Chavez

Hi! I've tried coming up with a thistle carving pattern but I just can't get it right! I have no trouble with leaves - effectively, a modified american oak - but I just can't get a decent-looking flower/acorn/pod/whatever that thing is =) The leaves end up looking good but the acorn bit looks like it's been carved by a 2 year old =((( Has anyone ever carved a thistle and would you be so kind to let me have a look at the tooling used for the acorn? I'm not going to use colour so its hard to think of what tools to use to fill the space. Thank you!

Hi! I would like to finally try making a purse/bag for my other half and I even have got the Tandy pattern pack but I still can't figure out what leather one would normally use for a bag! Would you usually go for chrome tanned or is veg tan still good? Medium and thicker veg tan (4oz+) seems too stiff while everything below 4oz seems too flimsy! Any advice on leather thickness or a pattern of a good starter bag would be very welcome! Thank you!

Hmm. I've got Ivan's mini- and maxi- round punch sets and they work very well. I've given them a slight polish when I bought them, and I don't see any need to sharpen them and I've been using them for over a year now. For a price of one pro-quality drive punch you get a set that will meet all your needs. My reasoning was that if they last for at least a couple of years, then I can alway buy an Osborne set once my leatherwork starts bringing in the money. Though I have only been using them on a nylon punching block. Using them on wood or a lead block will probably wear them out pretty quickly. You can go for either Craftool or Ivan - not much difference between them. PS Avoid new Dixon tools like plague!!!

Hi Spooky, Just send Abbey an email and ask to open a sole trader account.

Hi Aaron. Thanks for the advice. I've dyed the whole thing red already but for some reason brown doesn't always work vs red for me anyway =(

Thanks! Would 50-50 paste to tan kote be a good mix?

Hi! I've had to dye a carved piece of leather red as I accidentally managed to get it stained with some red ink =( So now I'm trying to decide what would be the best antique to use with it. I've got tan, but it doesn't seem to stand out on red. And I've got a tub of dark brown, but every time I've tried dark brown before, it was really aggressive and would go right through my resolene block and stain the leather. What antique would you recommend for red? And does anyone have the same problem with dark brown or am I just not putting enough resolene on? No chance of me getting neat lac in UK but any effective alternatives to resolene would also be very welcome! Would really hate to throw away a nice carved piece so I need to try and rescue it =(( Thank you!

This is a mystery to me I'm afraid. I've had my belt edges fray up in about a week where the belt touches the buckle. The belts were finished using Bob Park method. After refinishing them using the same method, the edges are still in good condition and its been half a year of almost everyday wear=) I guess it depends on leather quality and density, finish used (e.g. resolene, gut trag, fish glue, lard) etc.

I've only started putting my mark on stuff recently as I'm now getting happier with the quality of my work. I follow 2 simple rules: 1) I won't put my mark on a bad piece of work. 2) I usually put it somewhere on the back side of my products. The inner flap of a belt; back side (or even inside) a wallet. This is not great for marketing & building up your brand I guess, but that's my personal preference. I wouldn't want my mark to be "in your face" on each product. You can, of course, follow the current marketing trend for mass-produced goods & put your mark 10 times on each product in different sizes and fonts

Hmm... Even though you can get away with a round knife or a pairing knife for watch straps, if you produce a reasonable volume of them or you're planning to move to other projects soon (belts, belt loops, bags with straps, horse bridle, any looping) you can get yourself a "Craftool" or an "Ivan" Hi-tec splitter. I've got an Ivan and it does a great job for its price (£120). In fact, can't see much difference between the Ivan and my friend's Dixon. It splits very well as long as you don't take off too much at a time. It doesn't skive, but you've got a round or pairing knife for skiving But of course it won't compare to Osbornes. Can't split them for you as I'm across the pond btw =(

Hi. Not sure about tunnel stitching, but in English leatherwork you hardly ever groove, so I'm sure you'll be fine. You might want to get a pricking iron to make sure that the stitches look good. If the leather has enough grease in it the stitches will pull in anyway, but if not, I don't think you need to protect them on a dice cup.

Thank you! I'll keep experimenting!

Natalie: If you over-apply it, then leather looks plastic-y =( I cut it with water, put it on a sponge and rub it in in circular motions. 1-3 layers depending on the project (and my mood =) ) You'll need a lot of patience with everything in leatherwork though =) David, can you please explain how (and how much of it) you apply aussies? Do you apply tan-kote first? And can you use any antique with it? I use a hairdryer to set wax-based finishes into leather but following problems occur: - When its dry and you bend it, wax "flakes up" and there are light stains on leather (most of them can be buffed out though) - light-coloured leathersoaks up the oil from Aussie's unevenly so stains occur; - wax builds up in carved designs and darkens them unevenly as wax gets sucked into the leather. I've tried using a toothbrush to take the wax out but its not very helpful =( - Leather finished with just Aussie's seems to be more likely to get scratched... Not sure about this one though, could be bad luck. Thank you!

Hi again! Funnily enough... I've downgraded to using wing dividers and a ruler!!! Cutting patterns accurately was a pain and then after the pattern was transferred to leather lines were getting distorted, etc. Too much work for poor results... Chavez.

