Cyberthrasher

It was just more of a curiosity

Actually that was a thought I had yesterday. We could all tool the words "bullet cartridge elements" on a strap and say "now THIS is infringing on your patent!!"

I see that point too, and I think that's how it will actually benefit our campus and students. But, for the home user who's not running a design firm and just needs something for editing, this can price them out. Say I save up my hard earned money to buy Photoshop (not sure of the price, but let's say $300 for examples sake). I work hard and save that money by holding off on leather purchases and other supplies and maybe not pay myself for my work just to make sure I can afford the $300 for necessary software. By the old model, that's all I needed and I would own a piece of software with license for as long as I could make the software work - let's give it a lifetime of 5 years for the example even though it could easily function longer. So, I get 5 years worth of graphic design for $300. NOW, with Adobe's new subscription model, I get a whopping 8 months for my hard earned $300. So, I want my same 5 year product use, now I have to spend $3000. How is that a good thing for the non-corporate user? If the cost of the software is already that high for you now (say with CS6 Master Edition or something), then it's a great deal as you say. But, for the people who don't need all that stuff, it can destroy us financially.

It's a fine line. You have to know that your work is good by "normal" standards, but still know it sucks by your own. Just remember, the second you think you're good at something is when you stop striving to improve. One of the biggest problems I see in most fields is that people don't take the time to stop and examine their work. You get so many people that say "what do you think" when it's obvious where they need work. I say it here, music forums, and anywhere else where progress may be judged - if you examine your work, you'll never need to ask how you did because you'll already know. Kind of running off track here, but the point is valid. If you weren't asking this question, then that would say to me that you're not examining your work. Now, to the other side of the coin. How do you know when your work is good enough to sell to people, even though it will never be perfect in your eyes? You don't. You have to trust what people say and compare your work to what's considered "good" in the market place. I don't consider myself a master or a pro by any means, yet others have said otherwise for some reason. However egotistical it may sound, I also KNOW that my work is better than a lot of the stuff out there in the hobby market. How do I know that? Because I've spent a lot of time comparing my work to available examples in order to judge what I'm doing well and what I need improvement on. I don't have the luxury of someone looking over my shoulder to say "do this, not that" so I have to teach myself what's good and what's not. I'm rambling again, and I can probably do it on this conversation for hours (mostly because I get a lot of PM's regarding it). But, all in all, you're not alone. Just keep doing what you're doing, but keep in mind that you're judging yourself more than others are judging you. As long as you're putting out QUALITY work, you can continue to strive for PERFECT!!

The best part about that is that he thinks he owns a patent on anything with bullet cartridge elements!!! "any type of band that has bullet cartridge elements on it, ie... dog collars with shotgun shell conchos in any size or variation, belts, hatband, etc." So, he now owns the patent on any and every cartridge belt ever made, all the guitar straps that were ever made with bullet loops, and anything else that's in "band" form which contains something that would go on a bullet. Think about all those 80's rockers that copied his future patent by putting "bullet cartridge elements" on their belts and everything else!! Oh wait, you can't manufacture that rifle sling with bullet loops, this guy owns the patent on it. This is the kind of thing that would make me want to figure out how to file a formal challenge on it. It's the principal of the matter and it's a blatant abuse of the systems that were put in place to protect honest entrepreneurs.

YES. By not buffing, you're suspending the residual pigment in the finish. Super Sheen and other finishes SEAL the leather, so buffing on top of them isn't doing much of anything. In terms of drying time, it's not a matter of the moisture left in the dye, but a matter of how well it's penetrated the leather. This can take time and the leather color can change after it sits. At least overnight, if not 24 - 48 hours. One thing that you may end up noticing is that the leather will lighten in color from the time you apply the dye. If you seal it right away, you're stuck with it. But, if you let it "dry" and penetrate, then you'll still have a chance to go back and adjust. I've heard a lot of good stuff about RTC. I have a bottle of it sitting there to test, but haven't gotten to it yet. I use Resolene for nearly everything I do and haven't really had any need to jump and change products. I just like to know what's out there and test things out

