Rawhide

I would cut the border, BW up to the border, then bevel, then camo/boarder stamp.

'tis best to get permission first, 'cause they aren't cheap!!

Barry King makes bead blades, as well as Robert Beard. King Tools Beard Tools They are out there, you just have to find em. I have one of Barry's and it's 1/8" blade. Ask for the smaller shaft so it will fit in a tandy knife though.

Randy, The family of Verlane asked to remove all the tutorials down from that web page so I think it's no longer available. However, to answer your question, when you sharpen an awl, you should lay one of the flat edges on the stone and use a push pull method to sharpen it. (imagine like you are stabbing the leather). Do that on all four sides. Then when stropping, pull the blade on the flat AWAY from the cutting edge only. this should help you some.

For hand sewing the twist doesn't make a difference. For use in a sewing machine, one would use the left twist. I buy the left twist just to give me the option to use a machine. I'm not sure the specific use of the right twist.

Josh, I use, (for belts, wallets, etc... anyway). 3 cord, flax thread made by Barbour's, and I get it from Campbell-Bosworth. I also use size 4 needles by C.S. Osborne, from Campbell as well. These needles are smaller than the tandy's and I really like 'em. The thing to watch out for is the awl size. I use an awl from Peter Main with this combination of needles and thread and it works extremely well. If you've got a large awl, you may want to up the size of cord to fill in the larger holes.

Sure no problem. For 1/8" lace, I use an overstitch wheel that's 7 stitches per inch to mark the locations, then I use one of these to punch out the slits.

Thanks Bree, Guess I was thinking too thick!!

Thanks Steve. I would have guessed 138. Looks like I guessed too big. I forgot to mention the cushion will be used for a large dog.

Google "farm woodwork stitching horse" There's a google book for this. See page 99.

My wife was commissioned to sew a large pillow cushion (42" x 42" with 3" gussets). She wants to know the best size thread to use. It looks to be about 4/5 oz, upholstery grade hide, not a real smooth hide like chap, but a little grainy. If any more info is needed let me know and I'll post. Thanks, Marlon

I'm a design engineer and design 5th generation fighter jets.

The best way to weed out a lot of potential bad clients is how you screen them. Fisrt, have an application fee. this should be the cost of running a background check (sheriff's dept.) and a credit check. Then have stipulations on the rental agreement i.e. no pets allowed...no more than 'x' number adults can live in the house. Income of tenants must be above 'xxx' per year, etc... Then you can hire a property manager. the avg. cost is usually 10 percent of the rent. they handle all the calls, and dealings with the tenants. the managers only call you when property damage exceeds a threshold that you've set for notification. for instance, you tell the manager to call you when damage exceeds $50 dollars. There are all kinds of stipulations you can put in a rental contract, just be mindful of discrimination laws.., you can't say things like no more tha 3 children, or something like that...check this with the state the house is located in. Check the age of the house as well, if it's older than 1976, you'll have to disclose lead based paint. Good luck.

If it gets on your veg tanned edges, just use a fine grit sand paper to remove it, something like 600 grit will do.

Right now I use mostly V5, but I've got maybe 15000 hrs. of V4. As far as the hinge goes....It's the original hinge that was on the old jaws. I figured, it still works, might as well use it. Maybe I'll sand it down and paint it.

1. Use saddlesoap to clean the leather after the acid wash 2. a sponge works well, use circular motions. 3. Wear nitrile gloves. Even though it is a mild acid, it still should be treated as an acid. Take care.

Josh, You're welcome, but I didn't even take it that way. I'm just happy Peter is so willing to share and teach. I'm happy to post anything that he gives the ok to post and hope that people enjoy it and find it as useful as I do. Happy Pounding!!!

Some things Peter thought could be useful to some of us.

Yep that's it. Love that book!!

It's actuall pretty easy. I learned how to do it from this book. It has much a better pictorial explination than I can give in words. It is a double loop lace just as normal, except you alternated colors.

I don't do any mass production of articles, so take my info with a grain of salt. I sharpened mine when I bought it, just because that's who I am. I think anything can use improvement even if it's perfect. However, I haven't sharpened it since and that's been a year or so ago. I do strop it before a project to keep the edges honed though. If you have a problem maintaining your tools, I suggest Al Stohlman's Leathercraft Tools book. This is probably the biggest gem in his works, and it helps you understand how to use, maintain and protect your tools. Very good instruction.

Here's me.

Well I'll have a cup

Do you mean like this?

If belts are all you want to do, the "Belts Galore" book by Al Stohlman should get you going with what's needed to create them. If you want to expand on that, the book by Valarie Michael "The Leatherworking Handbook", has just about everything a shop will need to produce belts, handbags, wallets, and the like, Saddlemaker....different story. Since you're a shooter, you might consider making holsters as well.