SooperJake

Post said link, please.

I just finished an applique ( my first lacing project ) and I've ended up with some tiny scratched from the needle. The leather is vegetable tanned dyed with Angelus Jet Black. I've tried water and my thumb, and Bick 4, rubbing vigorously, to no avail. What's a good way to prevent this in the future, beside "not letting the needle touch the leather"? Should I have put clear coat down over the dye first?

Nice work, Chris.

Are all these exotics from Roje', Dan?

Welcome to the Cowboy Ranch!

Nice work!. Chief, the two metal plates go on the money side of the magnet?

Eric, is the paracord still working for you or have you switched to vacuum mesh material?

How do you keep the bag from sealing up on itself and where is the vacuum port on the bag in relation to the dummy gun or holster?

Beautiful work DBL!

Awesome work!

I hone all blades, including utility and exacto blades. Many folks don't sharpen for enough..meaning they never get the two planes of a cutting edge to meet. Magnification of the edge at various stages of sharpening is a great way to explain what is going on during the sharpening process. One of those lit magnifiers may be worth getting. A USB digital microsope is a really cool teaching aid. Ideally when you initially sharpen a cutting tool, a wire burr will form. This looks like a little flap of tin foil stuck to the edge and can be moved . When you get to this point you have "sharpened" the metal down to a very thin place along the edge, and it is critical that this foil or wire edge be stropped away, not broken off. Hand stropping takes time ( I use power on some things), and the closer you get to completion, the more apt the wire edge is to break. Once you get to the "magic point" where the two planes of the cutting edge meet, and the wire burr has been worn away by the stropping compound, you are getting a tool that is truly sharp. A cutting edge is really a kind of saw. The quality of the steel (grain structure) will determine how small you can make the "teeth" at the edge. If you could make an edge achieve a thickness of one molecule, why you'd have a really sharp tool. Edge holding ability comes from hardness and bevel angle. You sharpen the angle based on the use. Typically, a scalpel has a lower included cutting angle than an chisel. Microbeveling is a technique that tricks the tool into a higher degree of sharpenness with more resistence to folding under pressure. Mallet struck woodworking chisels can benefit from microbeveling, where the cutting edge may be 15° included, and the rest of the tool beveled at 20° or more. It's also a fast way to get a lower angle as you have less metal to remove at the edge. I'm new to use of the round knife, but for some cuts, like an exterior radius on a hide that is particularly firm of hand, I find it indispensable, as I rock around to make the cut. I like a honed utility blade for long straight cuts. Clean cut leather shines, literally.

What, exactly, is "an operator friend"? Does that mean they work for the phone company?

Nice work! The brass buckle kind of clashes. Black, maybe? The edges look stellar.

Nice work Josh. +1 on the snap. Is that Feibing's medium brown?

Nice work George! Is the horse leather more difficult to form? Does it have to be wetter?

I like it. It bends some of the "rules", and there ain't nothing wrong with doing that from time to time. I get a reptilian feeling from the basket weave without a boarder around it. Neat.

Mike, which brand of punch has these features you describe, please?

Nice work Ash!

Not the rivets I am looking for. I'm pretty sure the rivets in the pictures start out flat, and after setting, they are now slightly concave. There is a dimple in the center of the backside or exposed part of the rivet. I'm guessing that the dimple is from a press used to install. Maybe they are something custom made but I've seen them on more than one holster maker's product, so I have to believe that somewhere in the world they can be bought.

Mike, I didn't send any rivets for the thumb break stiffener.

Anyone happen to have a source for a flat rivet for thumb break installation? I am looking for something similar to those seen on commercial holsters like Aker or Blackhawk use. These are quite small in diameter and have flat heads on them. Pictures tell all. I'm not happy with the 2 piece rivets typical of the leather stores. Thanks.

Would you consider neetsfoot oil as a leather conditioner, or is the wax componant of a conditioner important?

I concur with your observation about the similarity of leatherwork and woodwork...plus many of our tools serve double duty! Craft is craft, afterall. Nice Work.

Nice work. I'd like to see a picture of your edges if you have one?

That's incredible work!