Rawhide

Very nice belt for a first one. Wish I could say my first one looked that pretty! Marlon

Hey Regis, Moisten the edge just as you would a thicker piece, lay the piece flat on your stamping stone. Then use a piece of canvas. Lay it on top of the leather with it overlapping the leather. Now, cup the canvas (or whatever material you use) near the center of the canvas with all four fingers as if you were going to tuck it under the leather. now rub back and forth holding the leather with one hand and the canvas with the tucked hand. To get a good edge you'll need to flip the leather over and do the other side. Another thing to try is sliding the leather up to the edge of the bench, and just barely protrude off the edge. Then moisten and slick. Hope this helps. marlon

Tiffany, It looks to be a rolled edge, but I'm not certain from that picture alone. the fact of pulling threads out with no effort is due to the lock stitch that a sewing machine would give, vs. a saddle stitched item. With the saddle stitch, you can break the thread at one point and it won't unravel, but break a lock stitch and it will fly apart. Marlon

Welcome Nathan, It looks like you are much better at this at the two month mark than I was. Your sheath looks very good. Keep up the work and don't forget to practice... Marlon

I suggest a head knife, a really sharp one can cut any ounce leather you can buy, while being able to cut tight corners, skive, and bevel. Marlon

Kathy, I should have consulted you a long time ago. I'll have to try that. Marlon

jbird, First off welcome to the forum and to the addiction, i mean leathercraft. to keep your frustration down when trying to finish a piece, I would vote for an antique stain. You basically smear it on, wipe off the excess and let it dry and then top coat it with super sheen or satin sheen. Marlon

Thanks Hilly. Sounds like you are very organized. Something I can only strive for!!

I'm having a tough time trying to figure out how to organize my books and patterns. Some of them are much longer than others so they don't sit on a standard shelf very well. Any help would be appreciated. Marlon

They are having growing pains. Be patient with them. It's hard getting absorbed or bought out, because new ownership means new way of doing business. With a new mayor, you don't expect the city to change overnight. They bring a lot of unique items to the table for some of us and I think they just need some time to work it out. I know that everybody wants it right now and that's just a function of our society (and high speed internet). Give 'em a chance. Marlon

i would just get a flat steel plate, this way when you have that large piece that's hard to hold, you can lay it on your bench and the rise of the plate is not enough to make holding the pieces awkard while setting the rivet. Marlon

Thanks Freak, How long do you let it dry? To touch, or overnight? M

I don't know what kind of boots your customer had, but I have a pair of Ostrich quilled boots and the salesman at the store told me NEVER put saddle soap on them (with a significant amount of emphasis on the NEVER). The only place I ever used saddle soap on boots were work boots and I put it on the inside of the boot to "break" them and prevent chaffing. Marlon

Ruby got dull?? I didn't think they got dull. Hmmm. I have one as well (ebay). It says on the instruction sheet that the only time it needs regrinding is if it gets damaged. It also says stropping is not needed, i do anyway, but it says it's not necessary. Marlon

How long do you let Resolene dry between coats? I am using a 50/50 mix with water and a preval sprayer. Also, do you buff it? If so, buff between coats or after final coat? Thanks, marlon

hilly, i get honing oil from a woodworker supply store, namely woodcraft, but I'm sure any will do. If your knife is cutting hairs, its sharp. The only thing I can think of is it's not polished to a mirror finish on the cutting edge. If this is the case it's going to gran the leather. Also, are you cutting on a cutting board or poundo/rubber piece? Marlon

I loved ceramic blades for certain leathers. They seem to cut the harder leather much easier. Now I have two Henleys and OMG. Fantastic blades. I'll probably never use ceramic again. Marlon

Hi Wayward, Welcome to the forum. I think you'll find a wealth of knowledge here to help you with your endevours. To answer your questions, leather quality will have a profound effect on your carving and dyeing. A lot of times a toolable (veg-tanned) leather will have hard spots. These spots did not get much of the tanning oils if any at all. This will affect the way the dye penetrates and shows. For now, I would stick with the cheap stuff until you get up to speed with actual projects. Then if you plan to do things for profit, I would upgrade to the best leather you can afford, and charge accordingly. Spirit dye (alcohol based) dye (fiebing's) will dry out leather more-so than water based (eco-flow). However, water based dye takes a longer time to dry between coats. I am in agreement with Twin Oaks about speed drying vs. cool drying. The faster you dry the harder it will be. If you want to make leather more pliable, you can use Lexol conditioning solution to soften it up. To actually see someone carve will probably help. on carving leather. It's just a simple video with a person carving, but you'll get the idea of how it goes.The uneven dying could be a number of things. Are you using an antique stain, water based dye, alchohol based dye? All of these have a different method of application, so I'll need a little more info before I make any suggestions there. By the way, welcome to the addiction. Marlon

Barry doesn't have two lines but his prices just increased due to shipping cost and material costs. Which tools are you considering? I would just order direct from Barry. That way you eliminate the middle man. Just my two cents Marlon

That's one of the problems as well, it's not dyestuffs like spirit dye, it's pigment power. And, you can use solvent to dilute it, this will help it dry faster between coats. However, it will still run when wet. Marlon

I think you're cutting too deep. When you bevel your work, the leather surrounding the cut, can't be compressed enough to "fill in" the gap. Marlon

Hilly, Your knife has to be extremely sharp, because you don't want the leather to move as you're skiving. I only know of a jig to cut 45 degree angles for things like a mitered box corner, but not long tapering skives. Just a lot of practice. Also, draw a line where you want the skive to begin, this will help you in cutting it straight. Marlon

cal, The only guild I know of it texas is lone star leathercraft guild. They meet in dfw area. Peter Main is a member and he lives in Houston also. Marlon

hidecrafters has that book, too. Thanks for sharing Marlon

You are exactly right. Using leather is better as it will get between the "lines" Marlon