Hi Natalie, Being from the EU I also have no access to neat-lac. And the best thing I've tried so far was acrylic resolene. It takes a while to learn to apply it consistently, but once you manage to find a way to apply it, it becomes your best friend =) I've wasted a lot of money on various finishes and while I still experiment with natural wax-based stuff on plain leather, i only use resolene for carved. Just cut it 50-50 with water! PS for natural stuff I'm trying to decide between Aussie's, sno-seal and dri-boot. Aussie's gives a decent finish but you'll need about 6 coats of it... Sno-seal has to be shipped from the US, but it's good for increasing water resistance and for finishing tight areas (it's quite soft). Dri-boot is great for flat surfaces but hard to get into tight areas. I can give you contact details of the UK distributor but shipping to Greece might be quite pricy. None of the natural stuff goes well with carved leather as it builds up in the cuts =(

Carving cats...hmmm, Don't think that a cat's hide will be thick enough for carving...You'll need at least 3-4oz and I'd expect them to be about 2oz. PS jusk kidding, I love cats =) Nice carving - furry animals must be very hard to carve! I think I've seen some lions & cougars in a Stohlman's book - can't remember which one though =(

Thanks for the comments! Bill: Most of the older professionals (60+) still have style here so they would be happy paying a high price for good quality leather goods. Most of the younger ones...well... the fact that they wear white gym trainers and rucksacks with suits sums it up really... Don't think there will be any interest in high end leather among them and they seem to be more used to cheap thin vinyl stuff... But I was thinking of the same target customers as you suggested.

Never tried it but how about Bish's tear mender?

Hi Rylo, Get tandy/craftool instead of Ivan. Only reason I said Ivan is because they are a few $ cheaper than tandy but pretty much same quality (tandy is slightly better). And Its often easier to get Ivan here in the UK than craftool =) PS NEVER buy Ivan carving tools by the way .

Hi. I've made a couple watch straps for myself and I found that English bridle buckles maker great watchband buckles if you like a hefty look. Harness buckles can also be found in sizes suitable for thin straps. I don't know anything about western saddlery but I guess you'd be able to get some quality buckles in almost any size you want... Leather wise 5-6oz makes a decent watch band but you'll need a lot of skiving on the turns.

Did anyone have a chance to measure the tension? Thanks!

Hi. Do you live in US? As a rule of thumb, build up your tools collection as you need them for each project. You can sometimes get away with cheap tools but usually you'll need pro tools right away. And avoid Dixon tools at all costs! The new ones are absolute rubbish! And their customer service is even worse that their tools... Depends on your budget but I'll try to comment on your tool list: - knife Saddler's knife about 4 to 4.5 in. You can never go wrong with an Osborne. -strap cutter Cheap wooden strap cutter. Get an "Ivan" with some spare blades and use some fine sand paper to smooth the wood out. You will save yourself a lot of money and it will cut as well as any other cutter. -groover I use Tandy's kit one and I am happy with it. Cheap and decent quality. -overstitcher size 6 Get yourself a tandy set of 5, 6 and 7 if you can. That will cover most projects. I use a kit one. - needles Saddler's size 2 & 4. -thread Linen 18/4 for most work. 18/3 for delicate work (watch straps perhaps). Avoid nylon for hand stitching. - bees wax Any natural bees wax - fid Don't use one - scratch awl (this can be used for puncturing stitching holes correct?) No, you need a diamond awl for stitching. Osborne do really good quality awls (but they are pricy!). For a scratch awl get a cheap one from any diy shop. - mallet cheapest rubber mallet in 22oz should do the trick. 16oz for carving. You can then upgrade to carving mauls. - punch set For round punches i use - "Ivan" mini and maxi multi-punch sets. Work great and don't cost much. for oval punches - Osborne. -cement I prefer using tacks unless I really have to glue. - dyes Fiebing's pro oil series. - finishes Ask 10 leatherworkers and you'll get 12 different answers =) Resolene is a good start. -bone folder Osborne's or any cheaper ones. - edge beveler size 3 "Ivan" does a great job for me at a fraction of a pro tool's cost. - skiver If you get yourself a 4.5in saddler's knife, you don't really need a skiver. I have a very cheap but good noname English skiver for skiving straps but this is an extra and is definitely not a necessity. As you can see some tools you can save on and some have to be top quality (imho saddler's knife and awl are key). I mention a lot of "Ivan" tools here. Please note that "Ivan" is considered to be one of the worst tools makers =) But tools listed above are excellent for they price. You also need a stitching horse. Or pony. Or saddler's clams.

Thanks guys! Bluesman - the inside is just 2 flaps where you'd slide the notebook sides into. Nothing fancy =) I've only been doing leatherwork as a hobby so far, so not sure about the price yet. This cover was a pattern proof and it's a present, so I'll need to make another couple before I figure out how much to charge for them. What do you recon? I don't think I'll be doing any wholesale orders within the next 5 years or so, so it will all be retail. Target customers would probably be anyone who still uses a pocket diary =) As I said, its all been on hobby level so far so I'll need to come up with a little marketing plan =)

Ok, after a little break, here is my best work so far... My third moleskine cover. I think I might try selling these soon=) Comments and critique welcome =)

Hi, BRL to ship to the EU and I am also very happy with their products. Just keep in mind that there will be a 20% import VAT charge and potentially, another EUR 10-15 for admin from the shipping company. The patterns are still worth every penny.