Rawhide

Thanks Allen, Did you guys get some storms down there?

Here's another eagle portrait I completed recently. It is from a doodle page by Robb Barr. Hope you enjoy. As always critiques are very welcome.

Bob, this is why I started using the baby shampoo and lexol formula...Bottom line is for me it keeps the leather flexible when it drys, so it's not hard as a rock and I like the burnish it gives...I got the suggestion from Bruce Johnson and have been using it ever since...

Redbeard, That is a variation of the old way of casing. Looks like you've got it down packed. Bottom line is, do what works best for you. Happy tooling!

I have kept a piece cased for about 6 days under a smooth glass cutting board. You'll have to wet it well once (maybe twice depending on your environment) each day. Or you can put it in the fridge for long term casing. The fridge will retard any mold growth, and if you place it in a ziplock or press & seal wrap for larger items, it won't let the fibers dry out. Re-wetting a dry piece will not kill the piece, but it will make tooling a little harder, because the water has a tendency to leach out the fats and oils used in the tanning process. I have been using a concoction lately dubbed the Ben Cox formula that seems to keep the flexibility in the leather even if it drys and you re-wet and it also gives a much better burninsh of the leather during tooling. You can do a search on "baby shampoo" and find the recipie...it seems weird, but it smells good and cases great.

Ray, For two people, healthcare can be quite expensive. I would estimate about $300-500 ($1000 Ed?, boy I could be way off) a month if you shop around... I'm not sure how things change as you age, but I'm pretty sure there's a threshold for raising and lowering costs. The implications of not having insurance; well I believe it used to be that a person not having insurance was likely to not get treated without proving you could pay somehow...quoting and msn article..."Fortunately, a federal law passed in 1986 to prohibit a practice commonly known as "patient dumping" gives you the right to emergency care regardless of your ability to pay. The federal law applies to hospitals that participate in Medicare -- and that includes most hospitals in the United States. However, the patient-dumping law does not give you carte blanche. In a nutshell, the federal patient-dumping law entitles you to three things: screening, emergency care and appropriate transfers. A hospital must provide "stabilizing care" for a patient with an emergency medical condition. The hospital must screen for the emergency and provide the care without inquiring about your ability to pay. There are some charity hospitals in most metropolitan areas, but generally speaking, you may not receive the best care there. Some others with more knowledge are sure to chime in later...

We just 're-stropped' it on a papertowel or a clean piece of leather (flesh side).

At the time we were using the red rouge... I have since switched to a green rouge, that I think I like a little better, but either should work. Thanks for the tip on the leather insert...that may work perfectly.

You can add, Peter Main, & Jim Linnell

Russ... You know I thought the same thing about the hairblades, until I took a class with Peter. He told us to strop the blades on a strip of leather with the flesh side loaded with rouge... We all said..."are you kidding?" Well he was right, stropped it and cleaned out the residue and it glided like it was on ice. Even if you can't strop them, I would still prefer the ability to replace them, without replacing the whole handle... I may 'borrow' Hilo's idea, but I'd like to turn a real nice one on my lathe.

Russ/Rickmc How do you sharpen/strop the blades or even replace them? I would think you'd want to do that at some point.

Another of Peter Main's creations: ...here's another goatskin belt just completed with recessed silver conchos...it is dyed two shades of mahogany with spirit dye. I made one like this in January, but it did not have any decoration on the reverse. The goatskin is wrapped over the edge (skived to a very thin, but not a feather edge) and secured by sewing. The excess goatskin is trimmed and edged after sewing. There are leather fillers behind each concho to make the back flat before lining. Peter

This is the way Verlane sharpened hers...She would use a 1/2 disk cut from leather and bevel both edges, and attach it to one of the dremel shafts. she would only sharpen the bottom... I take it one step further and take a fine grit sandpaper and fold it and knock off the burr on the top.

I've read somewhere that rosin is used for violin bows as a lubricant... you might try a fine music shop and ask around...However, I do remember that it said there are more than one grade and more than one formula, so do some reading first.

They didn't charge me for the split, but I know they charge to buff the back...it could be a policy change or just a mistake on the order...nonetheless, it's very fine leather.

I prefer Fiebing's Oil Dye... it penetrates deeply and I coat with a mixutre of Resolene and Leather balm with Atom wax... I've had pretty good luck with this combination, plus I can choose the edge color, it doesn't have to be black or brown.

Welcome to the forum Redbeard. This is a great place for learning and improving your work...

Kevin, All you have to do is number the sizes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and so on and have a corresponding belt size you can use later when the customer isn't around...That will keep the real number away from the customer's eyes and all is well.

I've tooled that pattern before and you did a very nice job. I like the fact that you textured the spine, that's the part that will get the most abuse and the texture will hide some of the fold marks.. Very nice.

Man we had such a great time. I definitley hope we can do it again. Let me know what class you guys set up in Austin...That would be a nice trip. Jbird, I'm sure you'll get the chance if you attend some of the shows. I don't think George is going to Sheridan this year, because of a graduation, but that's probably the closest for you..

Sure, just probably not on the public forum. I can only describe it, I don't have a picture of it, but trust me you'll get the visual.

Just want to share a bit with you all. ScissorMedic, and ATX drove up from Austin to Hidecrafters, followed closely by their cohort Daniel, to attend a class with myself and "the doc" (I forget his real name, but we call him doc)...and Mr. George Hurst. I cannot begin to tell you the blast we had...George is one hell of a guy. We learned a lot in class and a lot about George's adventures in the leather business. The first day of class was spent tooling, talking, talking some more, and painting using acrylics (my first time using acrylics other than the occasional splash of white). After we coated our projects with resist, we left them overnight to dry. ATX, Scissormedic, and I then followed George to his home and he and his wife began to show us all the different original leather projects he, Al Stohlman, Robb Barr, Chan Geer, Bill Gomer, and others did...Talking about a hall of fame. He showed us a closet full of tools, some original tools that never made the cut for production and some that did, some specially made swivel knives, and a professional baseball collection of the likes of Joe Dimaggio. Then he showed us file cabinets FULL of original patterns, (Al Stohlman was quite the hoot - Just trust me on this)... Then we sat down and talked for about an hour or two about leather, his friendships with Al, Robb Barr, and Robert Beard...Man what a time. The next day, all we needed to do was antique our work. Since we were ahead of where George thought we'd be, he said, let's do another little project...just to fill the rest of the time that the class would have gone for...So we embossed a little fish. I haven't dyed mine yet, but will here in the next few days. He's one of the greatest.. The other guys may chime in on the day, but I'm still laughing and in awe at the stories and the talent. I'm humbled. Result of the class:

John, I think you absolutley have every right to sign off on that...You are the creative director so to speak...So you hired a contractor to do your carving...that's the way businesses work today. Jack Justis hires someone to do his carving and he still sell it as a Jack Justis case... I work for a major defense contractor and I design a lot of parts for aircrafts...I don't get to sign my name on the aircraft when it flies... monthly moral/ethical problem solved. Tell that guy to go scratch..

is this what you're after? Barry King Braid toolSee here