Ed in Tx

ll Looks very well done to me. I like how you did the picket fence incorporating your business name. I saw one of the critiques above questioning the duplication of the Barking Rooster, personally I don't see that as an issue, in fact that is a very good method of reinforcing your brand. The comment about the Font color is true in the extent that it doesn't "stand out". I do however like the fact that the current selection changes the look of the font. One thing we "Yankees" (yes you are a yankee even if your from the south as far as a Brit is concerned) need to remember is there are indeed spelling differences in many words for us. Overall I think you did a great job.

Ohio Travel Bag will indeed sell to people without a business. They only ask that you fill out the application for and they do have minimum order amounts dollar wise. I think their deal is they don't want people that are going to buy a few things one time only. On the other hand, I placed an order a few months ago and received it in quick order, problem was the clips they sent were absolute junk. The finish was terrible and the edges were sharp, a couple even had begun to rust. I would never buy from them again. I will stick with ordering all my metal clips from Springfield Leather and on occasion when Tandy sells theirs on sale for a reasonable price I will go there. I have ordered snaps, rivets and other hardware from Springfield Leather and never had a problem.

I have one thing to add. The new Tandy Pro Waterstain is some truly incredible stuff. I am no fan of Tandy products but I tried the stuff a while back and was blown away by how well it worked. I was able to dye some gator backstrap with this by just rubbing it on the top of the skin. The finish is perfect. Now for the kicker. the price is BS, no surprise there but if you can catch it on sale buy it.

guys I worked in the telecom industry (land line) for 30 plus years, my brother works for the cell side. Things have changed a lot over the last few years and the biggest problem today is the use of IP telephone equipment. You know those adds you see for Magic Jack and Vonage, they are IP. With IP you have absolutely no way of blocking them, they can spoof numbers (fake) send no caller id name or number so as far as the telephone system is concerned it just goes through. At one time the Do-Not-Call lists were a semi effective way of minimizing the pain in the ass calls but these days they don't mean squat. Sorry to burst your bubble because I hate it as much as you do if not more.

Ferg.. Please... don't you think I already tried to buy them. He had no clue what the things even were, I had to tell him. This guy has more money than sense and is a bit of a hoarder. He can't even walk through his garage to the house. Basically he is a rich kid who doesn't have to work because mommy and daddy set him up for life. They bought him and his brothers a slew of rent houses and other properties and that is where he gets his "walking around cash". With this stuff it will just sit in the garage where he dropped it and will be there for who knows how long. Trust me, I intend to keep pressing him for a few pieces, I have made him a few holsters and other things in the past so next time he wants one I will do a little bartering with him.

Bruce, A little off topic but I have to tell you about a find that my neighbor came across. He went to an estate liquidation In Dallas a couple of weeks ago, he bought a box of "old tools and stuff" in his words and was showing it to me. I wanted to just die right there when I saw what he had. There was an Osborne Rein Rounder with a date of 1896 on it for starters along with numerous very old skivers that were made in Sheffield England. I think they were cobblers shaves of some sort. There were several other leather working tools and also a bunch of old woodworking items like wood planes and shaping planes. The kicker was he only paid $50 for the entire box. I tried to buy a few items from him but he wants to keep them in his garage in a box to "look at them". He had no clue what most of the items even were.

Springfield Leather has the same clips as Tandy and at a better price. One thing for sure is don't make the mistake of ordering from Ohio Travel Bag for any of the clips they sell. I thought I would give them a try and what I got was junk with a capital J. The finish was horrible and a few even had light rust, the edges were almost sharp enough to cut you. I ordered a few other items beside clips and wasn't impressed by them either. As they say live and learn.

All one has to do is look at the patterns and kits that Tandy is selling to realize that the are very far out of touch with the current world. How many people really need or want a comb case, pocket protector or key cases. I don't think they have put out any decent kits or patterns in quite a long time. Their pricing for leather is a joke, they are charging $10 a sq. ft. for poor quality import leather, I can buy Hermann Oak or Wicket and Craig for less. There is one new item that they have that is really an excellent product. The new Pro-Waterstain is great, however, they are nuts if they think I am willing to pay $35 for a 1 liter bottle. Even the elite price is ridiculous at $21 a bottle when I can buy Fiebings all day long for $18 a quart from another supplier. It is really unfortunate that Tandy isn't as customer focused as they once were.

Well at least I was not the only person that had an issue when they tried using the plate. I tried using it for a pouch I made that had a raised back but gave up because of the stitch issue. I read in the manual how to do the adjustment but figured I would end up creating more problems when I switched back to the strap plate.

My Cobra 4 came with a holster plate when I bought the package, however, I still have not used it. To be perfectly honest I am not too sure when I would need it or use it. I have made numerous holsters without it. I am sure there is probably a very good reason for the plate, I am either doing things wrong or making things harder on myself by not using it.

I have had that happen to me as well. What I started doing was to dye the veg tan before I glue the ostrich on top of it. Just make sure you get good penetration of the dye because you will lose some of the color when you sand and burnish the edges. I also use edge finish after burnishing, Fiebing's Edge Finish is a lot thicker than regular dye and doesn't seem to run as much in my experience. I use Q-Tips to apply the edge finish, they are a pain but much smaller than even the smallest daubers.

Just in case you just weren't thinking NVLeatherworx.. maybe some people have arthritis that might prevent them from sewing by hand like they did in the past. I don't understand why people have to post smart ass answers on the forums. I thought these forums were supposed to be a place to ask for help if needed.

