Rawhide

Hilly, You should bevel your lace, this will yield a cleaner look for a laced project. The object is not to round the lace however. Tim, you can make your own lace beveler with a block of wood and a razor blade. Drive a razor blade into a block of wood at a 45 degree angle and leave about 3/8 of an inch of blade sticking above the wood. Screw down a piece of leather on both sides of the blade at the width of your lace. now you can pull your lace between the two leathers screwed down and against the blade to bevel it. If you get the book "Leathercraft Tools" by Al Stohlman, there are instructions on building one of these. Or you could just buy a ready-made beveler from Jim Downey @ about $75. Marlon

There are two spots left in Peter's class. Hurry and sign up if you're interested. Marlon

I'm not looking for the stamps in particular. Just some things that are hard to find or expensive, like the oxalic acid crystals, shoe tacks, etc... Marlon

I think I'm going to order by e-mail, or snail mail. That way it's written down with part numbers and everything. Marlon

I guarantee you'll like the Henley blade. I have the Peter Main designed blade and love it. I also ordered a knife and two blades through Cathy Schlim when she offered to collect and do a bulk order from them. I can't wait until they arrive. That may be why they are behind a bit. They are making a bunch of blades for that bulk order. Marlon

Yup, exactly what Art said.

Thanks for the comments crafts & Billy. I'll probably place an order next week or so. Marlon

it's not really as hard as people think.

Tanget = opp over adjacent? Therefore, tan 20 = quarter stack/ x , then x = quarter stack / tan 20. (I'm an NGNEER, too!) Marlon

That's a weird looking knife. Let us know how it holds up. For 9 bucks you can't beat that. I will look for it next time I go down to HF. It may be an order only item though. Marlon

Thanks for the replies folks. M

CBJ, There is some finesse to "feeling" the right angle. Unfortunately, there aren't many jigs out there that will help you maintain that angle. You could mabe make a wedge at the proper angle and rubber cement it to the side of your blade if you don't think you can hold it. Problem is you'll be grinding it as well. I know quarters vary and these therefore your angle will too, but keep in mind, it's just an approximation. You could also fold a piece of paper like you're making a paper airplane, then fold it the same way again and it will give you a 22.5 degree angle. Once you establish what the angle is, It's not very difficult to keep the blade at that angle. Most people probably do it by referencing the distance of the ferrule from the top of the stone/hone. If that distance is about an inch, most people can see the difference between that inch and an inch & a half, and know whether or not they are maintaining that angle. I hope this answers you question. Bruce may have a better response. Marlon

This place seems to be a great source with decent pricing and just wondering if anyone orders from them. If so, what kind of experiences have you had. Thanks, Marlon

One caution on Barry's blades. They have larger shanks than what tandy knives will hold. If you have a knife made by Barry, then you're golden, but if not, you may have to ask for a thinner shank. By the way, he has very good bead blades. Marlon

I have one that I bought from a forum member a while back at a reasonable price. But anywhere else you look, it will be about 200 bucks! Good luck in finding one. Hope you can find it at a decent price too. Marlon

You're most welcome Russ. There is also a link on the "More Tips & Tricks" page which is linked on the main page. Marlon

Great. I'm glad this is useful to you. Bruce, do you like about a 15 to 18 degree angle? What are some of the advantages for your thinner angle? I'm just asking, because I someone may be thinking it! Marlon

To all: I have had several requests to explain how I sharpen my head knives. I am by far not an expert, but here is how I do it, and it works for me. There was a thread where I addressed this before the crash of 07. Below is a link to the tutorial that most gracious Johanna has created. Please feel free to contact me if you have questions. I hope this is something useful. Tool on! Marlon How to sharpen a head knife https://leatherworker.net/sharpenheadknife.htm

Blake, I don't have a Henley to trade you, but if you consider selling it, let me know, I may be interested in buying it. Marlon

Hilly, It will stick. And stick well enough to tool and prevent stretching. I've done it on several projects. Just be sure to let the cement dry to a tacky state. Also, the more coats you put on, the tackier it will get. I usually put on two coats and that's plenty enough for it to stick. Give it a try. Marlon

another thought would be to chuck it in a leather sewing machine then just rotate the wheel by hand. Marlon

Has anyone thought to chuck an awl blade in the drill press and use scrap leather on the bottom. (Don't turn the drill on of course) but this way you could get straight holes. Just an idea. Hey Bill I just read your post. How great minds think alike.

Understood. That is quite a bit of leather to stab holes through. You have to kind of get the hang of it to guarantee they will all line up on the backside. If I don't have a grooved channel on the back side, I punch the first hole, and the last hole on one side then connect them with a light scribe line. Then I'll punch in between them using the scribe line to line up the exit point. Works pretty good for me. (I have used a dremel by the way to do a briefcase, it was much faster, but control is the issue for me). Have a good one!

If your awl is sharp and polished, it should be fairly effortless to stab your holes. Marlon

Here's how I do it. I rubber cement a piece of Crescent (#201) illustration board (hobby lobby) to my leather. Put rubber cement on the board only. I use a hotel room card to spread the cement out evenly. Then I stick the leather to the board. Case, tool and let dry completely. If you let it dry why still on the board, it won't curl up on you. When it's dry, it's easy to peel the board away, because the cement is only on the board. Now the back of your leather is still open to receive water if you want to shape or mold it or re-case it, or whatever. I got this idea from Peter Main. Marlon