DoubleC

Oh yes, very cool. I will do that Grey. That looks much cleaner. Cheryl

I'm impressed if you weren't using a walking foot machine. And you mentioned it flying so I assume you weren't. I think it turned out well for a project on the fly to stay awake. I'd use it. We are leather workers and notice things other people wouldn't. I think impulse gave you some good advice. Cheryl

You should have done the baking sod bath right after you dipped it while it was still wet. It is still reacting with the leather as we speak. I would let it soak in the bath for a couple of minutes. The metallic odor is common and will fade with time, same as the vinegar odor. The soda will help but just airing it helps the most. Doesn't take long for the odor to leave, maybe a week. Adding neatsfoot and buffing it up will help too. Cheryl

I know. On these heavy ones especially you need to make them longer because the braiding takes up so much length. Yeah that's why I put a button stud on mine so the pull back wouldn't unsnap it all the time Never again. Have too much nice soft leather I can use. Only way I seem to learn is through making mistakes though. Thanks for looking at my things. Cheryl.

Grey do you mean at both ends? Do black across there. I just played with this and colored it AFTER I slit it, LOL. Not my smartest move. But I could use any color to do that, haven't put any of them away yet. So you've done the heavy mystery braid huh? That's a lot of fun isn't it? Your hands fall off trying to keep the strands separated to put the bottom through. And you have to do 4 braids to make it even. Never again with that heavy a leather Cheryl

there's no contest, vinegaroon for your belts if you're worried about rub off. Black dye is the worst. Cheryl

If you're talking about the blue jean look on the leather, I did that technique on a wall. Painted in a navy blue and dry washed, I mean really dry brush, the light on. Looks like they may have done theirs the opposite way. Would just need veg tanned leather, navy water based dye and acrylic white paint. Cheryl

JmkJmk I didn't punch holes in mine because I didn't notice that the first time I looked at the design. I just eyeballed the slits. Cheryl

JmkJmk it's easy to do. You know when you cut a hole for a buckle tongue you do it into a hole so as not to cut to far? Just lay your leather down and punch holes across the top and bottom and make one of those buckle type cuts into them. Then I played with mine a while and got it to spread even further than usual. The two other ones I saw were done in fine leather, perfect dye jobs, you know the type. They cut the slits and left i that way looking all professional and manly. Me? I decided to go a little wild with mine. I'll upload a picture of mine laid out smooth. Cheryl.

I apologize for the picture quality of these. One was taken last night when it was too dark to take a good pic and today I blurred it. LOL Batting 1000. hey are both made out of 8 oz and I don't recommend a mystery braid made of that heavy a leather

Very envied Tom!Cheryl

Nice job. Cheryl

I know Mike. I work at a FM 3 xs a week and people thing that's synonymous with 'cheap.' It doesn't help we're next to the Walmart parking lot. I have a basket full of my formally 10 buck bracelets for 5 bucks just to get rid of them. No one goes through it, they look at the 40.00 ones and want them for 5. I raised all my prices on my good thing this year, tired of not being paid for my time at all. And they aren't really buying a bit less than they did when the stuff was 18.00. The walk through the FM, get an idea of what they want then head to Walmart. Even the Farmers aren't doing as well this year. I think it's a cultural difference where the Chinese can't understand how much we hate their products. I have not had a single item returned that I've sold and a lo of my early work I see now was horrifying, lol. But i guess it's lasting longer than Walmart so it's ok to the people who bought it. Now that I have a handle on at least looks good, whether it's mine or not, I set my price accordingly. I guess I'm doing better than you, a guy wants me to make pouches for him for 4.00 and he sells them for 5. I am now flattered which wasn't my first thought when I was asked.

How many years did you practice before you made a project? Never seen a first with perfect shape and perfect tooling and perfect sewing. But if ya say so. It's a nice piece no matter what. Cheryl

No Mike probably not. You don't want to make a bed you might not be able to get lout of later. I think the product is ok but just gimmicky and I don't think people will buy 200 a day, or a month for that matter one the phase passes. I'm not surprised you didn't get a response. Probably as soon as you said you didn't want to use a filler you lost them. They'll find someone in the US I'm sure that will make them AND will use a filler to make their margins even higher. I'm sorry you didn't get the job but glad you didn't compromise. We have enough Chinese Veneered leather junk here already. Cheryl

That is beautiful, very clean and well made. Cheryl

Look around the house....got any pill bottles? use those to mold the ring. Think outside the box. I'm looking at a lacing spool with a perfectly smooth round space inside you could form a ring in. Wrap it around the outside of a chapstick and use a piece of lace, or another piece of leather to tie it on. Mae sure it's flat and won't leave a mark on your wet leather. All three of those were just lying on the top of my desk here. A house search would turn up more I'm sure. Good Luck, Cheryl

Thanks Chief. I've had the blanks before to use for hair barrettes LOL and still have the bottoms. But I thought they went inside the buckle. I then I lookeed at one I made years ago and the leather fully covered the buckle. I will have to try one of these while I still have some roo left, LOL.

Chief that is beautiful. I can't quite wrap my had around how it's made. You use a regular buckle blank and then put the two layers on it, with the braid? An envelope so to speak with the metal completely sandwiched between the leather? Thanks, Cheryl

Nstar you answered a question I had. I looked all over thee site and couldn't find out where they were made. They have a contact email but no address. Their return address states such things as 'you must ship to the address on the RA because it may be different than where the item shipped from but never mentioned a country. Since you were approached to make them in the USA I guess I was right about them being Chinese. Maybe it's a new trend starting....insourcing. Or maybe they want to say they are made in the USA. Anyway I hope it works out for you. Cheryl

Chris in reference to you maker's mark question, anyone can be a maker. So might as well mark it if you're proud of it or in my case remember to. If you make it you are a maker. Coach may be a producer but to mark it is ridiculous because they don't make anything, their assembly line type factories do.

I don't know where this got into a subject about custom, but if someone downloads a holster pattern, or buys blue guns or whatever, and makes them over and over where they [ut a flower on one and a donkey on he next it's not custom. It ain't art either. Holsters would be a tough category to get art in and I've only seen maybe 10 people that could do it. You can't change the pattern or 'design' of the holster so what do you change? I've seen Sheridan carved holsters I would call art and I don't even like Sheridan style very much. I've seen some gorgeous holster done on here by Katsass that were inlaid and could hang in a frame. They weren't dip dyed and they weren't plain. It wasn't because his hand stitching is perfect, or the shape of the inlay, or what the inlay was, or even if there was one. Itt was all these things that added up to something that could hang on a wall, although they were made to use. If I make 20 belts and they all want initials on it, it's not what what a LW would consider custom or art. It is a custom order ONLY because a (custom)er asked me to do it. It's not art. Art stretches you, makes you make mistakes, redesign, try things Makes you cry in frustration and laugh in joy when it comes out exactly as you imagined it. Art doesn't use a template, art using a mind. If you use a template or 15 of them to arrive at what your mind MADE you make, and it is a physical urge, to come up with a piece it doesn't matter about the templates or how many you used. An artist is someone driven to create things, not because they might sell or they are in style but because you simply can't rest until it's done. I had one more thing to add. Very few of us get to create art because we're too busy doing (custom)er orders.

well ya just kinda feel your way along in that. I don't know of an actual formula for it, I could be mistaken. I just always allow a couple of extra inches over my usual length. Cheryl

I do 50/50 and multiple coats. Cheryl.

LOL Lew, you and me both. Cheryl