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My name is Dale.  I'm from Las Vegas, NV.  I work with Scouts doing leatherwork.

You can stop here if you want.  The rest is written because I can't seem to shut up.  But if you want to see what motivates me, read on.

Around 2005 I was looking for a hobby that I could get into after selling my woodworking equipment a few years earlier.  I ran across a belt I tooled back when I was a Boy Scout (around 1978).  I remembered that after I earned the Leatherworking Merit Badge I wanted to continue.  So for Christmas that year I got one of the Tandy kits with the basic tools.  One of them was that belt.  

So I decided that I wanted to give leather another try.  I found out that Tandy was still around and went there.  I was shocked by the cost of everything.  So I turned to ebay and found leather tools there.  Over the next few years I bought at least a dozen "lots" of tools and I don't even think I opened them until after 2008.  So I opened them up to see what I had.  There was a lot of stuff, a lot of which I didn't recognize.  I didn't have space in the garage so every time I wanted to work on a project I had to drag it all from the garage and set up on the dining table.  The wife wasn't happy about that so after making a few projects I packed it all away until I could set up a dedicated space in the garage. 

Fast forward to 2013.  I attended my son's last Boy Scout Summer Camp.  I had some free time so I sat through a Leatherwork Merit Badge Class.  I was disappointed, to say the least (I previously described this experience in some posts either here or on Scouter.com so I won't go into it here).  

My son earned his Eagle rank and aged out in 2014 but I still wanted to stay involved with Scouting.  So I decided to become a Merit Badge Counselor for Leatherwork.  In 2016, I helped out with one of the LW MB classes being taught at a local Scout event.  The Counselor went over the discussion part of the class, talked about the tools and turned them loose.  It was a madhouse.  I got through it thinking it should have been much more organized.  I didn't do another MB class until 2018.  

In 2018 I officially signed up to be a LW MB Counselor.  I went to the same event to assist in another class.  I got there early, to set up the tools and was shocked at the condition and poor condition of the tools they had.  They had 5 different alphabet sets and, I think, only one of them was complete.  A lot of the stamps were damaged and to make things worse, all the leather they had was either garment or upholstery type leather scraps and about 30 mystery bracelets.  I ran to the MB Coordinator for the event and explained the situation and was told we have to work with what we had.  I told her I had some projects at home and offered them up.  She agreed and I ran home and dug out what I had.  Unfortunately, the first class was finishing up as I returned,  but the second class got to use the projects.  I taught that class and it went OK, but it should have been much better. 

I knew I had a bunch of extra leather stamps so I volunteered to do an inventory of their tools and supplement where I could.  I went to the Council office and found out they actually had 4 sets of tools they were maintaining plus a set at the Summer Camp.  They told me that each set was for up to 20 Scouts and had to be able to cover what needed to be done for the LW MB plus the Cub Scout Day Camps.  So I basically dumped it all in a pile and started sorting it out.  Well they had enough of the basic tools (Mallets, poundo boards and a large tool handle) for almost 3 sets.  But the stamps they had were horrible.  Some stamps were so damaged that I couldn't even tell what they were supposed to be.  They looked like blobs.  What did I get myself into?

I went home with the list and started going through my stamps to see what I had duplicates of, and with the stamps they had, I was able to put together 4 sets of 60 3d stamps.  Each of the four sets had the same stamps.  I decided it would be easier to manage in case they got mixed up.  I also put together 4 sets of around 30 handle stamps (all the same) that I added to what they had.  So in all I donated over 200 of the 240 3d stamps they now had and over 100 handle stamps.  

I taught at about a half dozen Cub Scout Day Camps as "the Leather Guy" and learned quite a lot about working with the Scouts.  When Summer finally rolled around I went up to the Summer Camp to do an Inventory of their leather tools.  The tools at the camp were exclusively for MB classes during the three or four weeks of camp.  I got there the second day of camp and I was appalled at what I saw.  First of all the stamps there were in better condition than the ones at the Council office, but there was not a good selection of them.  But what they were working on shocked me the most.  What they had was 4 garbage cans full of scrap upholstery leather, most not even large enough to make a key fob from.  The kids were trying to stamp on it and make things like a pirate eye patch or a knife pouch.   There were a few leather kits they could buy at the Trading Post, but weren't required to.  

