TonyV

there you have it.. If yours is higher quality, you certainly have the right to charge a higher price. sell the quality! and learn to streamline your processes to spend less time in production to improve your bottom line. Working in batches can help. If you're making several sets of like items, use patterns to cut them all at the same time. Then move on the next step that they all have in common, etc.

there are a few youtube vids that show sidewalk shoe repairing and sandal making done in Thailand or Pakistan etc. These guys use the machine day in, day out, and know how to use them. You don't see them making purses, jackets or saddles with it, though. Tinkerer's Delight is a true statement. I have a knack with mine now, but I still wouldn't try to get a professional looking stitch on fine leather with it. I use mine to repair things like the doggie seat cover in my pickup, making small canvas articles and such. I even repaired a pair of my own sneakers with mine. The hardest part of using it is keeping the seam straight with one hand while turning the crank with the other. You could add a motorised pulley to it, but I ain't gonna bother. So yeah, even though I have one, I'm still hand stitching my leather projects.

chrome tan is basically upholstery and clothing leather, soft and supple. It's next to impossible to tool it, edge it or burnish it, but it does make nice bags, jackets and even watch straps. veg tan is tooling leather. It's what you want if you need to stamp, carve, edge and burnish your project. It gets more supple with use. A light weight veg makes good watch straps, too.

Salt Lake

That was definitely a grand show! I wasn't so much hearing the music as I was seeing the sound pierce my brain. Loudest show I've ever seen.

Using waxed thread on light leather I don't see much difference in sewing effort, so why bother to wax it? I wax when it makes a difference.

Very light leather usually doesn't need waxing, heavy leather is easier to stitch with a coat of beeswax. I buy unwaxed thread and wax it myself when my project needs it. This also leaves me the option of using the thread on a machine. A 1/2 lb of beeswax will last a lifetime.

Sharpening and stropping a swivel knife, and all the other cutting tools used in leather, is a basic skill inherent to leatherwork you will want to develop. There are plenty of threads on this forum and tons of videos on youtube, reddit and elsewhere. fun bonus; you will have the sharpest pocket knives and kitchen knives in the neighborhood!

Oxalic acid is also sold as 'wood bleach'. Used to lighten similar stains on wood.

I use manila folders. I haven't been able to determine how long they last over 3 or 4 uses so far for my favorite holster. If I find anything that needs to last longer, there are all sorts of plastic sheets to use.

Really, really nice! It will improve the looks of any jeep or saddle you care to strap it to. It would have to be a mule deer and maple leaves in my neck o'the woods, though.

Real nice! I would be proud to haul homebrew to a party with that. And you got the different beer varieties in the correct glasses!

those are so nice I would feel obligated to put a coaster on them to use them!

It would work in a pinch, say, you ran out of NFO and absolutely had to have some oil RIGHT NOW, but..... If it ain't broke, why fix it? NFO is well proven on leather. Lard is well proven in the skillet.

The mushrooming often comes from using too much pressure on the edges while burnishing. The burnishing should come from friction, not pressure. Take some scraps and practice using lighter, faster strokes with your burnishing tool until you can see how it works for you.

beeswax is an old-fashioned solution to lots of these matters, thinned with lanolin if necessary. .

That's impressive.

I like it! Is that your own pattern?

whichever knife you choose it must be sharp sharp sharp. I suspect the pulling you're experiencing comes from a blade that could be sharper. If you use a utility knife use a new blade each project. If a fixed blade knife, learn to sharpen and hone it. Keep the knife at a low angle to the leather to keep the blade in close contact with the leather.. You don't have to cut through the leather on the first pass. Cutting carefully, 2 or 3 lighter passes with the blade will often give a better result than one heavy-handed cut. This ain't a demonstration of strength. Moving around while you're edging also indicates a dull edge.

I don't see how a holster attaches to a firearm.

Non-Slip Tape, 1" x 4' - Weaver Leathercraft (weaverleathersupply.com) or a google search

to cut straight keep the knife ange low The Leather Element: Cutting Clean Edges - YouTube I used a modified old dinner fork to chisel my first slim Jim holster. Still have it!

Lovely work

If you were using an acrylic floor finish, just Google 'acrylic floor finish' . Lots of varieties, many unscented.