Sylvia

That's not a bald head...that's solar panel for a love machine! At least that's what my husband tells me.

if my thumb ever heals I'll post something too

I have a splint on my thumb so typing is a bit difficult so please forgive the blunt nature of my sentences. Make sure your knife is sharp. Make sure your knife is vertical when you cut Make sure you cuts release as you end the stroke. Make sure you don't connect points. Just leave a millimeter or 2 between the ends. Practice a lot on scrap.

Mudruck: As far as I can tell from what I have read, you want your blade to glide with no drag when you cut. That's pretty dang sharp.

LOL Good for you Kevin! Now repeat after me. "A Dull knife is a Dangerous Knife. A Dull knife is a Dangerous Knife. A Dull Knife is a Dangerous Knife."

While there is no way to puff up the stamping... you can use a back-grounding tool, and camouflage the name. I've done this a few times. The issue I've found is that if the leather is cut you will always see the cut in some manner. I've solved that so varying degrees by opening the cuts with a very pointy stylus and putting some leather bond in the cut and pressing it down well prior to trying to back-grounding. Allow the glue to dry, then dampen with a sponge, wait until it's ready to be worked and go to town with your backgrounding tool. I've also used a pear shader to help with the process. The idea is to create a panel with texture where the name or initials were. Now, everything I've done like this didn't have a final coat of sealer or finish. They were pieces from an old kit that someone didn't complete... or did poorly or they were pieces where something went horribly wrong during dyeing. (Like the wrong color) You won't be able to re-stamp the area with another name... but you can buy silver conchos and place them in the panel. It's up to you if you want to try to salvage this. If you need it perfect... do replace the piece. If you just need a working piece of tack... background that baby... redye it... and get on with life. :D

That doesn't surprise me too much the Leather guy and some others on ebay buy odd lots and always have some variance in their inventory. Try this place. When you arrive on the page scroll down until you see the"bark Mulch colored" hide. It's 6-6.5oz so they say, (I think it's thicker) Says it's chrome tanned. http://www.brettunsvillage.com/leather/sides.htm $80 shipped. As for tooling leather? Well, I imagine you could if you have some leather that is more soft... then oiled the bejeezers out of it and worked it until it was supple. But by the time you did that it would be much easier to just buy a good hide.

There's also an old technique that might work for you. Wrap a cloth around a block of wood. Apply your dye to the cloth, blot excess off, then attack your project. The block and blot makes the dye stay on the surface of the piece rather then into the stamping/carving.

Hey StitchWiz.... Do you play guitar? The reason I ask is it would be much easier for the guitarist to pull and use the pouch if it were at the other end of the strap. S

I think I sense a Dr. Who fan. Well done.

I think he means the side leg fringe. So the fringe is already angled towards the ground and it won't have to fight gravity to lay nicely. I like what you've done I think someone would pay a nice price for those.

Sweet dreams, Cloe. Sorry for your loss Spinner. ((hugs)) You have some great photos of her. We can tell she had a sense of humor and have you many hours of laughter. That photo of Otto? in the big bed and Cloe in the tiny bed is priceless. It made me laugh through the tears.

Hi there: I found a lot of interesting and good information here. http://paleoplanet69529.yuku.com/forums/5/Leather-Hides-amp-Tanning#.T33mWNVdVlc One fellow actually does a nice photo tutorial on how to veg tan his hide at home.

I don't get bummed out. I get a feeling of satisfaction and then I start thinking about what is next.

LOL old money!! What tools did you end up using?

Hey Brian: The link didn't work. I returned a 500 page "internal server error" I did look up PJ's Custom tools and found it though. http://khww.net/emall/vendors/pjs-custom-tools

Beauty like many things in life is in the eye of the beholder. I personally can't stand abstract art but others find it intriguing and beautiful. Go figure!

I would have to see the belt... and know the amount of extension he needs. If the extension is substantial I would do it center back. I would cut the original in half, then recut the cut ends in a decorative shape (most likely a U) Then skive the the ends of both the new and old pieces then glue and sew the new piece in behind the U's . I would choose a U shape because it would not fail as easily as a straight across addition. Of course you'll need to carve and dye it to match. you learned something here. ALWAYS have them measure, and measure twice. '

That is absolutely beautiful. Now you need to share your friends name and contact info (with is permission of course) so He can make us some tools too. Does he have a website yet?

Hi John: Depends on your application I guess. Most kits have the sole being the same leather. If you are going with 6-8oz that should be strong and thick enough for the sole. If you feel you need it thicker, you can double up, stick it down then cut away the seam allowance. Do you plan to wear these while hunting or hiking? I just looked up this post on etsy where the craftsperson used 4-5 oz leather. You can see that they "sag" http://www.etsy.com/listing/59130786/suede-boot-moccasin-inca-ankle-high-1000 I think you would have better luck with the 6-8oz. Elk and buffalo is rather stretchy so remember to fit these snug to they don't stretch out and get sloppy. You can also get deer tanned cow hide that is nice. I think I got 17 square feet from "The Leather Guy" on ebay for around $60 shipped in October. The deer tanned cow hide was 6oz and it's still stretchy but not as much as I understand the elk and buffalo are. If you have the means you might try making a prototype pair from some canvas, old denim jeans, etc... something sturdy and firm, so you can get the feel of how the pattern fits before cutting your leather.

Hi: I've put together an old inca boot kit before. The leather was all the same thickness and it had a insole pad glued to the sole piece. It seems to me that I had an issue with the pre-punched leather. It was suede so it was hard to see the "diamond shaped" hole. This was rather important because the heal/side pieces crossed over the front piece at the diamonds. One thing you might want to remember is that leather (especially soft leather) has a tenancy to twist on you. You'll want your pieces cut perpendicular to the spine of the hide, to help prevent this. The leather itself should be soft, flexible and about 3-4 millimeters thick. Depending on how hard you intend to wear these shoes, I would go with 6-8oz elk or buffalo hide. If you want something to wear around the house You can probably get away with 5oz leather. One thing a friend of mine does is mix up tire grindings from a retread shop with barge cement and applies that to the bottom of the mocs. This still gives a quiet sole but it is more wear and water resistant. If you search for how to make moccasins online You might find some help. I know there are a few how to make moccasin tutorials on Youtube too.

Very cool!!

I haven't figured it out yet either. That tutorial doesn't seem to help me any. I think I might try searching Youtube for videos on Inkscape. If I find anything that will help I'll send you the links.

Absolutely NOT... you want a hole... chew through it with your teeth. You want a gouge.... draw a line and bevel it deeply. LOL just kidding... that is up to Chancy. I would think that is beyond the 4 tool allowance, plus the freebies.