Cyberthrasher

Mine are still at the printers, but here's the submitted images - front and back. I might adjust the logo positioning in the end, so I just ordered 100 for now to "test" them. Especially with a name like Buttskinz. Not trashing the name at all, but imagine the wife who finds that and wonders "WTH is my husband into!!!"

Just a column??? I have a whole separate bank account for it

First one I saw there was "Scab Red" and I busted up laughing.

I'm a lot more simple about mine. It's more of a contact card. To me, if they're in a position to get the card, then they're likely in a position for "someone" to explain to them more about what you do. I have pictures on a different computer, but under my business name on one side it just says "kustom leather tooling and design". That slogan with Hellhound Kustoms is the ONLY thing on that side of the card. The other side has my signature HK logo, name, email address and a facebook address. Quite simple and to the point for me.

THANKS!!! That's all tooled with swivel knife and bevelers and then filled in with antique paste. There are pictures of the rest of the strap in my gallery as well. If you click "go to comments page" after opening the picture, you'll be able to scroll through them from there. That was actually the first item I had ever airbrushed (minus some practice pieces first), so you can see it's pretty easy to get the hang of. If you're interested in getting into tooling, there are lots of resources here for that too.

Same here. I use a Harbor Freight deluxe airbrush and one of their small 3 gallon compressors. I've gotten that effect quite frequently with my airbrush and oil dyes. The deluxe model is a dual action that lets you fade out the amount of dye you're using. As an example, here's one that was airbrushed with Pro Oil dyes, started out thinned 50/50 with isopropyl alcohol, but you can use it full strength too. It's not exactly like what you're looking at, but it shows the technique using 3 colors - saddle tan, light brown, and dark brown.

I can't comment on the metallic look, but the "burnt" look would be best accomplished with an airbrush. To airbrush, just start with your lighter color dye and then come back over it with the darker dye on those spots, letting it fade as necessary. But, this mask almost looks like it could have been accomplished by first putting on the dark color with a brush or dauber and then almost immediately (within 10 minutes or so) going over the entire project with the lighter color. It's hard for me to explain the differences between those two methods in the outcome, but that is what I'm seeing, especially with the darker brown spots scattered throughout the lighter area. That red and black one does look airbrushed completely though. Honestly, although I'm sure it's possible to use eco-flo, I'd stick to a regular dye such as Fiebings Pro Oil or Spirit. From my experience, and several others here, eco-flow is good to use as a bottle to mix real dye in once you dump the water based stuff out. But, there are lots of people who use it exclusively as well.

yay!! I think that's the first time I've made sense all day!!

yeah, it looks like you did the same thing I was doing at first - mallet, lift, move, mallet, lift, move. Think of it more like that tattoo needle making a steady jack hammer motion up and down using your fingers as a shock absorber. Let the mallet/maul take care of the up and down while you just worry about the side to side movement. That's the best example I can give. Other than that it does look really good.

Uhm, they make those already. There's also one available with several sizes in one tool. http://www.tandyleatherfactory.com/en-usd/search/searchresults/3052-00.aspx

As I'm typing this, I realize it's really hard not to sound condescending or mean, so please take it as strictly advice for the betterment of everyone I see a lot of questions about "what weight is best", but a lot of times those questions are easily answered by simply thinking about what the product is. Now, this is 100% void if you don't what what the thickness of the weights are. If the end product should be fairly flimsy/giving, then use a lighter leather. If the end product should be rigid, use a heavier leather. Do you want a tool bag that sags and flops around or do you want one that's solid and holds your stuff on the highway? Do you want a mask that's really rigid and restricts your facial movement, or do you want something light and flexible? Should your belt be thick enough to carry the weight of anything strapped to it and last through years of "stretching" to fit that extra pound, or do you want one that will have some give and stretch out over time (and possibly break)? Some basic guidelines, that can always be adjusted as needed: Belts/guitar straps/etc....: between 7 and 10 oz. For belts, 8/9 is a good starting point for something 1.5" in width and up. Narrower belts should drop in weight so that they don't look HUGE. Guitar straps can be made lighter as well. A lot of people use 5/6 oz, or even lighter by doubling it up. Right now I have some that are 7/8, some that are 8/9, and I'm even working on some that will be made with soft 2/3 doubled up. Motorcycle bags: Let's stick to the 8/9 oz range and up here. A tool bag/saddle bag should be rigid to hold its form. Look at all those saggy factory bags out there that have lost their shape. Masks: I'd say use the lightest weight you can while still being able to tool. If you're good at tooling, a 2/3 oz "Soft Veg Tan" would do well here. If not, I'd say no more than 4 oz in standard rigid veg tan. Remember, the safety of the rider is hugely important on this one. Wallets, other small pocket items that fold: usually a good 5/6 oz, many people even use 3/4 or lighter. Hopefully this shows how the USE of the product should dictate it's weight. If you're not sure about weight to thickness, there is a good diagram on Tandy's site, which i believe was linked above. And remember, these are all guidelines and not rules. Tweak away and don't worry about breaking some ancient leather code

