Holzmann

Cole, I can't say for sure whether wood stains will work on leather, but I can say for certain that any stains that wouldn't add oils you don't necessarily want in your leather will contain solvents which will leach the natural oils out of your project. I am a furniture maker by trade and deal with such products daily. The only exception that springs to mind is aniline dye which is alcohol based (much like a "spirit dye"). Professional grade wood stains are formulated to be compatible with wood finishes and are not necessarily going to allow your leather finishes to bond properly. As to the overpriced junk from Home Depot, Lowe's etc, do you really want to put a product on your hard work that a pro wouldn't use to stain his doghouse? My recommendation is to use products designed for leather and avoid the heartache of using a stain formulated for another purpose. Just my $.02

Hello all, I've recently started using 50/50 (by weight) beeswax/neatsfoor polish I brewed up myself and I have a few questions; My resulting finish is quite hard and applying it with my fingers as recommended in other posts is rather difficult. Aside from warming it up, is there a way to tweak the formula to bring it to a consistency more like shoe polish? Perhaps increase the amount of neatsfoot? Also, I've been thinking about making some up in quantity. Are there any long(ish) term storage issues I need to consider? I have access to new quart cans (unused paint cans). Any reason not to use one as my melting/storage vessel? Thanks in advance, Nat

Beautiful work!

Thank you all for your kind words. The shell holder is lined with goat skin behind the rivets, but nowhere else. I wanted to keep down bulk. I think I may switch to a textured pear shader because I think it would be easier to walk the tool (the shading is something I think needs work). TexasJack; what would you suggest rather than rivets? A mate from work wants me to make one for him and I'm striving to make each project better than the last.

Just finished a shell holder for my Winchester model 1200. I'm quite happy with the carving on the cheek side, but not so much with the shell side. This was my second shot at carving and frankly I'm much happier with the results. I do think I should have dyed the background rather than simply antiquing the piece, but I'm learning with every project. Thanks for looking.

Nice sheath. That retainer is genius. I'm going to have to comb my pile of scandi knives so I can steal the heck out of that idea!

Joel, (that's my little brother's name by the way), I'm using a diamond blade awl to punch the stitching holes. The fellow who demonstrated this stitch for me was actually using a bigger awl than mine and threading both needles through the hole at once (a skill that's beyond me as i only have one particularly good hand). I'm using an awl that's just big enough to accommodate one needle beside the first thread. I think it opened up because I was too chicken to put a real good pull on the thread fearing it would break on me. after hunting season this year I'm going to pull it off the rifle to inspect underneath and i'm thinking of re-stitching it with a stronger waxed nylon thread at that point (unless the wood looks like it's suffering in which case I'll come up with a different fastening method). jmkjmk2, thank you kindly.

Thanks for the praise and the advice. I think I could have pulled the stitching tighter, but I'm using waxed linen thread and I've had it break on me a few times. As for the awl size, I've been using an awl that makes a hole big enough to pass the second needle through without snagging the first thread. Is that wrong?

Hello all, I just completed a cartridge holder for my Winchester model 88 rifle. It features my first attempt at leather carving as well as my first use of my new basketweave stamp. Finish is Fiebings oil dye, neatsfoot oil and Fiebings Tan-Kote. All things considered, I'm pretty happy with the results - with one notable exception: I decided to forgo the typical lacing and stitched it on (I prefer a more streamlined look), but now I'm thinking it's lack of removability might trap moisture and cause damage in the long run. I'm thinking I could possibly work a zipper into the design (I know it's hardly traditional) without having to sacrifice the work I put into it. Thoughts? Another issue (although minor in my estimation) is that I had difficulty keeping the stitching tight as I progressed. It was my first time stitching with curved needles and I found I could get them tight, but they would loosen as I worked the needles through the next set of awl holes. Any advice? Thanks for looking.