Cameroo

Thanks Skeeter. Indorr, I'm not sure what you are asking. The belt loop on the back side is stamped with the same basket weave stamp as the front. If you are asking why I stamped the back, I don't really have an answer. For sh!ts and giggles I guess

I really like the looks of that dark rawhide with the bevelled edges. It really adds a lot of contrast to the piece, and makes the braiding pop out at you. Very nice work! I'm no braider myself, but the work you guys do amazes the heck out of me. Thanks for sharing

I think it's pretty much inevitable. Dogs are going to scratch, and their nails are tougher than leather. I've made a few with latigo. The first one I just gave some neatsfoot oil, the second I oiled and then gave a couple coats of resolene. They both got scuffed up after the first day, although the one with resolene is holding up better. I've come to realize that dog collars are not an ideal canvas for artwork I've also come to realize that putting spikes on a collar is probably pretty inhumane, considering the damage they could do to a dogs foot while scratching, but that's a little off topic.

Here's another cell holster I just finished up

Here's another tutorial that helped me on my first sheath. http://www.beebeknives.com/html/make_a_sheath_tutorial_-_detai_0.html

I have watched nearly all of your videos Bernie and found them to be very informative. Just wanted to let you know that I appreciate the time and effort you've put into making them for the benefit of all of us. The quality and finish of your work is amazing and I can't even fathom the patience that you possess

I love your work. Do you have a website where one might peruse some of your other work? I tried searching your posts but for some reason the search results only go back about a month. Thanks for sharing

You done good buddy! Nice clean tooling and finishing, I'm sure he'll love it!

I've had the same issue since I joined the forum. Would be nice to know why.

I would second that. Satin sheen is even worse than super sheen, and block out isn't much better. As far as I'm concerned, if I'm doing a larger piece where I only want certain parts antiqued and other parts lighter, the last thing I want is to have apply multiple coats. Seems like a waste of time. I recently bought some resolene to use as a finish, but have yet to try it as a resist. I'm guessing it will work better than the Tandy products (certainly can't be worse!) I don't really have a problem with the Tandy eco flo antiques, but their resists and finishes suck!

Thanks man. I don't even remember how long that took. The tooling alone took over 20 hours, but that was some of my earlier work so it would probably go a lot faster now. The guy at Tandy told me that the finishing should take at least as long as the tooling, and it probably did!

That is freakin awesome! nice work

That's pretty slick. Can I ask where you got the closure/clasp from? Been looking for something like that to use for 4 strand bracelets. Also, how does it work? Is the leather just glued into it, or does it somehow crimp on? Thanks!

That's Bernie46 His videos explain the whole lace-making process, and he also shows how to make a jig for beveling your edges for dirt cheap. I't basically a chunk of 2x4 and a razor blade. Simple, but works very well. He has some plaiting videos as well. They are all worth watching. I believe he even tapered some lace in one of his videos.

I use it just to share pictures of my stuff with like-minded people. I haven't really bothered to drum up any business, because I have a full time job and I want my hobbies to stay that way for now. I like to do my own thing, and not have to worry about doing something for someone else first. But just as a side effect of creating the page, I have had a few people wanting me to make something for them, without even offering or advertising custom work. Which is also fine with me, providing I have the time and they are willing to pay for it If any of you guys are interested you can check my stuff out here. I hate to spam you guys, but I'm not selling anything, so it's ok If you like what you see, share the love! I'll be checking out your pages too. I love checking out other people's work, it keeps me motivated and inspired! https://www.facebook.com/CamsStuff

Tandy has them as short as 1/8". They have an open back so they can probably go even tighter than that.

I am not the expert you are looking for, but I thought I'd share something I learned recently. I can't account for why your colors appear different when the conditions appear to be the same, but I have had similar problems caused by different reasons. The good thing is that you can correct that after the picture is taken, with the right software. I've never used Windows Live so I'm not sure what it is capable of, but you may want to look into adjusting the "white balance". That description is kind of deceiving because adjusting it actually tweaks the whole spectrum, not just whites. This is a simplified explanation, but it should give you an idea of the process. I do it with photoshop with "Adjustments -> Levels". There are eye droppers for black, mid-tones, and white. I usually don't touch the mid-tone one. But what I do is click one of the others, say the black one, and then use it to select a point in your photo that you know should be black. Then do the same with the white one, and select a point that you know should be white. This basically corrects the image to make the colors appear the way they should, regardless of the lighting conditions. If I don't have anything naturally black or white in my photo, I'll stick something in the corner of the frame that I can use for a reference and then crop out of the picture later. Other than that your pictures look fine to me. I hope this can get you headed down the right path at least. White balance is the key! Edit: I love your work by the way. I was admiring your dog collars the other day looking for inspiration!

Thanks Tom. That's along the lines of what I was thinking, I just wasn't sure if it was necessary, or if it was just my OCD kicking in. Thanks for the tip on gluing it first. Professional is what I'm going for

Forgive me if this question has been answered before, but I did some thorough searching and didn't come up with anything. I'm a small-time leather hobbyist and I'm making some leather dog collars to sell off as a fund raiser for a local dog rescue group. I made a prototype that I like for the most part. It is a 1 1/2 inch wide strip of latigo that is probably around 10 - 11 oz, with another 1 inch strip centered on top of that (think ranger style belt). I have rivets installed to hold the two together without necessarily having to do any stitching, but to me it just looks unfinished. After watching Nigel's recent videos and a little practising I am feeling much more confident with the appearance and speed of my hand stitching and want to try running a stitch along both edges of the narrower strip. I have been using a 4 prong slanted thonging chisel to pre-punch my holes. Now I may be making a mountain out of a molehill, but I've noticed that if the two layers are curved as they would be when worn by the dog, the outer layer is obviously longer than the inner layer, because it has to go around more material. My concern is that if I just lay the pieces out flat and punch the holes to match up, then after the collar is stitched and bucked up, the inner layer might be all bunched-up. Is this anything to worry about, or will the outer layer just stretch to compensate? Just curious if any of you have encountered any similar problems (of if it's even going to be a problem). I'll probably just go ahead and try pre-punching the holes with the pieces laid out flat and stitch them up. I'd just hate to learn the hard way if someone else has already had a similar experience. Here's a picture of what I've got so far.

Yes it is, however after wearing it for a day, I'm not sure if I would recommend it. The hinge inside the clasp can get a little uncomfortable and leave the inside of the wrist a little tender.

Worked on a couple small projects this weekend. Made a new collar for my dog (still want to do some stitching along the edges of the narrow strap just to give it a more finished look), and made a quick little bracelet in about 3o minutes.

Amazing work, it just boggles my mind! Thanks for sharing

That's just ridiculous! WOW!

Bernie is the man. I learned a lot from his videos too (have yet to put it into practice ) I made myself a Bernie Beveller a while ago and I love it.

That sure is some fine looking eye candy there! Beautiful work!