Rawhide

Peter gave me permission to post this for your viewing. Marlon ...Hello, ...here is a blue, 1 1/4" belt (tapered to 3/4") just completed. This is filigreed (with raised filler) and has green snakeskin as a background. Again (and I don't know why), scroll cuts were requested for the back of the belt. It is laced with kangaroo, dyed blue. Peter

Make sure you have the doctor/nurse check your blood pressure. The swelling of the hands sounds like your pressure is elevated. The sharp pains, sound like carpel tunnel. Both of those sound like a trip to the doctor. Marlon

You might try a Jerry stripper. You can cut different widths by adding or removing blades. Jerry Stripper

I know what you mean. Just think, we used to have to start our cars out in front of it by winding it up. Now we have remote starts. I don't know about you, but I think technology is wonderful. Might as well use it while you're here. So if you have the money to spare to upgrade, I say go for it. You probably won't be satisfied until you know for yourself if the tool is worth the price. M.

In the words of Peter Main, MODIFY IT. If something doesn't work the way you want it to... make it do so.Marlon

One other thing to look for on the leather is no scars on the back side. If your leather has scars, it will be weak in those areas and tend to break quicker. When I use this tool, i put a little pressure with my thumb and index finger (on the hand that's holding the tool) on the bottom of the leather, sort of pushing the leather up toward the top of the tool. The instructions tell you to pull the tag end through the tool on the top side of the leather. I have found that if i pull from underneath, I can usually pull the entire length without it breaking. Marlon

Dany, welcome to the forum, where no question is stupid. We all had to learn somewhere. to answer your question, your blade should be wickedly sharp. You probably got an awl blade from Tandy or Hidecrafter's and it's not sharp at all. Here's how to sharpen it. Step 1. I use a diamond hone (course), but an arkansas stone will work as well. An awl blade has four flat sides (diamond shaped). place one of the flat sides against the stone on a flat surface. Push and pull the blade back and forth on the stone. Do this on all four sides. (this will take a while depending on the blade, it takes a little practice to know when enough is enough.) Step 2. Stropping on a stone. Grab a finer stone/hone (I use extra fine) and place awl flat against stone at one end and drag that side across the stone (away from the cutting edge) several times. Do this to all four sides. Step 3. Some people do this, some don't. I do. Strop again using wet/dry paper. 1200 grit and 2000 grit (just repeating step 2 on the wet/dry). You'll only need several passes with this. Do this on all four sides. Step 4. Most important strop on a rouge card. I use red rouge, but white rouge is just as good. Rub the rouge on a long strip of manilla folder or illustration board. then strop several times on each side as in steps 2 and 3. \ Now you should have a sharp awl blad that should pass through leather with ease. If not, it's not sharp enough. Happy sharpening. Marlon

I'd be interested in finding that again as well. Hope someone remembers where it is. Where's ClayB, he always know where everything is. Marlon

That's a good one. Although, I've never seen a good mechanic with cheap tools either. M.

I agree and disagree with you a bit. If you've never had a swivel knife that's considered high end, then there's no room to compare. The ball bearing is not intended to just spin the yoke and look pretty. It's designed to do just what you want the large barrel to do for you, keep your hands from cramping. This is especially helpful when carving a Sheridan design. The Henley's, while not as expensive as some maker's, but more than the knurled Al Stohlman knives, don't spin forever, but they provide the smoothest spin I've yet to encounter. Again I can carve for a much longer time without cramping with my Henley, than I can with any of my Tandy (Al Stohlman) knives. I do agree with you that a $12 swivel knife can give you great results, and a $1000 blade is no good if it isn't sharp and polished. But I have a couple of craftool swivel knives that I use for specific things, i.e. beader blades. But if you carve a lot, do yourself a favor and invest in a good swivel knife. If you are a builder and you use Harbor Freight type nailers, you'll buy more of them than you would if you buy one good Palsode or Porter-Cable. You get what you pay for, this holds true for leather tools, leather and anything else. Just my view.