Those look REALLY good!!

I've used GIMP for years but I've only recently started using it for anything like templates and patterns that require perfect sized output. I was struggling for a while getting the view on my screen to match the print size, so I did a lot of adjustments on the size and scale of my image trying to get it to match. Turns out the easiest way to do it was go to "view" and deselect "Dot For Dot". Ever since I found that I've never had a problem with sizing issues. I've been wanting to learn inkscape but haven't had the time to really become efficient with any of the available vector programs.

There is "Soft Veg Tan". Springfield has it available in 2/3 oz and it's pretty nice stuff. I haven't tooled it yet (minus my initial 2" sample they sent me), but it seems doable with some caution. I have some inquiries for soft leather guitar straps, so I picked up a side to try it out and see what I can do. I think it would be pretty good doubled up. If it helps, my plan is to double it up and then put a piece of 4/5 oz front and back at the ends to make it more solid (making it about 15 oz total). That may be necessary for you to do something similar at the buckle end. http://springfieldleather.com/20623/Side%2CTooling%2C2-3oz%2CSoft/ I have to agree with this too. I don't think I would take the risk with my dog because he's a strong puller (unless it were an "around the house" collar), but a calmer/smaller dog would probably do well. But, who knows? Maybe a few layers of it bundled together will do quite well for strength.

Looks good. The only thing i would change is to put a hole at the end of your peg slots. Just a little one. Right now that's going to risk tearing with repeated use. If you use a hole at the end it won't be able to tear.

I had a nice discussion with Paul last night. Needless to say, as soon as I have the money in hand I'm getting my name in the queue for something extra special. I picked up a bunch of old Craftool figure bevelers from usedleathertools.com (one of the members here) and I tend to use them in lots of places. I admit that I do need a lot more practice in order to use them to their full potential.

I'm finding that a lot of the custom guys are just cool people like that. I think it's easy to believe that they have some team of employees creating all these fine tools when it's actually just them taking pride in their name and product to make sure that we get the best tools we can in order to do the best work possible. I've got a few of Barry's bevelers on my yearly "ME" shopping list

Be sure to show us what you come up with

Start thinking up a name that suits you now

I get a kick out of that one. You always amaze me with your stitching.

You'll be starting a store up in no time!! Seriously, you're progressing a lot faster than I did so don't feel like you're not getting anywhere. Do some practice burnishing on your cut offs and experiment with different techniques. It is pretty tough to do on those thin leathers, but as long as it's not flimsy liner weight you should be able to get it with some practice. With the liner weight stuff, just color the edge and call it good.

When you seal the entire piece with your finish coat, you're stopping the antique from coloring the leather. An antique is designed to sit inside the tooling and not actually color the leather. After you antique, you finish it again to seal the antique into the tooling, otherwise you risk it wiping out with use. You can use many different finishes for a resist. The two I use are either neatlac (clearlac now) or Fiebing's Resolene. I've also been hearing a lot of good things lately about RTC Sheridan Resist, so I've been thinking about giving it a try as well. So: 1.) dye 2.) seal with finish to "resist" 3.) antique 4.) seal again to protect the antique

Yes, definitely use scrap!! I'm working on a project right now and I decided to try out some new dying techniques, so I did a quick little sample of the blue flames I'm supposed to be doing on a small strip that I'm going to use for an amp handle. The blue came out HORRIBLE and had I done that to the real project I'd be down a couple hundred dollars in labor having to start over from scratch. But, since I used the small scrap, I'm just gluing it up anyway to use as my amp handle prototype as planned - no losses