Rawhide

..here is camera strap just completed. The strap and cases are all padded, lined with kangaroo and have bound edges (also in kangaroo)...all pieces are hand sewn. The strap is not straight, but is curved to make better contact with my shoulder. The closures on the cases are very strong velcro...did not want to trust magnets. One case is for a flash unit...the other for battery and cards. Peter

You're welcome. You know no one here knows it all, but with the collection of great minds and artisans here, there's nothing we can't accomplish. Also, don't discount the Osborne awls. They do have their place. They do require some sharpening, but they are easy to sharpen and hold an edge for a long time. But for a ready to go blade and use of smaller cord, you can't beat Bob's or Peter's blades. One note, Peter's blade comes with the haft. Bob's doesn't.

You're welcome

your welcome. I'm glad you enjoy seeing Peter's work as much as I do. I think he's one of the best in the business and hope he continues to share his knowledge.

This tutorial is from Peter Main... He hopes some find it useful. Marlon

Thank you. I used Fiebing's spirit dye for green and orange, Fiebings oil dye royal blue, and eco-flo white cova color for the teeth and eye.

Try resisting with Bee Natural's Sheridan Resist and Finish. Also, when you did your resist with resolene, did you put on two coats?

The speed stitcher is really for repairing stitches. Plus you'll have a hard time punching the holes with it vs. a sharpened diamond shaped awl. I guess I'm just partial to the look of the diamond holes and how the stitch lays when there done.

Thanks Freak. To dye the lace, I got one of those paint trays with the little circular indents to hole paint/dye, a wool dauber, fiebings spirit dye, a pipette (medicine dropper), and some nitrile gloves. Cut some lengths of lace. I suggest estimating how many lengths of lace you'll need for the project and dye them all up front. use the dropper to add dye to the wool on the dauber (no need to burn the fuzzies off). Lay the lace on the bench and place the end of lace you're holding in one of the wells of the tray, place the dauber on top and put a little pressure on it against the well (this will take a little feel to get it to stay there). Pull the lace with one long pull through the well and against the dauber, lay it to dry. As protection I ran the lace through a piece of sheeps wool with Lexol, let dry and coated both sides with resolene using a fresh dauber. This seemed to make the lace a little flexible and the resolene kept the dye from bleeding out.

I haven't used the eco-flo version, but the Fiebings leather cement is pretty strong and flexible. Plus it dries clear, so you won't notice much. Try to cement two pieces of scrap of the same two types of leather you're planning to glue, let dry overnight, and try to pull them apart, this will give you an idea of how strong the glue is and you can estimate how long you think it'll last.

I tried this once on a briefcase made out of saddle skirting. The holes inside of the gussets were all over the place. I couldn't keep it straight for sh#+ For me, I'll stick with the awl and leave the dremel to evening up the edges.

Tina, The "two tone" is something that almost made me pull all the lacing out and start over. It should be all orange, but the lace strings didn't dye evenly. Something I need to work on I guess, but since this is not a commission item, I figure what the heck.

You'll have to email him. He's a member here, but go to his website www.petermain.com and he's got an email set up there. I think I paid 38 total for the blade and handle. Don't pass out when you see his beautiful works of art. Make sure you tell him Marlon sent you. (if you still can't catch him, send me a pm and I'll see if I can catch him.)

Thank you much. Happy new year to you as well.

You're welcome.

Hi Tom, Thanks for the compliments. The strap edges are actually full strength orange, but the lighting does skew them to red. (Could be the el cheapo camera, too!!!)

First thing is to look at your awl blade. It's probably too big for consistent stitches. Once you've got a decent awl, next step is to maintain the same angle when stabbing the holes. If you have to put the awl down, then use the last hole stabbed to re-align your awl to the proper angle. Here's a sample of awl sizes. The holes are rather carelessly punched, but you get the size idea. As you can see the Tandy's are WAY too large for fine handstitching. Peter's blade and Bob Douglas' blade are perfect and essential for perfect stitching. You can also get good results with the osborne, but stay away from the Tandy ones. Especially the ones that come in the 4 in 1 pack. Peter and Bob's blades are only tapered at the very tip, so the rest of the awl blade is the proper width. To regulate the depth of a blade, punch out some washers of skirting leather and stack them on you blade this way they act as a stopper.

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Here are some pictures of a purse I made for my aunt. I got written permission from the University of Florida to use their logo. Critiques are always welcome, so please let me know the mistakes. Enjoy

I don't think the handles are any longer, but the beauty of a custom tool maker is you can call em up and request it. I'm sure most would be happy to oblige. The reason I like the maul better than the mallet is 1. Weight distribution. It seems to feel more natural to hold it. 2. I have far less glancing blows to the top of the tool. It seems as though you'd have more due to the round head, but for me, far less.

Well the main reason I went with the daylight bulbs, was due to Peter Main. He told me there's nothing worse than coloring something and it looks perfect in you shop, and you get it outside and the colors seem all wrong. I haven't regretted that move yet. I may still put a light there though.

I have a straight and a tapered 12 oz maul from Barry King. I like the tapered one, because I can lean my elbow on the bench or stone and the angle of the tool relative to the head of the maul is still flat. With the straight one, you have to get your elbow up to keep the angle flat. I switched from mallets to mauls a while ago, and I haven't regretted it one bit. I only use a mallet, if a maul isn't available.

I think so, I've been debating it because I have four 8 foot light ballasts in my shop all fitted with 5500K (or 5000K, can't remember) bulbs, so it looks like daylight in my shop, even with daylight I about produce more light than the sun.

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