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Gum trag and friction burnishing by hand or machine can make a nice edge on Horween leather

Awesome contrasts, great looking wallet!!

Those are really nice!!

Looks great!

That is my secret leather supply store!!!! Absolutely love that place.... fun getting lost in the huge warehouse racks of leather. Phillip is the Aussie who runs it, such a great guy. I have been there two Saturdays in a row buying some of the Horween leather he has in stock at the moment. I will have to do a Roo hunt now, don't know why I didn't think he would have kangaroo

Good rant, hope it feels better to get it off your chest! All industries have the fight with the New World Economy...it is the new reality. Hopefully substance, service and quality come back into popularity rather than cheap, immediate and flashy. Learn from the business mistakes of your past....what is different now than from when you had to close down? What will you do to survive the monthly bills? Is there a market close by for your products? Can you afford the risk, loans and stress? Staying in a small "lean and mean" workshop, marketing through the internet and shipping to customers might be a better idea than a bricks and mortar store with a lease. Certainly in a regrowth phase lean and mean lets your business build before you get ahead of yourself debt wise. Money stress makes people take on foolish and risky clients, projects, cases etc. I run my own business for a living in healthcare,the same principals apply. JMHO I wish you well, Scott

Made one for my wife's humongous Dell. I have some pics and notes about the construction in gallery here:

This is what my sister traveling Australia is going to send when I asked her to find some Roo leather and lace. The family joker

Yes Tandy has its place, as does wall mart and the like. Leather work is not a cheap undertaking. Big Summer clearance sale on right now at Tandy, so will go on my day off but I am not buying leather....unless its real cheap

This book is a great place to start leather working. It has tons of beginner info, some good projects and covers a wide range of topics and techniques. AL Stohlman's book the Art of Sewing Leather: http://www.amazon.com/books/dp/189221491 Good luck to you

Oh sure, sorry to be secretive. Just try Sheridan leathers, here is a link. http://www.sheridanl...gory_s/1847.htm I am hoping this is not something new from Canadian Customs. I got some Roo Januaryish with no problems. Kangaroos are not really exotic and not threatened in numbers Let me know how it works out for you

Great job Chuck Thanks for taking the time to photograph and post them Cheers, Scott

That is a nice collar! Great stitching work No dog collar will be permanent, especially if they are swimmers,scratchers and dirt rollers like my pup. A dog collar is not like a belt that gets taken care of and periodically worn.....collar is 24/7 Even the nylon collars wear out and get funky The leather you are choosing will last longer than veg tan though.

Looking good so far I like the bracing to prevent the bench from racking.....shifting side to side especially if you ever hand plane wood in a front vise Scott

gonna PM you something

Great stuff1 My fingers get sore just looking at that gorgeous work

Here are two threads if you want to see some benches and workshops http://leatherworker...topic=45613&hl= http://leatherworker...owtopic=826&hl= They are my favorite threads. Good luck with your bench construction Scott

This would be a good how to project....I'd love to hear you dissect out the steps in making one of these

Great work Those look fantastic!

Hmm I wear a leather wristband lined with pigskin and have no troubles on my skin..... Lips are a more sensitive mucosal area though. I wonder if the metal of the harmonica and chrome tanning of pigskin interacted?? I have heard lots use deer or elk skin as a super soft liner

I have made latigo leather and bridle leather dog collars. Both have oils and waxes to help them resist the elements. There are much more experienced folk who will chime in on this

Thanks man

So many places to try and I am sure others will suggest more I have purchased pricking irons and a small angled swivel knife from here http://www.goodsjapa...ro/lid=29748709 and some interesting 'vintage' tools from here http://www.sheridanl...gory_s/1844.htm Both were excellent to deal with and I will buy more from them. Hope that gets you started. BTW, where abouts are you in Canada, eh?? Scott (in BC)

Cool, that sounds like a sweet bench project! Make sure you give us some pics of them when done. There is a "show us your workbench" thread on here somewhere .... I'll look for it and post the link

I agree, greet job jumping into the deep end and making a bag. Most start with belts and coasters and such so good for you. Do lots of reading on here and you will find a ton if info and inspiration Cheers! Scott