WinterBear

Hi josecheo. Springfield leather has chart for mm to oz. conversions. http://springfieldle...g%20Leather.pdf So about 8oz/9oz for the top, and about 7oz for the bottom.

You can use it as a clasp. Take a look at this folding hoof pick used as a belt buckle arrangement. http://www.narragansettleathers.com/Pelican.html

Try just block dyeing or just antiquing then? For block dyeing, you'd dye the whole item a lighter color, then when it's dry, you use a cloth with a darker wrapped around a block of wood and wipe it across. The darker dye will stay out of the crevices around the stamps and dye everything else. For antiquing, you'd either leave the leather a natural color or dye it, and then top it with a resist. When the resist is dry, you wipe antiquing gel or dye into the stamp marks and wipe it off the high parts. The darker antique settles into the crevices.

Yeah, something like that. And yes, file after the bone is degreased and dry. You won't be able to file damp bone either. You can soak the bone in hot (but not boiling) water and borax to degrease.

You can get rid of a lot of that honeycombed stuff with some eye protection, a small cold chisel, a vise, a pad of old towel or something similar, and a non-metal mallet. You don't want to drive yourself crazy by doing more sawing than you need to. Just pad the bone and clamp it in the vise, pop your eye protection on, and using light taps on the chisel with a wooden mallet (never use metal-to-metal on impact tools--ruins the tools and may splinter metal), and break out the boney core. A half-round file or a round file usually works to smooth the interior juts that remain attached. A jeweler's saw is gennerally not going to work for cutting pieces off the compact or dense bone, unless you like a lot of sawing. You'll make more progress with a coping saw for any long straight cuts, and use the jeweler's saw for small precise cuts and curves.

It looks like a mix of block dyeing and brushwork? You can see where the block (or possibly a sponge brush or dauber) accidentally dyed the background along the scallops at the upper right. If I was to make something similar, I'd first start by dyeing the entire strap that tan color that surrounds the lettering. I'd block dye or brush dye the edges the darker red-brown, then use a fine brush to dye the words black. The wolf stamps would be sort of dry brushed with the same red-brown as the sides to add more color. I'd then resist the entire strap, and when dry, antique the strap to darken the imprints around the wolf and the scallops along the sides, then seal and finish.

Well I must be doing something wrong then, it certainly turned me funny colors where I got it on my bare skin.

Arbor press! Snaps, definitely. You can also lug that sucker to a shop and have them tap it to hold stamps too! Kids love the 1" square 2D and 3D stamps, but kids under 12 don't always have the upper body strength or the coordination to stamp alphabet and the larger figure stamps (frustrated flailing often ensues, and/or squished fingers). Look up the posts on arbor presses (and also drill press)--I seem to recall there were some nice arbor press set ups and a jig for stamping belts (aha! there's one: http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=34570&st=0&p=23841). If you are worried about the press squishing fingers, pre-set the snaps at home, and give the kids C-clamps for the 3D stamps. C-Clamps work surprisingly well for most of the younger bunch I've worked with.

You probably have a nice piece of actual shoe leather then. You won't be able to tool it since it's not veg tan, but it can be made into other things depending on its temper. Bags, handbags, and wallets are all possibilities.

Not a veg tan with the darker surface. Looks like maybe a latigo or a leather with a pull-up finish maybe...? Not sure. We'll need more of an expert I think to decide what kind exactly you have. Looks a nice piece though.

Hi there. Can you describe it a bit more? What does it look like? Feel like? Color? Take a look at the cut edges, better yet, cut off a small piece. -Is the exposed center blueish or greyish? If so, you probably have chrome tan. -If it does not have a blue or grey center, but is a color than tan all the way through, it is most likely some type of leather that is "struck through", which is typically, but not always something other than veg tan. -Is it tan on the surface (grain and flesh side), and is it about the same color as the surface in the middle? You may have veg tan. If it is tan all the way through or colored the same all the way through, the next step is immersing your cut off piece in water. Does the water absorb? Does pressing it with the edge of a spoon/penny/fingernail leave a darker dent/mark that stays even after the leather dries completely or does it maintain a shape after drying? If so, it is probably a veg tan or a russet tooling leather (if it is sort of a reddish color). Chrome tans are generally (but not always) softer and more drapey that tooling leather of a similar thickness. Chrome leathers are also more likely to have a distinct grain, have a waxy or shiny surface, be dyed, and/or be embossed (some veg tan comes pre-embossed or has a grain, but typically not so much).