My son wants me to make him a bi-fold wallet and I am in need of some advice regarding thread size used for sewing. I have a Cobra 4 which is way overkill for a wallet I know but that is what I use for other things. I predominantly use 277 and 207 for what I sew, I know that is probably to thick for a wallet but it would work. What size thread and needle do most of you use on wallets? I was thinking a 137 but would defer to someone that does more wallets. Any guidance would be greatly appreciated. Ed in Grapevine Texas

Very nice. I really like the way you did the background texture around the eagle's head. Also like the overall shape of the pouch, the way you did the bottom just gives it a really nice look.

That is some incredible leather work indeed. It is hard to imagine that a piece of animal skin could be turned into such a great work of art.

I am not an expert by any stretch, I have however used elephant hide for several things I have made including a holster. With the holster I used a veg-tan cowhide and covered it with the elephant, basically a "lined" holster. On the edges I did the just like I would using veg-tan cowhide only and burnished them using resolene/water mix but first step was sandpaper of progressively finer grit then wetting and rubbing edges with glycerin soap and burnish with denim that had saddle soap rubbed in. A lot is going to depend on how the hide was finished in the first place, burnishing would be the same but dye and final seal coat will be dependent on existing finish. I know I didn't cover every step but you get the general idea.

Springfield Leather has the double cap rivets. The thing you need to be concerned about is the length of the post on the rivet, a very short post is needed as you are only going thru a single layer of leather and a very thin piece of metal for the stiffener.

electrathon.. regarding your comment about car seats.. I don't know how much leather they use but the seats on my Ford pickup are supposedly leather and they wore thru in about 3 years.. I looked at a piece and the actual leather couldn't even be given a weight it was so thin. I think most manufacturers use bonded garbage and pass it off as leather, but they sure charge like it is super premium hide. Sure would like to know what kind of splitter they use to get it that thin !!

Don't know about a run on hides.. but there is certainly more of a stampede of dumb ass hitting anywhere that sells anything related to guns and ammo. I was at the Academy here in Grapevine TX today and they probably had no more than 10 rifles left and maybe a dozen shotguns... handguns were down to VERY few. The remaining rifles were mostly kids size or single shot. Ammo wasn't much better very little left. I talked to the guy in the gun area and he said it started 2 weeks ago.. people were buying anything they had like there was never going to be another gun made ever.. One of the more despicable gun stores in the area that refer to themselves as "cheaper than" lets just say soil.... has jacked the prices up substantially.. doesn't surprise me with them as the owner will screw people any way he can.. when there was a flu scare a couple of years ago and a shortage of hand sanitizer he had his people out buying all they could find then tried to sell it for more than $30 per bottle. All I can say is I am glad I have a reasonable supply of ammo.. what sucks is I can't afford to go to the range and shoot because of replacement costs.

Have you considered making a small enclosure of some thin cloth and stitching it to the liner? I did a purse for my wife a few year ago from a hair on hide and upholstrey leather and I lined it with fabric. For the magnetic closure I .made a small pouch with enough material on the edges to be able to sew it to the lining. When I stitched the lining to the leather I also used some glue on the pouch with the magnet. I made sure the glue I used was suitable for cloth and leather, it is called "Crafters Pick", I bought it at Hobby Lobby but I am sure you could find something similar elsewhere. Probably makes no sense the way I explained it but it worked.

Saddles that are this incredible should never be placed on a horse.. They should be in an art gallery. Although if you had a quarter horse or cutter worth more than a Lincoln pickup that might be okay.

Paul, I met you at the Boot and Saddle Makers Roundup in Wichita Falls.. I was just looking at the Cobra 4 and you started telling me all about it.. I said I sewed by hand due to low volume.. Well.. guess what I bought a Cobra 4 in early December after thinking about it for a while.. I have only used an upholstrey sewing machine a few times in the past and I was no whiz at it.. I set the Cobra up and after playing and trying a few things I was able to sew within a few days.. I am still learning for sure and need to learn more about the different plates and feet but the Cobra 4 can make even me look competent. Plus I am doing ore work now since I am not killing my hands sewing by hand every day. We probably both sound like shills for Steve and Cobra but I don't care.. I am just glad I ran in to you that day and listened to what you had to say.. Would love to have the splitter too but it will be a while before I can convince my spouse to let me spend that much money again.. I am still trying to figure out how you did the rollover for lining your sheaths.. I think I am using to heavy a leather for the liner.. Thanks again.. from a fellow satisfied Cobra 4 buyer !!! Ed C in Grapevine TX.

I had a question along the same line.. My question is more related to the limitations when using drum dyed leather. I have been told that the drum dyed does not tool as well as the natural undyed hides. I have had occasions when my dye job doesn't come out even in areas where I have done forming. I assume it is due to the compression of the fibers in the hide. That is one reason I have considered using drum dyed even though it is a little more. Can anyone tell me what limitations one might encounter when using a drum dyed hide?

I came across a really good web site that outlines the history of the tanning and glove making history in Johnstown and Gloversville New York. At one time that area was one of the largest in terms of tanning and glove making. Made for some interesting reading as I grew up in that area. What was real telling was the phone directories from over the decades, from the heyday to present time there was a huge decline in the industry. Having lived there I can attest to the severe damage to the ecology that was done by the tanneries, dumping raw chemicals and runoff into the local creeks. At on me time the Cayudetta creek was one of the most polluted bodies of water in the US. Things cleaned up in the 80's but there are a lot less tanneries now. Gloversville was a glove making machine, still remember the factories on my way to the library. It is interesting looking back in history at how popular ladies gloves were at one time. Take a look at the site, it is worth a few minutes of your time for sure. www.gloversandtanners.com

The best blades I have found for a utility knife are Lenox Gold. They have a titanium edge and last a lot longer than any other blade I have tried. I bought a 50 pack at Home Depot for about $20. Don't waste your money on Stanley or other blades like that, cut out one holster and they are junk. I have used a Lenox blade for several holster cut outs and the blade is still good.