Henley's are fantastic in my book, I have several Al Stohlmans, knurled barrels and stacked leather barrels. Henley blows them away. I have a narrow Henley that i bought from Peter Main with his specially designed blade, and I ordered a large barrel that I should be receiving shortly, and I can't wait. I have heard that Bob Beard's and Chuck Smith's knives are top of the line as well. Marlon

I have one of those as well, but two things I don't like. One, it usually takes more than one pass to cut through thick leather effectively (meaning without pulling the leather). Two, I almost carved my self up with it, because I was pulling it toward me. I think you are most safe when pushing a sharp edge away from you than pulling it toward you. It doesn't take long to get used to a head knife. The learning curve is how to sharpen it. Marlon

Here's the forum link on How to use a head knife. This is pretty much how I use mine. Marlon

Thanks Spider, You should give it a shot. Most of what Peter teaches is in Al Stohlmans book on embossing, but he simplifies a lot of it so it's not very difficult. Marlon

Thanks Russ, I do feel pretty fortunate to be around a wealth of knowledge, but then again that's why we have this place. M.

Absolutely! He's one of the best and it's a pleasure to learn from him. Plus he'll tell you anything he knows. I probably asked 20 questions that had nothing to do with embossing and he would answer them with no hesitation. I have run across people that don't like to tell you their "secrets". Peter also showed some generosity to a leatherworker that came to the store. He was a pretty good lw from what I could see, but he couldn't! He was blind. Yes blind. His wife would do the carving, and he would do the cutting, assembly, etc... We couldn't believe it, and were all amazed. Peter gave the couple his newest book. I thought that was very nice of him. They didn't know who he was, but were touched by his gift. Also, we got a visit from George Hurst. He came in after lunch time, and sat next to me and just observed for a while. This is another gentleman with an unbelievable amount of leather knowledge and carving ability. He can carve flowers with no tracings what so ever. We had a great time. Marlon

Roo, I don't have any dates, but I think he told me he would be there for about three weeks. I think he has to pack up the studio he has there. To all: Thanks for the comments. I can really see my work improving. (practice practice practice, right???) M.

Ann I think she's right on the fence of having her own tools. We've been sharing so far, but at Peter's class, he brought some awls he made up and I wanted one, guess who else wanted one? So now we have two of Peter's awls. This isn't her first piece, but it is her first embossing. I'm really proud of what she can do. I think she likes dying better than anything.Marlon Thanks Roo. Did you get to see Peter in Austrailia a couple of weeks ago? I think he said he'll be back there in another week or so.M.

Thank you. Tools used were modeling tool, A modified F902 for the grass, beard, and leg hair. a hair blade, swivel knife, #3 scalpel with #11 blades, and a stitching awl. That's about it for the buffalo and grass. other than glue, thread and dye. Thanks, yes she did. Marlon

Yes it was. I'm pretty proud of myself. M.

Peter Main instructed his method of Applique Embossing this weekend in Ft. Worth. Here is the item he created (and I've added to my collection by the way). Then my wife's version. and lastly mine. Marlon

I hate to be the bad news bear, but Leather Balm will not prevent the dye from rubbing off. The only suggestion I have is to top coat it with satin sheen, and see if you still get rub off. I know what you mean about the finishe leather balm gives. I love it myself, but it's not intended for rub-off prevention or repelling water. Marlon

what happened is you skipped some steps. The keen edge sharpner is the way to go, but you need to start using a course stone. I use a diamond hone but a good tri-hone will work too. On the stone go back and forth with the blade. Once you develop a burr on one side, do the same on the other until the burr is gone. Now strop your blade on the wet dry paper away from the edge only. Lastly, make a rouge card/board. I use a manila folder or illustration board and rub rouge on it and do a final strop here. When your blade begins to drag again just strop on the rouge and you'll be good to go. Marlon

Don't know, I've been real busy with the honey-do's and haven't had a chance to even smell leather, let alone case some. I'm taking Peter Main's class this weekend, so I'll at least get to play with some leather. Marlon

I have to agree. The royal meadows from Tandy is about as flawless as I've seen. Last year Tandy was passing out wallet back samples at the ifolg show. You may be able to find one to test. Marlon