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I find I must disagree with DavidL, If it is your hobby or passion they why not spend the money? Ownership of expensive accessories would not automatically make the person a dullard. It is like any other hobby\pursuit, if you want better\higher performance tolls\products, there is a good chance it will cost you more money. The same paradigm holds true in archery, shooting, racing, cycling etc. thank god there are people out there that are willing to spend the money for hand made products, otherwise we would have no way to offset the cost of your hobby or in some cases (Those that are "lucky" enough to do this for a living) feed their families. Be kind and attentive to these people and sell them all your wares!!!! Dirtclod, I must disagree with you as well. While I am sure that there are some that are willing to run up a credit card bill, I find that most of the people that I know or are customers that are in possession of an Hermes\LV etc. purse or luggage. Most are usually quite well off. They purchase the best because they can. Sometimes for status, but mostly because they want quality and are willing to pay for it. Again, these are the people I want to and sometimes do sell to, they expect a higher level of customer service and are willing to pay for it. Think of it as a low threshold for inconvenience. As I get on in age I too am more willing to pay for quality and less hassle. I myself have developed a very low threshold for inconvenience. Alas in my case the pocket book precludes me from avoiding most of it.....;-) Just my $0.02

According to Tandy, they are in the process of digitizing their old patterns are going to make them available for down loding ( For a price). Good news, now all we have to do is wait..............

Very pretty, I like it

I have only placed a single order with him. He is great to deal with and the leather is wonderful, I will be ordering from him again with out hesitation!

They are not up to Verg Blanchard quality, but I think you will like it\them. They are working fine for me. Although I do think at some point I would like to try a high end set just to see\feel the differance. I have a buddy that is a machinist and I think I am going to see if he can make me some out of better stainless steel or harder tool steel. with longer but narrower teeth.......Well I can dream can't I?

Very nice stitching, I like how you finished off the stitching up by the buckle, do you worry about it fraying (sp?)? I can not tell, are the belts lined?

I agree, the blade is OK at best and will need to be sharpened. I was a bit upset to see that there are no gradation markings on the thickness adjustment as there seem to be on other splitters. It will handle up to about 3" wide leather after that width it is EXTREAMLY hard to pull the leather though. You really need to bolt it down to a solid mounting, I am currnetly looking for some one that can sharpen adn polish the blade up here in MN, I think that will help immensly.

I got my start when looking for a belt. I am a big (fat) guy and I the only thing I could find in my size was garbage. So I thought how hard canit be to make a belt? I went to tandy latehr and bought a blank, rounded the tip adn punched some holes, stained it and added a buckle. Awesome I am now a leather worker...........LOL............. Next i wanted a holster..... OK how hard can that be? I am a leather worker after all, I can make belts....Well 5 trys later I had my first holster. I stil have it. The stitching is aweful, the edges are aweful the whole thing just aweful LOL. From there I got a couple of books and took a class from Tandy on making saddle bags. I took the course to learn how to saddle stitch and this class got me started. After that class I was now a leather worker that was an expert on stitching and saddle bags........yea right.....So what better way to show off my new expertease buit to make a messenger bag for my daughter. that actually turned out pretty good except fopr the stitching '-) I used the messenger bag for a week or two just to see if it would survive and I litteraly was inundated with interest and questions on it. I ended up selling a buch of them adn I still do . In the mean time there were some unsusal holsters and mag holders that i wanted so I designed up and made those as well. Again teh interest in them was suprising sdo I made more and they also sold very well. With the help of this site my stitching is now up to OK\Good and all my work has improved. SInce then I have made a ton of belts and a few wallets, holsters, dog collars and a number of messenger bags. Now I am interested in purses and other unique items (I am a bit compulsive\and ADHD when it come to my interests) It's still only a hobby for me but it seems to be paying for itself..... Well other than the acute tool fetish I seemed to have develpoed....Alas I digress.....In answer to your question, I wll have to give Tandy and the instructor (Beth) the initial nod as to my learning and then this site for my improvement and current abilities such as they are. This site also gives me insparation to try new things and improve my current abilities. Without this site, I doubt that I would still be doing any kind of leatherwork other than the occasional belt. So thank you (I think) Leatherworker.net

