Clay

Only comes up to my elbow when I am sitting downLOL He wears a big hat to look taller. Lol sorry ernie but you started it!!!!

hahahahah thats funny so would we call you peanut?!!!

Hilly, I am happy to hear that you like the knife. It is sharp now so all you will need to do for a while is to strop it with jewlers rouge. I have to admit that I did not sharpen it my self, I took it to my friend Ken Nelson of Dakota Territory Saddle Shop. He has all the sharpening wheels and polishing wheels and it was done in a flash. Have fun with the knife and keep it pointed away from yourself!!! ClayM.

hope it is a great day for you

Hi all, Dakota Territory Leather Guild is a newly formed guild based in Rapid City, SD. We are looking for members to come to our monthly meetings on the third Tuesday of every month. We are hoping to have demonstrations and workshops soon and also are looking to help out area youth groups with leather craft classes. Any one is invited to join us. meetings are at the Tandy Leather Factory 514 7th St Rapid City, SD ClayM

Ernie, Hope you have a great day. Bert

Dale, The way I understand it he will custom make the knife to fit each individual. He probably has to get some kind of measurements from the person he is making the knife for. i am not sure how he does this, you will have to contact him for more info... ClayM

Chuck, The knives compare to any of the high end swivel knives out there.The swivel knife barrels are aluminum, with I believe is a ball berring finger saddle. The blades are a hardened steel that holds an edge. If you go to the web site there is a place to contact Paul and he will be able to answer any questions that you have. Clay

ok here is a close up of the lion and of the floral. Clayb the tool I used for the hair ia a f926. I used it like a beveler and walked it acros the piece starting at the bottom and in the areas where there was a change in muscle tone i hit it harder. ClayM oops this one is not very clear I will try to get a better picture

Hey all, I wanted to share a link to a friend of mine Paul Zalesak's web site. He has just started a website for his swivel knives. They are very cool and also very good swivel knives. I have one of the first ones he made and use it a lot. Here is the link http://www.leatherwranglers.com check the site out some time.

ok, here is my version of the monthy challenge. i did both the lion and the floral on the same piece of leather. The lion I am not that happy with, I am not satisfied wth the hair on it. I was likeing what I had done, it looked sorta realistic untill I started tooling the hair. It flattened it out a lot. also I did not get the eyes at all. those two are the hardest for me. The floral pattern was a nice easy one. I changed a couple of things to make it my own but still the same pattern. ClayM.

Update!!! I am so thankfull to our local police and honest neighbors. The found my wifes purse and wallet and everything was still in it. A neighbor a few blocks away found ithem in his trash can along with a set of socket and wrenches that I did not realize was stolen, he turned it in to the police and they brought it back to us. Things are looking up!!!! Still missing my checkbook and the dvds from blockbuster...Lol :D Clay M.

Hi all, Last night some worthless SOB broke into my truck and my wifes minivan and stole my checkbook and my wifes purse and wallet and four dvd movies that we rented. So I have had to spend my whole morning calling and canceling this and changing that.. What a pain in the rear!!! Whoever the thief was they hit our whole neigborhood. The strange thing is they passed up a car potable dvd player, a lot of cds, I had a box of hunting stuff, ammo, knives, a tool box full of new tools. all that stuff is fine. I am sure they were looking for stuff to steal our identity. The thing that really ticks me off is the check book cover and the purse and wallet were ones that I made my self. The value on those is a hundred times what any insurance will cover. Not that he insurance will cover any of it... Here is a picture of the purse and wallet.

When Jim was in Colorado Springs last year for a class he brought that knife sheath with him to show off. When he got it out of his car the knife fell out of the sheath and smacked the pavement hard on the end of the handle cracking off a small part of it. Jim knows that I also do some wood work so I got the envious chore of sanding it out. When I brought the knife and sheath home I showed it to my wife. She got all excited and wanted to know when I had made the sheath, she said that was the most beautiful piece of leather work she had ever seen me make. Then she saw Jim's signature on it.... Clay M.

That was a cool post.... my employees are gonna hate me tomorrow cause I will be whistling that all day long!! Whaa whaa wha!!!LOL ClayM.

Very Cool Ernie!!! Next I want to see your version of "Oh horse feathers!!" Bert

I was waiting for Dale to post the dates but I could not wait any longer. The class will start the evening of Friday the 11th of Jan and go all day Saturday the 12th and then half day on Sunday the 13th. The cost is $30 and includes the leather. For more information or a list of required tools please call me at the store 1-877-800-1853. ClayM.

Tim, If you don't mind waiting a few weeks I can try to come up with something for you. couple of questions for you. It is ten inches on each side, can you give me any more dimensions? the more info you can think of to give me the better the pattern will match. If at all possible a copy snail mailed would be the best. let me know . ClayM.

Try searching the net for a book called "Advanced Drawing of Scrolls" by Ron Smith. It is a book on drawing scroll patterns for gun and meatal engravers. It is a great book ClayM.

Tim, How soon do you need the pattern? ClayM.

Hey all, I just wanted to show off a very cool set of rodeo chaps that a customer made for me to put up in the store. They were made by Ken Nelson and his chap maker helper Brenda Howard. They did a great job on these and even incorporated the company logo on the leg. They are awsom!! ClayM.

From my family to yours Happy Thanksgiving!! ClayM.

Try cleaning it with saddle soap, then after it has dried for a day or so wipe it down with lemon juice and then let it dry and then rinse off it with clean water. Then after it has dried again apply light coats of oil. ClayM.

Gosh guys, you are making me blush!! I hope that I can live up to this praise. If any of you are ever this way stop by for a cup of bad coffee!! Clay M.

Neat-lac does not bond with the acrylic antiques and should only be used under them and not over them. You used the the tan-coat as a resist, but it is better to have used it as the finish. To answer your question the neat lack can be cleaned off with deglazer. (be sure to use it in a well ventilated room or outside-nasty stuff.) Hope this helps Clay M.