It sounds like you may be confused about what a finish is. Oils are a conditioner, not a finishing product that will protect your leather. Finishes will pretty much always be glossy and they seal the leather, stopping anything else from getting in. But, that said, Super Sheen isn't the best out there. My first recommendation would be to look at Resolene from Fiebing's. It's an acrylic finish that will offer water and UV resistance and applies similar to Super Sheen. It will add a gloss finish, but when applied 50/50 with water it will be less glossy. It should ALWAYS be applied 50/50 with water, regardless of what the bottle says. You can add more water to try cutting down on the shine, but never less. Apply several light coats, regardless of the finish sealer you use. Now, there are some products that would be more of a conditioner but also offer some protective qualities. These are what I call "temporary finishes" because they will need to be reapplied. Most of these will be a mixture of waxes and oils. The oils penetrate the leather, leaving the wax on top to protect it. But, it will wear off and need reapplication. My favorite of these is Montana Pitch Blend, but Pecard's is another go to product as well. These won't cause a lot of gloss and will mellow in time, but again, they must be reapplied.

That's awesome Ed!! But, I'm actually more interested in what the "bearlac" is

I have an old "Paper crafter" knife (basically a trim knife) that I use for rough out cutting of my hide since it's handy and I usually do those cuts with it sitting on the floor. But, for all my other cutting I use my LW round knife. I'm able to use it for push and pull cuts, as well as really tight curves. I also had Paul make it with an really pointed tip (his "Rhino" tip) which allows me to get even tighter curves and works excellent for skiving as well. I could easily use it for cutting the rough out stuff too, but I'm afraid I'm going to cut through my cheap mat I use on the floor and end up shredding my carpet

Sign up for the free tutorials on Paul Burnett's site (maintained by his family since his passing) and check out "The F926 Saga". That will give you a lot of clues about tool manufacturing and why we just can't get things like what was available in the past. http://paintingcow.com/content/index.php/publications/free_lesson_sign_up/

Yeah, I don't know of any product that doesn't lift some. But, this is obviously lifting a LOT of color and just smearing it around. One reason for it happening so bad in this case is that both products are water based.

1.) Tandy finish products are junk in my opinion. Basically your supersheen is reactivating the antique and dragging it around. Everyone I talk to who uses the gel has that problem. I'd switch to Fiebing's paste. It's what I use exclusively with Resolene and I don't have those problems at all. Now, anytime you apply anything over the top of color with a sponge or rag, it's going to lift some. But, not that bad, especially after buffing. Now, since you're applying the antique to color the leather and not hilight tooling, it's going to move around regardless. But, the paste will probably work out better. I've also seen people get the results you're going for by using dye. Also, if your finish is applied correctly (SuperSheen in this case), buffing is pointless because it's already sealed everything in, right? If it's not sealing it and you're able to buff things off, then that means either you need another thin coat or two, or the product is inferior. 2.) for your belt, Dwight said what I'm thinking - cheap leather. Either it was an inferior leather all around, or it was a bad cut. I have a quick collar I made for my dog out of some really fleshy stuff that I had sitting around. The edges started fraying like that within the first week or two. I would NEVER send a product to a customer with that leather. Hell, I shouldn't have even used it for my dog, but it's all I had the right weight and he needed it NOW. 3.) The milky look - no idea. Is it possible you got something on it that reacted with the finish? A good finish should stop anything like that from happening, but your guess is as good as mine. 4.) That cracking actually looks more like a cut. I've NEVER seen the grain side of leather crack like that. It's more like it's been split open. When I think of the grain cracking under force, it's more of a wrinkle and separation from the fibers underneath. Again, I would guess that that was a cheap piece of leather (if it actually is real leather) that should have never been used for custom work.