Now, let's get to the tools,  Although the MB classes are never scheduled with more than 20 Scouts, they had about 50 mallets, 60 tool large handles and about 40 poundo boards. They had a few more alphabet sets (some not complete), a couple dozen 3d Stamps and about 150 handle stamps. , 1 sponge, a couple old bottles of dyes and top coats, 3 swivel knives (2 were broken with only 2 blades).  And that's it!  They had no hole punches, no rivet/snap setters, no scissors, nothing to do edge work, etc...  I still had a bunch of extra leather tools and stamps but I wasn't sure what I would donate.  But the next day I brought up a bunch of alphabet sets, 3d stamps, 3d stamp sets and other tools they needed along with a bunch of leather wristbands, key fobs, rivets, setters.  I also snagged some Compass Belt Kits from the Council office that I found in their storeroom.  Over the weekend I sorted through those 4 garbage cans of "leather" they had.  There was less than 1/2 of a garbage can of usable scraps that I piled on the ground and  I put the rest next to the trash cans in our little area.  Unfortunately (or fortunately) the guys picking up the trash thought the "keeper" scraps were trash so they threw it all out.  

I ended up going on a planned 2 week trip to Alaska during the second week of Camp and by the time I got back, Summer Camp was over.  I talked to the Camp director to see about taking some of the extra mallets, poundo boards and tool handles to fill the rest of the 4 sets of tools back at the office but he said no.  It seem that since the stuff was bought for the summer camp it had to stay there.  The same for the 4 sets of tools at the office.  If we had extras there, they couldn't be taken to the Summer Camp.  What was I to do.  The Scout Executive at the Council office already told me they didn't have any money to buy leather tools.  So I did it anyways.  What were they going to do, fire me?  I wish.

So I take the stuff to the office to add the stuff into the 4 tool sets and while I'm doing that, one of the other employees asks what I'm doing.  I explained that I was trying to get the leather tool sets stocked with the tools needed for the MB Classes and Day Camps.  He then asked if I would do the same for their leather tools.  What leather tools?  I asked.  Well it turned out that there were four additional sets of leather tools that they used for something called Scout Reach.  Which is a program the BSA does in at-risk schools to introduce Cub Scout activities to the students.  Are they kidding me?  What did I get myself into?  So now there are nine sets of leather tools I have to look at.  

So I met with someone that works with Scout Reach about their needs.  Up to 40 kids per group, three to four groups each day and they have 10 to 15 minutes to do a leather item (usually a rounder).  And they only do it for about 3 weeks at the beginning of the school year.  I did an inventory of their tools and it was worse than the others.  The mallets were the worst quality wood mallets I'd ever seen.  They didn't have enough stamps to put together one set, let alone 4.  So I went back and asked how this worked last year .  It turns out that they hadn't actually used the leather tools in the past 3 years.  What happened to them?  Of course nobody knows.  

Now that I had all the information (I thought), I floated this idea.  Since the Cub Scout Day Camps and Merit Badge events ran mostly in the spring and summer and the Scout Reach program ran in the Fall, why not have one set to use for both.  Well, they can't do that because they can't share assets and supplies between programs.  Most non-profits work this way so I expected this.  So I put Scout Reach on a back burner to focus on the other sets.  

Based on my experience with the Day Camps, I found out that the Cub Scouts have a difficult time using the larger 3d stamps. That didn't affect the classes I did, since I brought a bunch of my own stamps for the kids to use and I have a lot of smaller stamps.  So I put together a list of what I thought the tool sets needed for each program and met with the Scout Executive to give him a complete inventory of the leather tools and the list.  He looks it over and says, "What about the Park?".  Remember about when I thought I had all the information (as stated above)?  So apparently they were building a park right next to the Council office that is for exclusive use of our Council.  It is going to be for Day Camps and smaller Merit Badge events.  They want to have the same tools as the other 4 sets except it is for up to 40 Cub Scouts instead of 20.  This was now completely overwhelming me.  Ten, count them, ten sets of leather tools.  This was totally ridiculous.  Except they had some money for leather tools in the budget.  I told him I would put together a new list and send it to him.

