electrathon

Hard to tell by looking at a picture, but it looks like split to me.

Michelle, Case hardening is hard on the outside and less hard on the inside. Truing up the outer edge of the tool should not be enough to go through the hardened layer. Sharpening of all cutting tools is necessary, better tools need sharpening less often and arrive sharp. These tools are without a doubt "superior" to the tools Tandy has been selling. But it is a scale. The old tools would rate a 2 and the new ones a 5. They are superior compared to other Tandy tools, but have a way to go to be high quality. They are only about $6 each, it is hard to expect too much. Aaron

Any oil product will likely darken it some. The more conditioner you used the more likely dying it will not be successful (blotchy). Again, if you are not willing to mess it up, do not touch it with dye. I did a color change on a Coach purse once. I made the lady promise me she would not be upset if it was ugly. I did an inside flap first and it came out awesome. I was actually surprised. I have ruined a number of brand new items coloring them, it is always risky. Every piece of leather takes dye different than the last one you colored.

My suggestion too.

I would laminate x-ray film between the leather. Same as above. The x-ray film accomplishes both. Yes, it will continue. It will also transfer to your clothes, the car seat, table cloth you set it on, etc. This is a by product of the leather you have chosen. Some sealers my help with the bleeding, but you are not going to stop it.

Don't even try if you are not willing to risk messing it up. I would scrub it with deglazer, bye with fiebings dye and seal with Dr Jacksons or possibly atom wax.

I think the spongy pencil grips will be your best option.

It is not "necessary" (nothing is). But if you do not, there will be a loss of depth in the carving.

I recomend you go tot he Bob Beard class in Eugene, dec 13-15. You will learn a LOT, and will be around other leather workers that can coach you and answer questions.

I went in and talked to the guy today. Interesting place. It is upstairs in the Union Station building. Almost unmarked shop. Very little equipment and sparse inventory. He has a very nerdy Portland personality (I doubt he has a car, rather a bike). Makes shoes that look like what you would expect to see in an early 1900's shop. The fit and finish was on the crude side, you can see that in the video. His sewing looks nice. He seemed very proud of the slow turn around (his shop is about 4 blocks from one of the largest leather suppliers on the west coast, but is says he orders hides one at a time from Italy). He was friendly and talked to me for about 20 minutes or so. Interesting place but I don't think he is moving too much work out of the shop.

In the fun and concept of handcrafted would it be possible to get a roll of linen thread and weave a strop?

It is pretty common for soles to be glued onto the shoe, with no nails or stitching. Common glues used by cobblers are Masters, Renia or Barge. I have used Barge on leather and recently learned about Renia, it is a joy to use and is incredibly strong.

I saw that he is teaching. Very expensive, but he has classes broken down into smaller segments and it may be possible to afford.

Very interesting. The guy is in Portland too. I will have to go and try to talk to him. Aaron

For a basic clean sheath I think it looks good. Curious though, it looks like you made the knife upside down. Aaron

If you see that you are not yet doing good work you will hopefully learn and do better. Choppy lines, bad cuts and such are not attractive. As you learn you will make fewer and fewer mistakes. That is different than selling bad work and thinking it is good. Much of the stuff sold at Wal-Mart looks good, just is made poorly. This discussion was primarily about work that looks bad from day one.

Sylvia, This is a perfect example of what we are talking about. I am guessing he did not come to you and tell you to make twisted stitch lines, bad cuts, poor fitting edges. He wanted a nice item that was distressed to show age. Like a nice leather jacket that is distressed does not look like worn out vinyl.

RTC is not a wax, more of an acrylic, similar to mop and glow. When I heat press I dampen the leather when I can (prefer to do it on unsealed leather. It gives a nice burnish that way.

[*]Is Veg Tan the right leather for this? The brand is full sized for livestock. I am concerned it’s going to catch on fire while they brand it. (I won’t be there.) Yes [*]Does the leather need to be damp? Yes [*]Should it already be finished? Not necessarily, will make it harder to dampen. [*]Does the branded area need to be sealed after it is done? Would not hurt but not critical. Sort of depends on what it is going to be exposed to.

Striving to improve and being your own critic is why you do good/better work. Continuous improvement is the goal. I will bring in the splitter if you are bringing the leather.

We are working on that. Are you coming tomorrow to Tandy?

I do not understand it either. There are a lot of leatherworkers that do very poopy work, on here too. It makes the hair on my neck stand up every time I hear the statement, "no one will notice but you". Or, "I wanted it that way". The worst one is, "It is my style". Bad is bad, just because you do poopy work does not mean poop is in style. Everyone will notice, just many are too polite to tell you how bad your work is. Also, distressed/aged quality is far different than new (or old) poop quality. Aaron

I do not have a direct answer to your question, but I would suggest you try the needles with a hole in them and one prong. The lace goes through the hole and is held by the prong. They are at least 10 times stronger in lace retention. Aaron

You need a clean cement mixer and a couple pieces of heavy chain about a foot long. Tumble the jacket with the chain for a while, do it some more, till you get the look you want. Aaron

Bad angle on your bevellers. Look at the Barry King Bevellers with a steeper angle.