wizard of tragacanth

You are right Fred. I don't know what I was thinking. Thanks for the correction. nick

I have used Texas Custom Dies and was very happy with their service. http://www.usacuttingdie.com/ nick

I don't think that is the consensus at all. I think that the consensus is that you should use a tool which makes slits rather than circular holes, but maybe I am reading it wrong. The slits could be at an angle, or straight in line, whichever you prefer. nick

Sorry, I don't know the answer to your question. I just wanted to say that I have never seen a rough out belt and I really like it. nick

Brian... Awesome tutorial. Lots of work went into that and it is very magnanimous of you to offer it! Many people will benefit. nick

Nice project Chuck! The colors coordinate with Sissy nick

Not being sarcastic or rude... what difference does it make if it is real leather or not? Looks like it could be "real" leather, probably a reconstituted leather as is frequently used for upholstery. nick

As a hobbyist, I don't do very many projects, so I went with a "plastic" stamp. Think I paid maybe $35 for it. It is very generic but it works. If you are doing high production, then you will want a more durable metal stamp but you may pay $150 or more for it, I don't really know. nick

Neil, round holes are not going to work for you. Can you purchase flat, angled teeth for that black tool shown in your post? nick

Black with blue or red would be nice. Moistening with a sponge is done for stamping. Submerging in water is done for wet molding because every fiber needs to be flexible. You cannot mold wet leather and you cannot mold dry leather, it has to be somewhere in between, but closer to dry. Dip your leather in the water just until it feels limp. You don't have to drown it! Take it out and let it start drying. When it has nearly returned to it's natural color, it will feel cool, it will be mold-able and will hold it's shape. There are many commercial finishes or top-coats, available. Over time, you should experiment with several to see which you prefer. I use Satin Shene because I prefer a less shiny look, but shiny is very popular. Many people use use Mop & Glo floor polish mixed 50/50 with water. nick

That is a very good first project, if you ask me. You seem to have a good understanding of what you need to do to improve it too. I'm sure your next one will show what you have learned from this one. Regarding thread color. I know that white is very popular but I am not a big fan of it. I prefer matching colors or contrasting colors (other than white). In the past, I have dyed un-waxed white linen thread with the color that I used on the holster, to get a good match. I don't think that this would work well on pre-waxed thread though, but it might. You could buy a lighter or darker brown thread and it would probably look pretty good. Have fun! nick

Hey, you are welcome Zoomer! No charge Real or Really, Nice, Leather or Leatherwork nick

Super nice... as always! nick

Yep... the back looks good too. RNL must stand for Real Nice Leather. Well, it could, anyway.

You can post this request in the "Help Wanted" section. It is approx. 6 sub-forums down from the Leatherwor Conversation that you posted this in. nick

Really nice work! nick

Nice work and nice pics too! I am no judge of stamping (because I don't do any) but I can say that your edges look great. Being totally honest though, I think a little bit of a radius on the tip of the sheath would be an improvement. nick

Don't know about user groups and I don't own one myself but there are many videos on YouTube. Have you had a look at those? I found this one a couple of weeks ago, just wanted to learn more about them. nick

Do you have any dapping tools? These are the cheapest ones that I could find on Amazon. There are many other sets. Some are only a dollar or two more than these but look better (straighter shafts, painted, etc.) so look around. https://www.amazon.com/Dapping-Punches-Silversmith-Staking-Punch/dp/B000RB311M/ref=sr_1_27?crid=3NQ7NLIM83BYO&keywords=doming+block&qid=1575305055&s=hi&sprefix=doming+%2Ctools%2C186&sr=1-27 nick I would probably go for these, since they come with a wooden holder. You don't need the metal block for you leather projects, but maybe in the future for some metal work. https://www.amazon.com/ToolUSA-14-Piece-Domming-Block/dp/B00FNZARYG/ref=pd_sbs_469_4/133-3862085-6210725?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B00FNZARYG&pd_rd_r=fa13f38f-8739-49b0-b453-6ba2067c822d&pd_rd_w=CxfoG&pd_rd_wg=CRt03&pf_rd_p=5873ae95-9063-4a23-9b7e-eafa738c2269&pf_rd_r=K6K5346PFGN0DFJE8S50&psc=1&refRID=K6K5346PFGN0DFJE8S50

I don't know if it is the best but I have an Iron Horse 3100. It is around 10 years old and doing fine. They call it a 24-hour "control room" chair. i paid ~$1300 for it at the time. No idea how much they are now. After owning several cheap, uncomfortable office chairs, I just said, to heck with it, and got something that I thought would be truly comfortable and last for years. I hated spending that much money but now I am glad that I did. I had tried some chairs at Relax the Back store that were even higher priced., like $1800 to $3000 and I think that I hit the peak of the price/performance curve with the Iron Horse. I don't use the head rest very often but I would not buy a chair that did not have one, just for the times that I want it. Mine has the HD Tilt Up arm style. I particularly like that feature. Sometimes I will have both arms up and out of the way, sometimes one up and one down, sometimes both down. I also like that the arms are super strong and stable, when in place, not like many of those wobbly arms on many office chairs. https://ironhorseseating.com/office-chair/products/ nick

To save time, you need a one step process... dye it first, then burnish with Tokonole. Done. I think Tokonole is available in clear, brown and black. I only have experience with clear. nick

Great story and nice work! nick

I watched the video above, then watched linked videos and finally, landed on this one. Really good.

Welcome to the forum. We are very lucky to have it. Please, post some pics of your work. We only know people through their work. nick

You found us! Welcome to the forum. You can learn everything that you want to know about leathercraft here. I remember how happy I was when I found this place. Have fun! I think that you will want to hang out in the Historical Reenactment area but I have never visited there myself. nick