. Bad weather (again) dogged me most of the way home, so I was a bit of a ragged mess when I got home, and then got wrapped up in my normal week early the next morning--job, OA, dance class, Adopt-A-Block downtown cleanup, and all, and here we are at the end of the week. In a nutshell, would I go to Sheridan again? Absolutely. Do I feel I got my money's worth from my classes? Definitely. Would I take more classes from Chan and Ed if the classes were available? Trick question--of course I would, and in a heartbeat.

By the way, if on any of this, feel free to correct me if I got any part of it wrong, or not quite right. Ok, where was I? I was somewhere in the Debut pictures when I reached the limit of pictures I could add to the post, so here are the rest of those: After lunch, it was time to hustle back into Chan's class. This time we did a billfold interior. As before, we made one in natural leather step-by-step, then made one in russet W&C more or less by ourselves. It turns out that Chan also taught a lacing class, and these were some of the different patterns. I'll have to take this one next year if it is offered. Later that evening was the awards ceremony for the Debut. Quite a crowd altogether. I saw a lot of people who up until that point were only names on a forum or in a book to me until that point. That was a lot of fun. The winners in each category are up on the Leather Crafters and Saddlers Journal website (http://www.leathercraftersjournal.com/wld2015.html). Not a lot of pictures came out on this because my camera isn't so good with the lighting hotels and banquet halls seem to favor. Plus, a lot of people were wearing dark jackets, predominantly dark cowboy hats, and dark jeans, so they sort of blended into the black background behind the stage. immiketoo got up to talk about the leatherworking community. He then spoke of a piece of Al Stolhman's work had been put up for sale, and a bunch of leatherworkers had banded it together to buy it--the plan was to present it to King's Saddlery, but unfortunately, it was packed up in a box and accidentally left behind--they'll be working on getting that sorted out. So maybe by next year there will be a new piece of Al's art in the Museum. Bobby Parks was presented the Al Stohlman Award. (unfortunately, I did not catch the name of the young man who won the Ann Stohlman award, and he was not present). Afterwards, they had all past winners of the Stohlman Awards on stage. That pretty much takes me to the end of Saturday, so I'll add that to the next post.

During lunch we managed a quick gawk around part of the trade show. I snuck in to see some of the competition pieces (very crowded, wasn't able to see the saddles at all!) Ok, I have a few more of the competition pieces (but not many, I wasn't able to see even half of the pieces), and then I'll add the pictures from the second half of Chan's class, and then start with the photos of the Award ceremony. But that will have to wait as I'm out of steam again.

Saturday dawns, and C and I scramble over to the convention center and find the room where we both will be taking the Billfold Interiors class with Chan Geer. Cannot say enough nice things about Chan, or about Chan's work that he has for us to look at. Once class started, we all find out that the list of suggested tools on the web wasn't accurate, so there aren't enough scissors--we pass them around and get our patterns traced onto some beautiful W&C leather, and get all of our parts cut out--the first part of the class is an interior for a checkbook-type or clutch-type cover with card slots on either side. We learn how to fold ribbon to make the card pockets and how to glue everything down. Skadi spends most of her time on the feet of the man behind us--Pat. Pat lets me look at and try out his Knipshield pull knife. Oh mama, I'm impressed by that blade (I get one of my own before the end of day). Once we have our interior built, Chan brings out some russet W&C, and we build a second one while he's available to help with any difficulties, but we all are pretty much doing the whole thing on our own. We break for lunch (Note--the Holiday Inn Convention Center does not have a microwave--it you bring a sack lunch, you have to take it to the restaurant staff and have them heat it for you), gobble it down, and try to take in some of the trade show before return for the second part of the class. This time, we'll be making the insides of a billfold, and this one has a sort of sliding hinge that will allow the wallet inside to be fitted to a wallet back.We also make a second of that style in the russet leather for a second attempt on our own. The first style of interior, as made by Chan. Oh look, you can make it out of ostrich too... Traced pattern and the ribbon pockets. Both sides finished. My classmates. Pat and Chan. Well, there's a familiar face! Look who wandered in...

