TonyV

Nice work. The scales are well centered and, though the pic is a bit our of focus, stitching looks good.

If I have an old, dry piece of leather I want to carve, I will sometimes apply a bit of NFO a day or so before I case it. Seems to help restore the body sometimes, but I'm definitely not casing with oil. Some people use a light application of neatsfoot oil after carving. Some people use a light application of NFO before dying, others after dying, or both. Still not casing with oil.

I guess 2 screws are technically better than 1, but my favorite hunting rifle has worn the same sling with only 1 screw at each end for nearly 30 years of spot and stalk hunting in rough mountain conditions and they haven't come loose yet. The leather is wearing out at those points and I will soon need to make a repair (or build a new sling), but the chicago screws are still holding tight. A small dab of blue loc-tite is good insurance.

I would rather to look at Ebay and local classified ads, yard sales, estate sales and flea markets to find high quality used tools, rather than the cheap Chinese stuff from Amazon. I already made the Amazon Chinese tool mistake and I'm slowly replacing those. Yes, you can find some quality tools on Amazon, but they won't cost any less than dealing with the source retailers. I prefer the local route, so that I can handle and evaluate the tool before I buy. I recently bought a vintage swivel knife at a yard sale for $3 that is much smoother than my Tandy kit knife.

That's certainly a great option. Many crafters use hardware removed from thrift store finds or our own worn out goods.

Leathercraft involves lots of sharp tools, from knives and skivers to edgers and awls. Sharpening and honing your tools is not the most fun aspect of this world, but it is one of the most important and one of the most basic of all the skills you will use. IMO, sharp tools are a pleasure to use and help keep the work fun. As Chuck mentioned, sharpening takes expensive time. Do it yourself and save money.

If you can't find the color you have in mind on a store shelf, start experimenting with mixing your own colors. Virtually any color on earth can be created by mixing other colors. Also, you don't have to limit yourself to "leather edge paint". Do you see a metallic bronze car paint you like? example; a Toyota bronze, just get some of the touch-up paint that matches from an auto parts store. Yes, it will work, even if you have to thin it a bit. The stock leather dyes and paints are just a starting point. Experiment. Mix and match to whatever colors tickle your toenails.

Yes it fits on a belt. The photo on step 2 of the ammo pouch pattern shows quite clearly the belt loops. It's also a very simple matter to add a belt loop(s) to any pouch.

If any of those spots grow or change shapes it could be mold/mildew.

As they say in the military, "Never volunteer for anything".

Great recommendation. Joan at J.H. Leather sews an impeccable stitch has instructional vids on her traditional sewing technique and has a few great vids on making dog collars and leashes. As always, Stohlman is an authority on leatherwork.

Nice holster Jake! The thumb break stiffener is available from Tandy via Ebay or Amazon. I've also seen them made with hardened leather or plastic.

Tallow is just fat/oil. A cleaning with saddle soap might do wonders. It never hurts, and usually helps, to clean before dyeing, anyway. Try it on some scrap and judge the results.

very nice! Your customer will love it, I'm sure. I'm the proud owner of a genuine B-3 bomber jacket. It's not often cold enough in my area to need it, but when it does get that cold, I'm happy to have it.

Most of the time I sand by hand. Don't usually need much to even things up after a knife trim. On occasion though, the stars just don't align any better than my eyes. In that case, I use a small drum sander on my drill press. The most economical edge treatment is a little bit of water and vigorous slicking with a bit of canvas or white denim. Ain't fancy, but you can make it shine.

very interesting. Hand sewing technique is one of my curiosities. I need to look into this as I have a couple projects in mind which could benefit from something like this.. Thanks Fred

That will work out great. I think of leather work is 99% precise guessing, so a little bit of an offset line only means it's hand made with love. I prefer starting (after the backstitch) from the back needle first. I'm right handed, so that's the left hand needle. AFIK that's the traditional way. But like most all things in leather work, 10 people will give you at least 12 different answers.

This. Don't be nervous about sewing the fabric back to the leather. Sewing fabric to leather is really not much different to sewing leather to leather, plus you have the option of using pins to hold the fabric in place while sewing, without leaving a mark. The Weaver blue band chisels are spaced at 5mm. I think 4mm spacing (yellow band) would work well on this project. But you don't have to buy a new set! Just use the spacing you have on existing stitches to make a small template to mark the spacing, then you can use the single-point chisel that you likely already have to make your holes one at a time. Yes, that's slow, so it gives you a good excuse to buy a new set of chisels As for not having the matching leather, you might find a belt or purse at a Goodwill store that fills the bill for a buck or 2.

And if all the above methods don't work, remember that some leathers come with some sort of topcoat or even grease and dirt. It wouldn't hurt to give it a gentle cleaning with saddle soap and or denatured alcohol before beginning the dye procedure. Clean leather dyes better.

"genuine leather" can be anything from the very thinnest split they can manage, bonded to whatever fabric and plastic they can buy the cheapest (your brother's belt), to leather scraps and sanding dust ground up and glued together to make it, sort of like particle board is to wood. As long as it has some portion of leather, they can call it "genuine, solid, or "real" leather are deceptive terms used to market trash.. Even "top grain" can be deceiving. The "full grain" term is a bit more honest, but not always. The industry needs a tune-up.

The tiny ones from small punches and rotary punches are used to fall and roll into tiny crevices and remain there until the house is renovated by the next owners, who will invariably scratch their heads and wonder WTH they are and why were they put there, giving a great laugh to our ghosts. The bigger ones can be used to make spacers, decorative scallops etc. And game pieces, as mentioned above.

some people ask how to be certain those patterns don't show up in the finished product. Take some samples of the pattern and experiment a little bit with different finishes. Neatsfoot oil should still allow it to still be visible. I would expect that sunlight would affect the leather equally wherever it's exposed, so the stripes should still remain, light patches getting a bit darker and the dark patches getting a bit darker still. Sunlight darkening is a natural contributor to the patina of leather that people find beautiful. Light-colored dyes would be your best bet in keeping the patterns visible. You won't see the pattern under a black or dark blue dye Try light brown etc. and apply it lightly.

Of that don't sweeten her milk, nothing will. NiceA

A couple different ways I know of, both involve getting the strap wet. Not soggy of course, just slowly draw a strap through a basin of water as if you were casing it, shake off the excess, then... 1- stretch it out between 2 clamps across your bench or a table and let it dry. Then do your magic. 2- My preference. Use your glass slicker in one direction only. Repeat as much as necessary to get it stretched. this way might even make it a bit thinner so you don't have to skive as much. Let it dry then do your magic. As with everything in leather craft, YMMV there are many ways of doing things. I'm looking forward to see what other methods there are.

Fred has the answer. I cut and straighten lace that way, too. Bonus hint, pull the strap through a round hole while it's damp to make it round.