bruce johnson

Tim, A while back I bid on a Crown Royal bag quilt at a benefit auction and now this. Nice idea, and you can justify making more from the environmental angle. Just think of all those bottles who would languish in some landfill. Good idea, and tip of the hat to your creativity for the project and your taste in raw materials. Cheers, Let 'er buck!!

The listerine has thymol which has antifungal properties and helps prevent mold. I have used it for (forgive the semantics Bob)"quick casing" on little things out of thinner leather and it does alright. I have used Procarve and my feeling is that the Procarve penetrates a little faster. That makes sense, since the Lexol probably slows the absorption a bit over just a surfactant like the Procarve. My other impression is that Procarve will evaporate faster too though.

I am pretty hard to shop for leather wise. I pretty much have what I need to get the job done. The only things that really interest me much now are a unique new stamp, an old tool with history, or creature comforts for the shop. I traded my son back pickups and found my black gold Resistol and harmonica....I guess I'll just ask Santa for some hippo or another pink shirt or two now.

In a word, "no". I have not had problems with any finish or dye after casing with this mix. I had problems with dye on some of the other formulas I have tried - never with this. All of my stuff has had additional NF added to it before I finish anyway, so a little Lexol in the case is no concern. I finish with Tankote, Bagkote, and Leathersheen. Not sure how true it is, but guys have written on some of these forums that one of the "fat liquors" used to treat the leather in the tanning process is the same as Lexol. It already may have some in it to begin with.

Mike, Here's a link that should get you there - Don Kingg/Walt Fay stamps

The Fay tools were made by Walt Fay, Clint's father. My buddy has an enviable set of tools from several makers. The Walt Fay tools are some of the best he has. The Ebay description says that Walt retooled a lot of old Craftools and that may be true. When my friend spent time with him, Walt used bolts for the blanks for the stamps he made him.

I guess I don't know that here is a huge difference only beveleing the edges in one direction. If you edger is sharp enough, it ought to be slicing the fibers off instead of laying them over too. I use bisonette edgers a fair amount. My wife really likes them, and having the front edge serves more for training wheels and a guide than a cutting edge 99% of the time. I used to be a big fan of the round bottom edgers, but they can dang sure scoop or get under some thin lining and make you say words you didn't learn in Sunday school. I still like them a lot, but am using the bisonettes more often. They are a little tricky to sharpen. What I do is wrap a piece of very fine wet/dry sandpaper aroung whatever I have to make the right curvature. Usually I use nails. You have to watch the angles a bit and be careful not to get into the edge on the opposite side. I strop on the edge of a piece of skirting I have rounded over to the right curvature. Not all of the bisonettes are created equal. My favorites are from Bob Douglas and Barry King.

I have seen pictures of theirs and like it. I use a 20 ton shop press similar to their mannual one (both are red). They have the top plate fastened to the crossbeam that the jack sits on. That would be an advantage. With mine I put a piece of scrap cold roll steel big enough to cover the die and the ram presses on that. It is one more step to put the scrap on the die and center it under the ram. Their price is sure fair enough. What I would spend in time and money to make a fixed top plate, The TCD one is less expensive. The $1000-2000 plus difference between a press and a clicker buys more dies. Contrary to first impressions , these shop press setups really are pretty alright unless you are in serious production. About 3-4 cranks on the handle will go through most heavy leather, let off the jack pressure enough to slide out the die and cut piece and slide another in. The only distance you really have to allow for is the thickness of the leather and the allowance to get under the top plate or ram. You don't have to let the jack go all the way up and start over each time. No adjusting for different die heights.

I believe he may cry harder when it bends or breaks on about the, oh, 14th impression.

Elton, Looks like lots of room. I see you have the cushioned floor squares too. It only took me about 4 years to get mine done. Shop is looking good, and so is the work coming out of it. An eight by eight table is only a dream, WOW. Greet Candace, Bruce and Rundi

I am a bit interested in the Damascus as well, but haven't heard if the stores got them in yet. They were hoping November, but I haven't heard of anyone getting one yet. I kind of figured somebody would pop for one and give a testimonial either way with this many people on the forum if they were out. The modern Osbornes are not the Osbornes of old. The old Rose knives are a peach when you can find them. If I was looking at spending $75 for a knife, I'd add $15 more to it and order a Gomph from Lonnie. Best knife bargain going I think and they aren't making any more of them.

It really all comes down to personal preference. I like the tapered mauls in the heavier sizes for larger baskets and geometrics. I don't have to lift my arm as high to hit the stamp square. I use a 12 oz and 16 oz for most other stamps, and they are straight mauls. I tend to hover over those stamps a little more and so the higher motion is not the factor with the lighter mauls. I use my 16 oz the most for general tooling.

