Peter Ellis

Here's a piece I've almost finished, that started with a stencil from the local art supply store. Makes for a different effect than the more traditional approaches. I'm thinking I kind of like it. I used a ball stylus to trace the stencil onto the leather, tooled it simply, antiqued it and then dyed over the antique. And yes, I oopsed with the stitch groover on the border.. sigh...

Was he talking about these ? LEATHERCOLORStm LEATHERCOLORSâ„¢ is a low VOC leather dye formulation that works as easily and effectively as traditional penetrating leather dyes. By emitting less Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) into the air LEATHERCOLORSâ„¢ is better for the environment and complies with CA VOC regulation title 17CCR94507-94517 that limits VOCs in certain consumer products. LEATHERCOLORSâ„¢ is available in 12 vibrant colors that can be used on shoes, boots, saddles and all of your favorite Leathercraft projects. Available colors: Black, Light Brown, Medium Brown, Dark Brown, Chocolate, Cordovan, Mahogany, Red, Yellow, Green & Royal Blue. Packaged in 4 ounce plastic bottles. (copied from Fiebing's web page). It doesn't speak to whether it's spirit based or not, just releases less into the atmosphere. Couldn't tell from this whether it's still flammable, but that's not the issue that had to be addressed. They're representing that it complies with the California statute, which it better since they claim it does. Does the old formula meet the statute ? I couldn't tell you. Is it possible that they've developed a new package that promotes their compliance with the statute, packaged the same old formula (because it did meet the statute) in the new package and are now charging extra for a label that says it complies ? Sure. I've got my doubts, but it wouldn't be the first time a package was changed to reflect not a change in the product but a change in the product's marketing....

I'm curious about the bankruptcy angle here. Hide Crafter is in Fort Worth Texas, right ? That would put them in the Texas Northern Bankruptcy Court. I've checked the press and the court and found nothing, which isn't just odd, it's pretty much impossible, if they've filed for bankruptcy. It would be a matter of public record, and one that I would expect to have made the news at least at some minor level. I may be looking in the wrong places, but I think I'm in the right court and I know I've got the right name, since it's there on the company's web page. When sales in bankruptcy get to the point this is reportedly at, they're not secrets. Court has to approve them, creditors get to comment, lots of stuff goes on the record before a sale gets finalized. I started looking because I was curious about who might be taking over. Now I'm curious about what is going on....

So I've seen references to straps being D&S, and I've had conversations in which I'm assured it makes for extremely strong, durable straps that don't stretch. So how do I go about doing this ? Is it as simple as fold the length of leather in half and stitch along the open side ? Is it advisable to glue the piece and then stitch ? I've heard about how good the result is, but am in need of instruction on how to achieve it. Help, please

Very interesting effect.. I've a lady friend who is very into leaves. giving me some ideas. In order to get the raised effect on the leather, you could make a plaster cast of the real leaf. Varnish the plaster and then use that mold on the leather. Could place the leather on the plaster and use a roller to push it into the mold, or put the plaster on the leather and use a press on the plaster to push it into the leather. Wouldn't be a very difficult experiment, but not suited for large scale production. Thanks for sharing.

Just a comment in terms of what to buy for immediate use, versus what to look for long term. Right now, just starting out, you don't know what will fit right, whether you will want thick or thin barrel, tall or short. Wouldn't be money well spent, even on sale, to drop 80 bucks on a knife only to learn that it doesn't fit your hand well. A cheap swivel knife is just that, and it won't give you the feel that the better ones can.. but it can give you the chance to work with something and decide whether or not it fits, and if it would be more comfortable taller, or shorter, or whatever. I'm still working with Tandy cheap knives, but I try to get decent blades in them. But then, my favorite knife for carving with isn't even a swivel :biggrin: and no, I'm not talking about carving dinner. I've got a simple one piece knife a friend made for me, I'll get a picture up here at some point. Anyway, you want to get a swivel knife that fits you and the way you carve - but before you can know what that is, you need to do some carving and find out.

When I picked up my Boss from Tandy, July 20, I got the rundown on them discontinuing carrying the Boss and the new machine they're making with Weaver. Throat will be deeper than on the Boss, but only by one inch or so more, not more than ten What kind of price point I don't know. I did get the impression it was not going to have the accessory range available that Tippman offers. And right now, at this moment, I might trade my Boss for a large rock. sigh. I ran two seams a quarter inch or so apart from one another, one after the other, changing nothing, and the first seam was good, the second one the bobbin thread is hanging out there on the bottom. No idea why the difference...

Thank you I knew there had to be some significance. I can just see me tearing my sewing machine apart trying to find out why it's not working, all because I had the wrong twist. It's been one of *those* days today.

I took a look at the link, and it left me with a couple of questions. For starters, what difference does left twist versus right twist make ? Second question, will any of the linen threads work on the Tippman Boss? And last, I'm assuming one doesn't run waxed linen thread on a sewing machine, but we all know about assumptions... Thanks.

The buckles look like nickle plated brass - you can see spots where the brass shows through on the lower buckle (I think, interpreting photos is always a guessing game). I think the rivet heads look galvanized, not stainless or nickel, which makes me think they didn't come from a leather craft place but from a hardware source and they might not be rivets at all. The lining ? Impossible to tell from the picture. Could be fabric, could be lining leather. That color could come from oil and aging. The piece looks to have been around a while, judging by the condition of the metal bits.

