Mike Craw
-
Content Count
578 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Posts posted by Mike Craw
-
-
Jim,
The way Pete did it was to case with whatever solution you normally use (we had water with a little Pro Carve in it) bag it, and let the leather case as normal. Just as it gets ready to carve, spray evenly with a light coat of Lexol Conditioner (not Cleaner) and rub it into the leather with your hand. After there is no more Lexol on the surface put a drop of Johnson's Baby Shampoo in the center of the carving area and rub in until the shampoo foam is gone. Then go ahead and carve.
That's the way we did it.
Mike
Edit: This would go a lot quicker if my fingers would spell the words I'm typing!
-
Hey Jim!
I just got back from Asheville, NC where I took a class at the Extreme Leather Workshop from Pete Gorrell, an Al Stohlman Award Winner and the Academy of Western Artists Saddle Maker of the Year in 2000. ArtS from this forum and I finally met face to face in this class, and both of us learned a ton. I'm self taught and have been abusing leather since 1981, and I learned more in those three days than I have managed to teach myself the rest of the time.
One thing Pete mentioned is that most folks tend to carve (or actually tool) too wet. The leather should actually dry back to almost its original color. It will feel cooler than room temp when you touch it with the back of your hand which means it still has moisture in it. Some folks swear by putting a carving solution in their casing water. Some use a tiny amount of dish soap. Pete showed us a trick using a little spray of Lexol leather conditioner rubbed in with our hands and then just a drop of baby shampoo rubbed in until the foam disappeared. My knife never flowed through the leather as smoothly. Of course, my carving didn't get any better looking, but is sure was smooth!!
Hope this helps.
Mike
-
Ohoh, Mike, do you think that's what the problem is?
Johanna,
When I click "Reply" and start to type, the print if very small. When I click "Sizes" and click on one of the larger numbers, all it does is put a code notation in the line. The print doesn't change size.
Mike
-
Mike,Ethanol NOT methanol. Hold down control key and hit the plus+ and/or minus- keys, does the same as the scroll wheel. The "sizes" combo box just puts codes in your test, it gets bigger when you preview or add.
Art
Thanks Art, but unfortunately it doesn't get BIGGER when I'm trying to type it!!
Mike
-
Holy Crap! I have trouble lining up three consecutive geometric stamp impressions...
Great job.
Mike
-
Wow, that Ctrl-wheel thing worked great. Thanks Johanna!! When I click on the "Sizes" tab at the top of this page, it just inserts a code, but it doesn't make the font in this block any bigger or easier to see.
Mike
-
I went to the Extreme Leather Workshop in Asheville with ArtS and a bunch of other fine folks, and I took my laptop to do some quickie photo copying for the participants and also check my email. Well, the Doubletree Hotel was wireless, and in working with Tech Support trying to hook up to the wireless net (never was successful) they had me make a "few" changes to my settings. You guys know me well enough by now to know that I don't have a clue what-all got changed, but when I got home, I couldn't hook up to the net with my Ethernet cable either. Over 7 hours of telephone games with AT&T Tech support with "Jeff" in Bombay later, my son-in-law (an IT guy for Quest Diagnostics) FINALLY got me back up and running.
The problem now is that the print on the Leatherworker.net screen is so small I can hardly see it. Either something else got re-set, or I went blind in North Carolina. Is there an idiot-proof solution to this, or do I have to call "Jeff" again??
Mike
-
Congrats Tom!
I'm kind of glad that "Hide" is a better translation for the name of the publication. I don't know about over there, but I'd hate to have to tell my friends and family that I had an article written about me in "Skin" magazine...
Maybe it's a translation thing...
Mike
-
Hey Paula!
I don't know of any other classes of this caliber in the Southeast. That's one of the reasons I made an effort to attend the workshop, and why I'll try just as hard to be there next year!
Hope to see you there.
Mike
-
Hey Paula!
Outstanding job on your projects. I was across the hall in Pete Gorrell's saddle lay-out class. It also was first rate and I got the same feed-back from some of the folks in Bob Beard's class. I think that Kevin and the Hides to Art bunch deserve a lot of credit for the job they did putting this whole thing together. They are already planning the classes for next year, and I plan to be there. I really can't recommend this event highly enough.
Mike
-
Hey Tom!
If I read your original post correctly, it sounds like you are sewing an already formed holster. Is that correct? I do all my sewing by hand, but I sew first and then wet mold the holster. If you sew first, you shouldn't have any problem getting on your line. I hope this helps, unless I mis-read your question, and in that case it will be absolutely useless...
Mike
-
Carlos and I are going. It was supposed to be "wives" but his is being sent on a trip at work, so my wife will be helping the economy of North Carolina all by herself.