I like it, simple, clean functional with added art. very nice

I think I have to agree but also disagree. The handling costs (Actually all costs) should be included in the price of the object. The proprietor should know his overhead costs and price his items accordingly. (Not including shipping costs that is.) This is the same thing as the "Shop Fees" \ "Hasmat Fees" charged by auto repair shops. Most Hasmat materials cost nothing to dispose of adn nost shops have a collector that comes by and picks up the material for free. What this does do is give the repair shop an extra $10-$20 profit on each repair ticket. I know this to be true as that is how the added shop\hasmat feature on repair shop softare is touted ( I went to a couple of sales pitches for 2 different software packages and in both cases they drove this point home as a way to increas the bottom line without any effort). Think about if you are a repair shop and you turn over 5,000 tickets a year this would be a profit of 50,000 100,000 each year.

5-6 oz veg tan ontheoutside and then line it with 2-3 oz veg tan. ( 2-3 oz interior - use the soft hand leather from springfield) I really like the results

Yes, I bought the irons sold by "Easonmo". I am looking forward to my secind order of the wider set as I want to try them on a messenger bag. I am really tired of having the teeth snap off my Tandy diamond punches and do not like using a wheel ( Cant stay on the line.....)

I do not think it is a questiion of poor pictures, I think he is trying to protect his investment. If you could blow it up, or get a better look, you could just print off the pictures and make your own plans without paying. I can't fault him for that. The price does not seem excesive, Maybe throw a few $ his way? That is a lot of different patterns you may be able to use a few..... Just a thought

Thanks for the heads up, Usually I only mark the the leatherwith the pricking iron...but on the thin stuff (2\3oz ~ 5\6oz) I do tend to make it out the back side more often than not...... I just bought a new heavier maul, and I am still learning to control it ......Getting between the teeth is going to be a bit of a trick when polishing as they are pretty close together. But I am sure, like my awl, sharp and mirror smooth\shinny goes though a heck of lot easier than dull and rough. More importantly it also comes out easier..... ;-)

I just picked up a set of ~9 SPI (3.38mm)pricking irons that were made in China for $30 incl shipping. They are not bad, not great, but not bad and significantly better that the diamond pricking irons sold by tandy. They are machined out of tool steel and not cast so they are way more durable. (I think I broke off at least three tines on my tandy diamond pricking irons in the course of one messenger bag........) Fairly sharp and evenly spaced. while they are not " Vergez Blanchard " they are worth the money especially if you are just starting out and tryig to improve your stitching etc. I was happy enough to order the second set with a slightly wider spacing (3.85mm). Just a thought for those of you that are a bit strapped for cash and\or just starting out. FYI....The ones I bought were sold by "Easonmo", but there are a couple of other sellers of what looks to be the same tools for about the same price.

Got my thread from Fine L Working over the week end, VERY Nice stuff. Fast service easy to deal with .......everythign you want in a supplier

Interesting, I assumed they were the same or at least really close, Looks like i was mistaken. still looks to be a failry good thread and I will still be putting in an order in the near future I am going to get a selelction of colors and sizes. ( I need to broaden my horizons beyond black, brown and natural.....) and they look to have a pretty good selection.

From one Minnesotan to another: This is very kind of you.

I just put a small order at Fine Leather Working, great people to do business with, Their stuff looks top notch. You may also have luck with Royal Wood http://www.royalwoodltd.com/cat14-17aw.htm. I have not bought from them but they look to have a pretty good selelction although it is waxed. Alas they too have a $100 minimum for wholesale. but I figure if you want a selelction of thread by color and size, you will break $100 pretty quick. It's only money.............right? I am going to try them in the near future, but first I gotta finish up a few items..

Wow I am not sure which I like more, the groover or the strap. Both are beautiful

Go to Springfiled and get a side of thier 2-3 oz tooling leather that has a "Soft Hand" if works pretty good for lining larget items.

Ditto what mccottiesaid Black River Laser, their templates are great

I am in the beginning of creating my web site as well, Check out host gator and also do a search on You Tube for tutorials on building a web site and using wordpress\worpress themes, it makes life a lot easier.

I second RJF Leather.

Also try RJF Leather great service and leather quality