Well, obviously work "ate my lunch" and I didn't get the pictures uploaded. I'll try to address that tonight. As I said before, it rained pretty much for the entirety of the drive. There was a brief respite just before I got to Sheridan, but it didn't last long. So, the Mill Inn is a former flouring mill. The rooms are on the long, low wing, while the "tower" portion consists of the hotel laundry on the lowest floor, and offices for the rest, excluding a small exercise room for hotel guests on the top floor consisting of a basic weight bench, a treadmill and some sort of exercise bike. It was remodeled into a hotel in the mid-70s or so, and it shows in the quirky layout of the rooms--it very much has a "roadside motor hotel" vibe going on. I had one of their single rooms, and it was very small--good thing I wasn't there much. The rooms have a small microwave and a teeny dorm-room refrigerator, but I had to unplug the lamp to plug in the microwave--older motels just don't have much in the way of plugs. That being said, it is super clean and pretty quiet. I've paid a lot more for accommodation that was a lot worse, to be honest. I'd happily stay there again because it is clean, it's pretty close to the convention center without being smack-dab in the middle of things, and I bet the views would have been nice if it had ever stopped raining! I don't have a lot of pictures from the Sheridan Leather Outfitter's Reception--it was raining and the light wasn't very good, so most of my pictures didn't turn out, and they're pretty blurry. But I think enough did so I can at least give you all some idea of the neat stuff. Not shown are the rows of glass cases with the tools (rein rounders, pinking punches, bag punches, strap end punches, awls, etc.), all of the leather in bins along the back wall, and the tent of leather they had set up outside.

Well, hell. I was hoping you'd have a somewhat better trip back.

Ok, so I had planned to leave a little earlier than I actually managed to on Friday. But I did eventually get on the road. Rain dogged me the entire way, but It really poured from Chugwater until I left Buffalo. The trip wasn't without its occasional perks though--It looks like there is a pair of bald eagles at a nest just off of I-25 near Glendo. The rainstorms were impressive though, sometimes a considerable amount of water standing on the road, and sometimes with hail floating on top, and lots of lighting. Made for some white-knuckled driving, but most of the truckers were careful of the little cars like what I drive. The weather delayed me, I didn't reach Sheridan until after 6, and I was 17 different kinds of frazzled. I decided to find my hotel room, find C, and try to figure out where my brain was. I'd had enough caffeine by this point to send me into orbit,and it was pouring, as it seems the rain followed me into town. The Sheridan Leather Outfitter's Reception had already started, and I had only a vague idea of where that was anyway, so C and I decided to hop into my car and figure out where it was. Whoops, it was right next door. Silly me. Wow, what a lot of neat stuff. They had a tent out front full of leather and all kinds of tools and boot lasts, there were various stitching horses outside in the tent and inside, chap leathers, stingray, shark, beavertails, and all kinds of sheepskins. A set of shelves inside had splitters and various other tools, link pinkers, punches, edgers, and a bunch of other things I wasn't sure what they were. Glass cases held slot punches, strap end punches, awls, rein rounders, concho punches, and lots more. There were also a couple of tool racks holding handmade stamps from nails and brass stock, a few McMillian and Bob Beard's stamps, and a bunch of the older craftools. There were all kinds of neat things on the walls and up near the ceiling as well. There were serving food and beer as well (apparently the rain ran nearly everyone inside!), and there were mobs of people talking and looking at tools. Well, we didn't see people we knew, so we decided to try to find the Mint and see if we could find anyone. Lots of stuffed animals heads on the wall and a really big rattlesnake skin over the bar too. Back to the hotel. I was still wired, so I decided to grab some groceries at the Walmart and double check that I know where the convention center is. And then back to the hotel to finally upload the car and find my own hotel room (I'll add pictures of the reception and describe Saturday tomorrow--I'm a bit out of steam...)

Here are pictures of the face and number of the one I have.