The tool case snaps onto the block ? Nifty. That strikes me as an excellent idea. Welcome to the fun house.

chuckle. So you suffer from the standard Scadian syndrome of severe packratitis ? (Barony of Carillion here)

Heating wet leather is the most effective method I know for making the leather become extraordinarily hard. I doubt that a hair dryer will actually get to the temperatures needed to make the chemical changes in the leather (167 degrees Farenheit). There is a definite risk of discomfort/pain/injury in heating wet leather on your person. As Clay noted, by the time heat makes its way through the wet leather, you will likely not be able to get it off fast enough to avoid at least significant discomfort. Think about what happens when one uses a wet oven mitt to pick up a hot baking pan. The water transfers heat right through the insulated mitten. As has been noted, dye after forming, or be dyed along with the leather. You'll also want to spend some time buffing the piece, and wearing it over a top you don't mind ruining, in order to minimize the dye transfer and for testing how badly it transfers. If you soak the leather, and then let it dry for a few hours, it will still form well, but it won't sag the way it does when extremely wet, and you ought to be able to put it on and get your form fitting without needing to heat it...

I believe the point is not to *only* buy from them when it's something on sale. Don't want to be known by the supplier as one who "cherry-picks" the sale items. Which, at the moment, I suppose I'm guilty of with Siegel.

Sorry, I didn't see this question until tonight. I follow the controlled bake method for hardening leather. It involves soaking the piece, wet forming it, and baking at about 180 degrees until it starts to dry. It can be done with or without using glue, and you can use hide glue, as is believed they did in the 1300's, or you can use a modern glue (susch as Titebond III which I use due to its waterproof character when it has cured). If you use a modern glue like Titebond, I've found mixing it one part glue to ten parts water works well. The pieces can be nailed to wooden lasts to hold their shape while baking, or you can pay close attention and adjust the shape from time to time as the piece bakes. This approach results in leather that is quite hard, a bit springy, without being badly brittle and without much shrinkage.

Yeah, the books weren't in yet on Friday. mutter. Oh well, I did pick up a Tippmann Boss and the other things that I had actually planned ahead about. Just missed the impulse buy opportunity

The issue of juried merchandise raises a whole series of questions - who does the jurying, how many artists in a given category, how is the jurying done, how long does it take, how often is it done. Essentially, jurying raises the threshhold of effort for the project to a point where I don't know that it would make sense. As a beginning "marketplace" we don't know if there would be enough business to keep those who first arrived busy enough to stick around, much less attracting large numbers of additional participants. Down the road, if it turns out to be an enormous success, then working in a jury program might be a good thing. Starting out, I think a statement to the effect that the works for sale are the product of the individual artists and an agreement from all participating artists that they will only show their own work on the site would be sufficient for that particular issue. I like the idea of "categorized thumbs" where holsters would be grouped here, sheaths there, cycle seats, albums, bags, cases, etc. and when you clicked on one that was interesting you would get the artist and detail info along with the shopping cart. I think that eliminates the concern that could come from grouping by artist, where the first name up would have an advantage and the bottom of the scroll down would have a serious disadvantage.

More gateways for moving merchandise are a good thing. The mechanics of setting something up can get awkward. Something that displayed lots of merchandise and linked a potential customer directly to the maker might be fairly straightforward and minimize the accounting and such. OTOH, it would raise the customer's threshhold if they couldn't just put it in their shopping cart and go. I haven't made the step to a web presence yet, and really don't know enough about how this kind of thing can be done to make much in the way of suggestions...

Nope. Wrote what I meant. 12 hours after it comes out of the tub, I'm home from work and it's ready for me to tool. I frequently get about 19 functional hours out of a 24 hour day. No smiley for burning the candle at both ends and in the middle

On the subject of tool organization, could you point TRM to the thread with the pictures of people's work areas ? I found the shots of Verlane's and (darn, spacing the other person's name) studios to be quite inspiring. Excellent examples of how top pros organize their gear.

Much of what I do involves 13-15 oz. saddle skirting. I have not been happy with spraying or wiping down with a sponge on leather that heavy - the water doesn't penetrate and then the tooling doesn't either. My work schedule is such that I find I can drop a piece in the tub in the evening before I hit the sack, take it out in the morning before I go to work, and have it ready to tool when I get home. At that point, if it is drying out too much, a damp sponge works, because it's the surface that's getting too dry. Inside there's still moisture enough. When I work with lighter stock, then I may go to the damp sponge. Generally though, I find the soak and wait method to work pretty well for me across the board. I fits well with the rest of my schedule.

chuckle. Please disregard both of "The perfect armour" articles. They're many years out of date and don't reflect current understanding of the process of hardening leather. Boiling is incredibly difficult to pull off consistently and on those occasions when one gets it just right, produces results no better than can be achieved through much more easily repeated procedures. Those two articles are reproduced and linked all over the internet, but for some time now they've been perpetuating an old experiment that has proven to be on the wrong course. No offense, the author is an old friend and mentor of mine who would readily acknowledge that he was exploring and that subsequent research has gone beyond his initial attempts.

Not really. The kind of armour Samuel is making is pretty much a RenFair, LARP and maybe SciFi market. Although many people may attend Ren Fairs, a much smaller percentage are interested in dressing the part, and then of those, only a limited number are looking for armour. There's also an even smaller market that's interested in armour that's plausible reproduction of historic pieces, as opposed to fantasy stuff.

Is the leather more or less skin colored ? Veg tan isn't the most common leather by a very long shot, but of those that are undyed, it is the most common. You can tell pretty quickly by looking at a cut edge - if it looks a sort of grey/blue, then the leather is chrome tanned. If it looks skin colored, it's very probably veg tanned and definitely not chrome tanned. Personally, I would try to avoid using water-soluble inks on leather that had any risk of exposure to moisture. I don't think I trust anything to provide enough waterproofing to reliably eliminate bleeding or running. Others with more knowledge and experience may be able to correct me and provide us both with a viable solution.

I'm going to say those look like an enormous amount of work, look really nicely done - but then I'm going to plead ignorance as I've not a clue what they are They still look really well done, even if I am ignorant