Mike
-
I think you did an outstanding job on the sheath, especially since you are not generally a sheath maker! I would make one suggestion based on the probable use of this particular item, considering where its owner is going. I know that the issue sheath for this knife has the "wrap-around" retaining strap, but on the issue sheath it is farther away from the hilt and cutting edge, high up on a belt loop. I am concerned that if the owner needs the knife in a hurry, the strap on the edge side might not clear far enough to keep from getting sliced off. If he's like the guys I served with in the Marines, you could probably shave with that thing.
You might want to consider making a retaining strap to wrap the hilt (rather than the grip) on the side away from the sharpened edge. You could make it a "thumb-break" function where the strap goes from the sheath itself, around the hilt and snaps underneath the hilt on his thumb side, just like on a holster. That way, when he functions the snap release and pulls the knife, the hilt will push the strap out of the way and the blade will not get anywhere near it. It would also be a faster release for him.
Just my $ .02. Tell him thanks for his service, and to keep his head down.
Mike
-
Hey Bob!
I don't consider this my thread and your thoughts on rust worries are right on target. Ellis Barnes and I talked about this a little bit during a phone conversation. That brings up another thought. If you want to talkt to a master metalsmith who has probably forgotten more about tool making than any of us are likely to learn, give Ellis a call at his shop. He will expound at length, give his unvarnished opinion (occasionally profane) and I always wind up with a grin for having called him.
And I should mention, I'm a big fan of your tooling Bob!
Mike
-
Really nice, Holly!
Mike
-
The only suggestion I would make is to have the edge of the leather that forms the top of the belt slot make the turn up toward the rear sight after it has crossed the line of the trigger guard. This will allow more space for the shooter's middle finger to get a shooting grip before the draw starts without running onto the top edge of the holster. That little bit of the trigger guard where it curves into the grip should be exposed so that the hand isn't starting the draw, and then trying to change position as it's coming on target.
I hope that's clear. If not, let me know and I'll try to clarify it.
Mike
-
The most recent issue of Leather Crafters and Saddlers Journal has an article by Gene Weishuhn on making a "B" Western holster. The pull-out section of the magizine has a pattern for both the belt and holster. Hope this helps.
Mike
-
Hey Scott!
I cast my vote with Greg. I don't see how you could do any better than Jeremiah Watt's video. I'ts not the least expensive out there, but it covers all the basic and advanced techniques for the beginning saddle maker better than any I've seen. Good luck with your saddle.
Mike
-
Thank you, Johanna! I thought I was the only one...
Mike
-
David,
That's a sweet looking job, and you're right - much better than the black. Did you make the custom saddle bag(s) too?
Mike
-
Hey Jessica!
First, welcome to Leatherworker.net. I haven't seen a question asked yet that somebody on here can't answer. The only problem you may have is getting multiple (different) answers, since some of us are a little set in our ways...
If you can find a Tandy near you, or can shop online, any book by Al Stohlman will have line drawings and "photo-carve" pictures of how things should look. I'd venture a guess that if anybody took a poll, over 90% of us on this site started with, or at some time referrred to, Stolhman's books.
If you stamp for a while and decide this is for you, you might want to go on a site called ranch2arena and check out a carving video by Jeremiah Watt. He's a fantastic saddle maker and has put out as good, complete, and understandable a teaching video on leather carving, layout and design as I have ever seen. It ain't cheap, but it's worth the money in my opinion.
Have fun, and don't be hesitant to ask questions.
Mike
-
Hey Art!
Carlos and I both signed up for Pete's class and had planned to take our wives, but Carlos just found out that Tonya is being sent on a trip for work that week and won't be back in time. My wife is still fired up to go help out the economy of Asheville!
How many others of you are going?
Mike
-
Nahh, if I wanted to be ignored, I would just give my daughters some advice...
Mike
-
I looks that way to me too, Dan. I think, judging by the photo, that twofour878 could take a round hunk of saddle leather, cut and skive a tounge to fit into the wrap under the horn, and Barge it onto the bottom of the horn. The stitch holes in the top piece look like they might be OK, so once the old thread is cleaned out, you can just sew through those holes again.
Oh, and a jerk needle is one the has a notch ground in down by the tip. It kind of looks like a hook. You plunge it down through the leather, hook the bottom thread through the notch and "jerk" the thread up through the hole. Thread the top thread through the loop you have jerked up through the hole and pull both threads so that the loops are down inside thehole in the leather, forming a stitch.
Hope that helps.
Mike
Another holster question
in Gun Holsters, Rifle Slings and Knife Sheathes
Posted · Report reply
Hey Tom!
I assume you're talking about a single thickness, unlined holster? Yes, I bevel both sides and a REALLY sharp edger is a great help. If you slightly dampen the edge with a damp (not dripping) sponge and then rub a little bee's wax on the edge and rub with an old piece of denim from blue jeans or a hunk of canvas until you can feel the heat with the fingers you're holding the rag with, I think you'll be happy with the results. A wooden slicker, deer antler, or something really smooth will also burnish the edge further.
Hope this helps.
Mike