There are quite a few people here on the forum who use silver from Hansen's. They just had their site redone and pretty much everything they have is on it. It makes it nice for customers to look at and pick out a style. As far as I know they are still wholesale only, but they have a list of dealers on their site. They are really good people to deal with and are a family run business. Here's the link - Hansen's Western Gear

I am with Andrew on the HSBT beveling wheel. It has a checkered pattern and lays that down. It will not bevel as deep as an oscillating handpiece or using a mallet or maul, but for long runs like next to bead lines or lightly laying down a cut line, it looks good. I also will drag a steep beveler through a cut line to round over a square cut edge. A checkered beveler gives a little more burnish than a smooth beveler.

Lisa, Hansen's have several patterns of iron/silver with the cross. Here is a link ot their new website, which I just saw for the first time about 5 minutes ago. - Hansen's Western Gear. (My favorite is the San Martin cross).

Clair, I've got Dixon blades in mine, and I keep them sharp-sharp. Kind of like a round knife, when I start hearing the cut, it is time to strop. As far as the new knife matching up, Chris Williamson from Dixon joined here a short while back. Hopefully he can answer that.

The 511 and Barry's #3 lined center basket I have are pretty much the same size.

Tim, I'll respond here, and it it takes off, we'll make a new topic and move it. Both of the point knives are Watt's. One I bought outright and the other was in silent auction basket I bought to get some other tools. They are alright. I mainly use them to skive a little if I don't get enough undercut on my cantle ear cuts. Maybe a little trim here or there in a tighter spot. They don't get enough use to really test them, and I really can't even justify having two. I just ended up with them both.

Like Bob, I do most of my hand skiving with a round knife. I have a few different ones for different cuts, but I like a wide one for skiving. When it really comes down to the bee's knees, I like a paring type knife. I am attaching a picture of some different knives, but the one I am talking about is on the right in the picture. It is pretty popular with the European influenced guys. The picture is a little deceiving, the bevel is pretty long on this knife and it will do some really fine work. Some of these come without the leather cover on the heel of the blade.

I would try Dick Anderson at Thornapple River boots. I kind of recall he has them. Here's a link to his info page - Dick Anderson

Weavers will sell you from the supply catalog with what you have. A few years ago I tried to buy some things from the finished product side and that is where the storefront, posted hours, and minimum order deal came in then.

I have used a couple bottles of Johnson No More Tears and one generic in between with no differences I can tell. Joe, I slather it on with a woolskin scrap used like a sponge (another way to use up those scraps). It depends on the weight of the leather how much and how many applications. Usually I go over it pretty heavy once and let it sit for about 5 min. Apply another coat if needed and see how fast it soaks in. If it goes pretty fast I'll hit it again. My general rule of thumb is about one good application for every 4 oz of leather. One of those things that experience with your own leathers will dial it in for you. I put it in a ziplock with enough air to keep the plastic off the face of the leather. Those big blue storage ziplocks are great. Next day or that night, it is usually ready to go. If too wet I leave it out under a fan. Too dry and I mist on some of the mix with a spray bottle and just leave it sit out for a while checking for more needed or not. I don't refrigerate anymore.

Stacy, Much as these look like simple repairs, I would take it to a shop. It may not be worth the two hour trip to Clements for you, but as you said, your saddle has some more than average value for its age. I am not trying to sound condescending but this, but a messy repair could sure take some value off it. A nail missing the cantle and through the seat or a problem sewing back the wool could decrease the value. If you want to do this yourself, I would find someone experienced more locally to help you with it. If nothing else, at 10 years it might be time for a deeper inspection and deep cleaning and conditioning anyway.

I am subscribed to a few animal production forums and email lists. One that I usually follow fairly closely comes from Beef magazine. Amanda Nolz is a recent college grad from South Dakota who has a blog there, and is pretty good spokesperson for animal agriculture. Her blog entry this morning is based on a lecture given last night at Brookings. The speaker was Bernard Rollin, a philosophy prof from Colorado State. I have heard Prof Rollin speak a few times at meetings, and have found him interesting and thought provoking. At the end of Amanda's post is a link to a short audio interview she did. Here's a link - Bernard Rollin animal rights and beef interview

I sure don't want to start that whole nightlatch debate we went through a few years ago, but here's my thoughts. If you are going to use one, I think the rope doubled and tied tight to the gullet is safer (like cowgirlrae's second picture with the tie string). You are holding onto the tails. Anytime you run your hand into a strap you buck off the oppposite side and your hand can either twist in the handle if too loose or turn over if too tight. Either way you have a bind on your hand and could be hung there. I wouldn't trust a lace to hold me in, but then break when I wanted it to.