Rawhide

Damn it Bob! I thought you were my friend...Now you go and complicate things.

Man, now I'm interested... I actually made one of those 4-sided strops for myself a while back, I use 800/1200/2000 grit wet/dry on three sides and a rouge loaded strop on the 4th side. Works great.

Not Peter (even though I post for him quite often), but Are you refering to the lettering? Looking at it in a very high level, the lettering done by tracing the outlines of the letters to damp vegetable tanned leather. Then the lines are cut with a swivel knife, and Peter usually does inverted carving which means he bevels on the inside of the cut. He uses a modeling tool to accomplish this. Once he has the look of the letters, they are dyed with spirit dye, then the piece is usually oiled, and then sealed. Marlon

Because Tandy is a corporate owned entity and everything they sell probably has to be approved by some team (probably board of directors)....Probably the same reason they don't sell any custom maker tools like hidecrafters. It's much more cost effective to supply one kind of rouge than to stock more expensive ones...

The only problems I see with that solution TF is that it's 3 times as expensive and it is a 9.0 micron compound whereas the green one i use is a 0.5 micron compound.

...here is a photo album just completed. It is made from 2-3oz leather, with turned edges, and has goatskin lining the covers. The spine has a cover, and the screws that hold the pages are concealed on the inside. It is all carved inverted style, and is colored with spirit dyes. ...I have put a cardboard 'spacer' between every third plastic sleeve....this will eliminate the pages fanning out when photos are added, allowing the folder to always lay flat. Peter

I stopped using the tandy rouge and started using a micro hone that's got a waxy/grease base and is soft at room temp. See it here.

This is a simulated braid tool. I don't have an example though to show you how to use it.

I've dyed some lace orange, but I just used Fiebing's orange dye. No need to mix something that's already made.

Hi Grumpy... It's nothing you're doing.. It's the thread...I had the exact same problem when I started and tried everything from not pulling too tight to rubbing the cord with brown paper bag. The thread you are using sort of stretches when you pull tight and for whatever reason looks grey (plus it's usually way too much wax on it). Use non-waxed linen thread and wax it yourself, you'll see a big difference.

Thanks Crystal! Brass tacks: I do use a groover (Bob Douglas Versa Groover), however, I don't try to groove too deeply... I feel that the stitch should sit about a mm or two mm below the surface... this will keep the leather from folding over on the stitches when you slick the edges. (The closer you are to the edge, the more this matters, i.e. belts.) I use Barbour's Linen Flax Thread (non-waxed) for all my hand stitching...I know a lot of folks use nylon, but I prefer the linen. I wax it myself with beeswax and I have yet had the cord fail...I've had leather fail before the cord. On the bag itself, I used a Gomph 6 stitch per inch overstitch wheel to layout my hole locations with a Bob Douglas slim awl (on the handles and attach shields I used 8 spi, with a Peter Main awl). (I do it the old fashioned way like Al Stohlman, one hole at a time) The key is to do the exact same thing each hole... I stitch toward me and begin by piercing the hole (with right hand), then insert the left hand needle, pull through a little then I pull that same short piece of thread up into the corner of the diamond...then insert the opposite needle 'under' the thread already in the hole in the opposite corner of the diamond if you will, then pull the stitch up tight. You have to be careful to always do it the exact same way, or a stitch will look out of place. When I'm all done, i use the overstitch wheel again to run over the stitches back and forth and it helps seat them well. Hope this helps...

Thanks Kustom Thanks Steve I appreciate all the nice statements...

Boy Arizona is a bit of a stretch, can you e-mail it to me?? Can't wait for teleportation of inanimate objects!!!

Thanks Guys... That means a lot to me. I've been working at bettering my stitching for a while...Seems to be paying off.

Thanks Bree.

Talfuchre, First off welcome to the board and the craft. Slicking is the process of compressing the fibers of the leather to yield a smooth appearance. What it entails is moistening the leather (this is usually done on the flesh side, and/or the edges), and rubbing it with a glass slicker, or a bone folder, or a piece of canvas or nylon. This rubbing generates heat, and sort of 'fuses' the fibers together... it gives a smooth "slick" feel...hence slicking!! If you do a query here, you'll probably find a ton of methods of how to do it.

Rayban, I did think about that, but I wanted to make the foreground stick out like a sore thumb to highlight the carving. Just something not seen often.

Thanks Marie...my goal is to get better at hand sewing with each piece I do... I took this piece to our local guild meeting and one of the guys gave me the best compliment ever...He asked if I had bought the handles somewhere...Fantastic!!!

Here's a bag I made from skirting leather. No liner inside, just sanded and slicked. I used 4/5 oz chap leather for the gussett, with a jacket zipper. The zipper is sewn in with 69 thread on my sewing machine, but everything else is hand sewn... the bag to gussets are 6 spi with 5 cord, and the handles are 8 spi with 3 cord. The background in the tooling is dyed black and the bag is just oiled and finished. the handles are stained with oil mixed with med brown dye and finished with bag kote. There are some large dome spots i used as 'feet' to keep it off the floor, but I may order some real feet for it. Let me know your thoughts. Thanks, Marlon

Lee hasn't quite figured out the picture postings so I offered to post some for him. ...A Very good friend of mine survived a horrendous motorcycle wreck. Among many others he had several abdominal surgeries which left his Abs weak and dislocated to the sides. The doctors want to wait a year for swelling to subside and everything to heal. When he tries to stand or lift anything his internal organs press on the skin of his stomach making him look 9 and a half months pregnant. He has difficulty breathing and speaking because his diaphragm has nothing to work against. He was given an elastic band with Velcro but it does little to help. He asked me to make him a leather belt which I was more than happy to do. The belt is 10 inches wide and is made of Wickett and Craig 10 ounce leather. It took three attempts to get the buckle ends in the right place ( Lots of hand sewing and redoing) I have since changed the buckles to brass roller type which are easier for him to work. I have cut semi-circles out of thee bottom side so that it fits better over his hip bones. If I had it to do over I would make the body of the belt from chap leather and use the skirting for the ends and a stiffener on the back side. He says that he is much more comfortable while wearing it. Lee

John, As you can see, Peter sneaks in from time to time. Peter posts in the iilg list quite often and it's easier to post it there with the email format and he can send it to multiple lists at once. I asked if I could post some of his work here for the benefit of those that are not part of iilg....That's kind of how this whole thing got started. He doesn't frequent as much as I do, so it's usually quicker for me to ask him a question for everyone, than for him to stumble up on it. ....and You're welcome Peter.

Tina...here's your answer, ...I use dyes that I had made in Australia in '92...these are highlyconcentrated and are pure in color. I also use Fiebings Oil Dyes for overall coloring of large projects...I do not use water based dyes or acrylic paint, with the exception of diluted white now and then. Peter

Peter's reply ...I have used a very diluted white acrylic to highlight the horns....it is very transparent. There is no such thing as a 'white acrylic dye', as dyes are made from 'dyestuffs'...white is a pigment, as found in a acrylic paint.

MADMAXX, I would think that it's a very thinned White Cova Dye or Acrylic. The rest is spirit. Just to be sure I'll ask him for you.

You're pretty much stuck with it. You'd do more damage than good trying to remove the dye.