Have you tried talking to Springfield Leather? I'm not sure how their price/quality compares for their grades when held against other sellers, but they will cut leather for people. If someone wants a bend, they are usually more than happy to sell just a bend. In fact, if I remember correctly, they do sell Hermann Oak bends in various weights as a regular catalog item. I think they also carry Craftsman and B grade in the HO. Now, I've not ordered any tooling leather from them, but I have been pretty happy overall with what I've bought from them.

I think I've hurt something, I just laughed so hard at that description. I always wondered if underwear snags were an issue with some holsters.

Probably the best thing to do is to find people on this site that live in your country or in the same general region, and find out where they order and what kind of quality they get for the price they pay. To get more feedback, you can also compare what the people in the tannery's home country think of what they get, compared to someone who ordered the same grade to be shipped and imported into their country--just to see if what they call Grade A in their home country is what they are calling a Grade A that they ship elsewhere.

I actually took the Tandy awl (not the 4-in-1, but the flat-sided awl haft with the small Tandy diamond awl blade in the chuck) and ground it down a little thinner or a stone, then resharpened the edges (they don't come nearly sharp enough). When I sew using the awl, I place a block of beeswax on the backside of where I want to push through (helps me get a clean punch, plus lubricates the blade). The blade is sharp enough I don't have to wiggle. When pushing through, I line up the top of the awl on a line I've lightly marked, with the short side of the diamond aligned at the top, and the longer sides at an angle. Sort of like so: (sorry, spelling error!)

Nope. It's scaly, so not a frog. Frog has a really weird texture too, rubbery and usually warty. I don't see a thing in those pictures that's warty.

I didn't see any frog in those pictures?

Lizard yes, and if that other stuff is shark, yes, as long as the rubber doesn't hang up on the sewing foot. Stingray--that stuff is the problem, but you can cut it with tin snips and use it as an inlay piece behind a veg leather window. Sanding is NOT required unless there is an exposed edge. That stuff is sharp!

I'm seeing quite a bit of lizard. The zebra striped thing with all the green leathers looks like printed stingray. The very first picture you've posted...maybe shark?

Those thieves must be pretty well bone-headed. Anyone who knows what DB stuff is, well, they are going to know this stuff is stolen. With any luck it'll be found. Have you posted a notice in any motorcycle/Sturgis forums and let them be on the lookout too? They might be trying to sell the seats in a local or online classified, and the motorcycle groups would give you a bunch more eyes across the country to find the stuff.

A really sharp awl, a little beeswax, some fabric first-aid-tape, a pair of shears, and a bone folder wouldn't be a bad idea either. Gotta make the holes for the needles, the extra wax will keep the thread and needles from breaking and can be held behind the leather as a support when you push the needle through, the tape is to wrap around your little fingers so you don't get cuts from the thread when you pull it tight, the shears are good for cutting linings or thin leather for the "wallet guts", and the bone (actually, most are plastic anymore) folder can be used to smooth down liners, crease folds, and to smooth bubbles out of where stuff is glued, and can be used as a burnisher if you get the one that looks like half a wheel stuck to a flat stick.

You might try Moscow Hide and Fur out of Idaho. They accept small orders (if a very small order, there is a $3 surcharge for orders under $30). I've heard good things about them from other people on this site, and plan to place a small order there soon. http://www.hideandfur.com/inventory/5623.html

You have a nickle and copper allergy, possibly. You'll probably want stainless steel or other "hypoallergenic" metals for anything that has skin contact. For a quick cheap fix, clear nail polish can be used to "lacquer" the metal of the Tandy buckles and should partially solve the problem for you for the buckles you currently have. It will need to be reapplied periodically as it does degrade and wear off. I use the nail polish on some copper cuffs I have, it keeps the verdigris off of me and that way I don't turn green and rashy. I have to reapply the nail polish about once every 2 or 3 months if I am wearing the cuffs daily.

Have you ever considered a making yourself a needle wallet or needle case from leather? That way, you get to showcase some of your work, and keep the needles where they should be at the same time. Needle cases: http://www.etsy.com/listing/98011222/small-wood-needle-case-red-pink-floral?utm_source=googleproduct&utm_medium=syndication&utm_campaign=GPS http://www.wymarc.com/apprentice/THE_NEEDLE_CASE.pdf (see Figures 19, 20, 22, 26 for examples of needle cases of leather) Needle wallets: http://www.etsy.com/listing/93148273/watermelon-print-sewing-needle-wallet http://www.ebay.com/itm/VINTAGE-LEATHER-SEWING-NEEDLE-WALLET-HOLDER-CASE-CLOWN-IMAGE-/250896939791#vi-content