Fast forward a few months to the beginning of 2019.  I decided that I was going to work the Summer Camp as the LW MB Counselor this year.  I decided that I wasn't going to donate tools to the Summer Camp set.  Instead, I decided that I was going to put together a set to use at Summer Camp but I would keep them and take them up there every year and "loan" them to the Camp.  After Camp, I would take them home and store them in the garage until next year.  Then when I'm no longer able to do the camps anymore, I would donate them.  This decision was based on the fact that, at one point, our Council ran two separate Summer Camps.  One called Del Webb and the other Camp Kimball.  Del Webb was the Camp I attended with my son and I remember it having a very large set of leather tools.  Well, they had closed Dell Webb down around 2016.  They finally brought up all the tools and supplies from Del Webb in 2018 and when I examined the leather tools there was almost nothing left.  I tried asking about it and nobody knew anything. Of course.  So that is why I decided to not leave the tools up there over the winter.  

Now, back to going through my tools.  I put together a really nice set of tools, although a lot of them were my personal leather tools.  I decided this year was going to be different.  I called Springfield Leather and explained that I needed leather scraps large enough to do small projects from.  I got a good deal on 30 lbs of veg tanned and 10 lbs of oil tanned leather pieces.  I picked out which templates I was going to buy (from Black River Laser).  I Bought about a dozen veg tanned shoulders that Tandy gave me a deal on.  The idea was that the Scouts would complete a Leatherwork Merit Badge kit that included all they needed to do the MB, and then buy the leather needed for additional projects like knife sheaths, key fobs, things to attach to their belts (Inhaler case, playing card case, etc...), belts and buckles,  They would buy the leather by the piece or amount that was cut from a shoulder and the money would go to buying additional leather and supplies for the following year.  I was also going schedule a lot of open class time for anyone in the Camp to come and work on some projects of their own.  Very ambitious. 

Well spring comes around and I find out they decided to close and sell Camp Kimball.  Now our Council has no Summer Camps.  The Summer Camp's leather tools are going to start the Park set.  Now what do I do with the tools I was saving for Summer Camp?  Well this is what I am doing.  I put all my personal leather tools back in my collection and with the rest of the tools I made my own set that I will take when I do the LC MB or Day Camp classes.  If they ever decide to open another Summer Camp I know where this set will eventually go.  I also have put together another 27 3D stamps for each of the 4 MB/Day Camp sets.  Another 214 3d stamps I am giving to the Park set of tools. along with some extra mallets and tool handles I had.  

I still haven't decided which handle tools to donate.

I know your saying, WTF Dale.  Why do you have so many stamps?  I'll tell you.  Cause I'm a Fxxxxxg idiot.  I decided I wanted to collect all the 2d/3d stamps made by Craftool, The Leather Factory and Midas.  And my anal retentive mind won't stop buying until I get them all.  As of Oct 2019 I have collected 711 of the 752 stamps I have identified.  I only need 3 Craftool, 7 from TLF and the rest Midas.  So I ended up with all these extra stamps because I bought larger "lots" of stamps when I only needed a few of them.  Figuring I would sell the rest on ebay.   But you know what?  I hate selling on ebay so they sat in the garage until I donated a bunch of them to our local BSA.  

A few months back my wife told me the tit was dry and if I wanted more leather tools I would have to sell some of what I have.  To be honest, I don't know why it took her so long.  So I recently started listing some of the extra stamps I have.  In addition I decided I didn't need a lot of what I collected in my set of tools so I listed some of the more expensive stamps I had.  I figured that I needed around $6,000.00 to get the rest of the leather tools needed for the Scout tool sets.  Then I'll get around to buying the rest of the 3d stamps I "need".  

So what motivates me?  As mentioned above, my anal retentive mind wants to get the last 37 3d stamps and get all the leather tools that the Scouts need.  Most of my posts are related to trying to get information on how to make the Scout's experience better.  Soon I'm going to develop a video series on how to teach a LW MB class including how to use all the tools necessary to complete the projects.

So let's talk about my set of tools.  Since I started buying leather tools I've managed to collect:

     Over 600 different craftool "letter" stamps

     Over 200 Craftool "no-letter" stamps

     All 86 Craftool Pro stamps

    About 200 Craft Japan stamps

     711 2d/3d stamps

     All the 2d/3d stamp sets

     I think I have all the Craftool and Midas alphabet & number stamp sets

     All the Craftool 3 & 4 piece handle stamp sets

     10 different zodiac sets, both Western and Chinese

     I have some Baron, BasicTool, Midas and Kelly Tool stamps, but not that many.

     So that's me in the nutshell.

BTW - See my postings under the Wanted section of the Forum to get an idea of what donations we need for the scouts.