It could also be that somewhere along the line Tandy/Craftool decided that they should redesign them. You might see some difference between old and new by looking at their conversion chart. I don't have my copy of it on this computer, but it's free. https://www.leathercraftlibrary.com/p-1416-craftool-conversion-chart.aspx

Are you buffing your color really really well? It's normal for it to pull up a little bit of the color, but buffing will limit that. If you want a completely undisturbed surface, airbrushing is about the best you can do. Also be sure that you've allowed enough drying time before buffing and doing anything else to it. At least over night, if not a full day or two.

I've never used them, but I know that's one thing you'll consistently find with Tandy's tools. The tools Al was using were a lot different then the tools we have now. The best you'll be able to do is either modify them to match, or try to find some vintage tools. It may also be possible to modify the technique to get the desired outcome using the tools you have. Also keep in mind that Al modified his tools quite regularly.

One thing that's got me wondering is how it's going to workout with schools. I work in IT at a college and we have several graphic design labs who rely on those products for all their students. We haven't done a volume license at all, leaving each department to buy their own copies. I can see this really pricing them out if it's not handled correctly.

I wouldn't say scrub. Just wipe it on and you'll be fine.

yeah, stay away from "Z" tools for sure. If you keep your eye out, you can find good deals on actual vintage bundles. For a good price range, I usually expect to spend an average of $4 or $5 a piece for the tools. I've had a lot of good dealings with this guy. He's trying to move everything over to ebay now, but I've been able to get a lot of good tools off of him. http://www.auctiva.com/stores/viewstore2.aspx?id=1657803&page=home&pageNum=2

Well said Bob. I've never purchased any software. Most of the main ones have a good free Open Source alternative that's well supported. I've used GIMP since the day I started working with computer graphics. I still use Office all the time though, but that's only because I get it free on our company contract. If I were forced to buy something, it would be an open solution. I've never needed InDesign for anything, but I did recommend Scribus to another member not long ago when she needed something quick to get some business cards and pamphlets made up.

I don't know. Since the day I started working with leather, the one constant I hear from the experienced pros is that Gum Trag is nothing more than a crutch. I've never used it myself. I use the bar glycerin saddle soap and I get perfect durable edges in no time.

Even the white dyes aren't really dyes. That's straight from Fiebings. They actually discontinued it because it sucked. But, back to your question. I've never seen anything like that. I would try some leather acrylics. Just apply it thinly and don't build up. The leather stuff is designed to flex and hold up. The only problem with acrylics and their longevity is when it's not applied right. Think about the finish products we use. A lot of those are even harder than acrylic paints and they hold up fine. Resolene, my preferred finish for straps and belts, is an acrylic and it holds up perfect.

That looks like an edge paint. But, either way, no masking would be required with careful application of the black. Block dying would stop it from getting on the edge. Where did the wallet originate?

that's how I store all of mine. Some of it's been sitting there for almost 2 years and it's as perfect as the day it arrived. There are some cut-offs (bellies and such) that I keep in a tote (not the clear kind) and they're perfect too.

I don't really have much experience with patents. But, I'm pretty sure that Ed nailed it. Talk to an attorney and get their thoughts, but I don't see anything about that that's really patentable. One good way to prove that he didn't "invent" that design is to find an example of it that pre-dates 2011. If someone else was already manufacturing something with that "design", then it's obvious he didn't invent it. I do know that there are "first-to-patent" laws, but this is only a step above patenting a plain dog collar with nothing on it and saying you invented the design for the dog collar. For reference - here's someone who was making them in 2010 - predating his "invention" http://www.dobermantalk.com/doberman-related-chat/48970-ginos-new-collar-pictures.html

Very true that experience is the number one necessity. But, with all the new technology out there, we might as well use it. I look at it like this. I can spend a bunch of time using all the traditional methods, or I can spend a little money on the diamond steel and therefore spend a lot less time sharpening and more time working. That, and the diamond steel is so much cleaner to use.