c2369zulu

Hello All, Made this little sheath yesterday for my CRKT Ringed Razel. Nothing fancy, it is lined, no edge burnishing or tooling done. I just made this for myself to be a user/beater. I learned not to make the belt loop as wide as the sheath body because you can't easily stitch the body when the belt loop is in the way :-).....................Rory

Very nice looking!

Hello All, I picked up a few SF of elephant hide and I am starting a few projects and could use any advice you can provide on working with elephant. I want to try a typical one piece "fold over and stitch" knife sheath using elephant on the outside and a 3-4 oz veg tan as a liner. Can you use a stitching groover effectively on elephant? I am not using a sewing machine, so how is the stitching line established? ....................Rory

Thanks ST8LineGunsmith and JimBob. I myself love watching old westerns and cowboy movies. I am no where near being a cowboy, lol. Makes me want to be one though. I always enjoy seeing saddlebags in old westerns used by "the Good, the Bad and the Ugly" . Wish mine were full of those stacks of money.......

Thanks Bill and Phil. I appreciate the comments and tips!

Thanks shadowryder/LN Leather. Those were very kind words.......Rory

Hello All, Thought I would share a couple of photos of the shooter's saddlebags I recently completed. The pattern is by Will Ghormley. I did not attempt the tooling or stamping on this one. I wanted to become familiar with the process and get better at tooling before attempting to do anything fancy. I also only added the one holster on one side. Will does a great job with his patterns and I have been impressed with each pattern I have bought by him. I used Al Stohlman brand buckles for this set from Tandy. I also used the white waxed linen thread. The leather used was not premium, so there is a lot of knap on some parts. I did not care though as it was a practice run. I still really enjoy them. I still want to sand the edges a little more and maybe add a brown edge coat or something. Any recommendations?.........................Rory

Really really nice work. Thanks for posting your process and photos!!!!

I should also mention as Bruce did above, that the mats are in fact awkward and heavy.......... ;-)

Hello All. Not sure if this has been mentioned before, but the heavy duty rubber "Horse Stall Mats", sold here in the states at Tractor Supply and similar stores, make a great table top surface for your leatherwork area. They are about 3/4" thick and made of a heavy rubber and come in 4'x6' sheets. My whole table top is covered with one, so I can stab holes for stitching right on the table. I cut a smaller1.5"x4" piece from some scrap as a hand stitching backer. Not saying it couldn't happen, but I have not gotten poked with my awl yet. Helps keep leather in place when cutting too. I would not want it under an area used for tooling or other hammering tasks though........Rory

Looks a lot like a scribe used in knifemaking to mark the center lines for the blade edge........Rory

Carving and tooling, period. I just have not gotten this stuff down yet and it bugs me. Especially the really small tight lines and curves. I have guidance from everyone here though, so I will get there......Rory

Looks like it is coming along nicely. The tool in the first photo is interesting. Is it made for corner cutting? I have been looking for something like that already made. An "edger" may help speed up your process for prepping those edges for burnishing. Just looks time consuming with the plane and sand paper, etc. Again, looks good. Keep is updated.......Rory

Thanks for the responses TwinOaks and Ramrod!

Springfield Leather may have them. I found the brass and silver key wallet key rings there..........Rory

Thanks everyone for the responses and suggestions.........Rory

Bob, Thanks for the response. Yes, the inside was just dyed along with everything else. the key drop is mounted on veg tanned of same thickness. IIRC, I just bought one of the 8.5"x11" tooling leather sheets for this at a hobby store. I was going to line this one, but decided to just do like the book showed for the first one. I used the tubular brass rivots that use the star shaped setter for this too because the quick rivots and double capped rivots seemed too long. I cut about an 1/8th inch off the tubular rivot shaft. Good point on starting/ending at the insert to tuck the ends into. Now that I think about it, it was dumb of me not to. Thanks for looking.........Rory

Hello All, Thought I would share this little key wallet I made over the weekend. Found the pattern in the Leatherwork Manual I bought from Tandy. I did not do the tooling shown for the pattern. I used the single loop lacing method. Tandy does not carry the key drops any longer BTW. I found these at Springfield Leather Company. Only problem I found was not knowing how to finish the lacing when lacing around a single piece of leather (I dont think the book implied using a liner or two layers of leather. The lacing method shown in the manual appeared to be for a lined holster or a billfold that will have two layers of leather. The finishing lace ends would normally I guess be sandwiched between the two layers. Any suggestions/changes would be appreciated. I had a friend say he thought a bi-fold instead of tri-fold may be better...........Rory

Artimus, It is "Natural" colored artificial "flat" sinew. The sinew I buy is from Kentucky Leather and Hide. I like using the artificial sinews as they don't stretch like some of the other nylon threads. Some of the artificial sinews I have bought from hobby stores are not as waxy and tend to fray more. I am sure it can be rewaxed, but I like what I use from Kentucky. Thanks for looking.

Thanks for the response Benlilly1........Rory

Hello All, I tried to make one of the Al Stohlman "playing card" cases from the Volume One: Art of Making Leather Cases book and had quite a bit of trouble trying to hand stitch the "Miter Box" type stitching using the larger blunt tip stitching needles. I am sure they are the wrong type for this application as the larger eye would stretch open the hole too much, but do they make smaller blunt tip needles for finer work? I was under the impression that when hand stitching you would want to use the blunt tip needles to prevent piercing the thread and causing knots as you stitch, however I do know harness needles and such are sharp...............Rory

Bob, just re-read your post. Yes, I do tend to re-wet with a damp sponge while working and most of the time I go over the whole thing again each time I do. No, I do not wet form any holsters. Thanks again......Rory

Hello again Everyone. Thanks for all the responses. I know, I have shamed Will Ghormley on that holster . I think you guys are right. I have questioned myself on whether or not I have the proper moisture content (too much) after waiting. I do get the jagged torn edges a lot and not so much burnishing. I do try to wait until the original color returns, but may still be too soon each time. Must still be too spongy. Thanks for all the comments. Luke-Thanks for the response. Yes, I have Tech Tips/Leather Tools/How to Carve Leather/ABC's of Leatherwork/How to Make Holsters/Etc.and several other Al Stohlman books, but not all of them. I love the drawings and illustrations...........Rory

Hello Pete. Thanks for responding and here is an example, even though I hate posting my carving. The background in the upper right areas shows best that it is nearly flush with the surrounding leather that should be in relief. Don't pay any attention to the poor carving and bad stamping outside of the beveling and backgrounding (just kidding, I need the criticism to see what else I am doing wrong ) I cant seem to get away from the choppy swivel knife cuts. I think I need to strop more...........Rory