Rawhide

you guys are funny. Thanks for all the great ideas. Marlon

Well David, It's about 1000 miles from Hamilton, adding the bike, might want to tack on a couple hundred bike miles (kinda like wind chill factor, "feels like"). Roughly about 16 hours. I wasn't born in Texas, but I got here as fast as I could! Marlon

I live in Fort Worth, TX and there's Hidecrafter's and several Tandy retail/warehouse stores.The LW community is fair, not huge, but fair. There are good opportunities I would think for holster and sheath makers, as well as saddlemakers. Plus there are no state income taxes. Real estate takes can get expensive if you don't choose carefully though. Marlon

Hilly, I use a number 5 cord for just about everything. The twists\ identifies which way it's twisted together, but that only matters if you are using it in a sewing machine. I think Left twist is for most sewing machines. I've had really good success with this cord. Now if I can just get my stitches to look uniform, I'll be in business. By the way. I bought mine from Campbell too. It comes in a spool of almost 1100 yards. That's probably enough for my lifetime. Marlon

Hilly, I think it's the pre waxed thread. I posted this exact same problem back before the crash of 07. I have since switched to barbour's cord, and have not had a problem since. You can pull as hard as you like, and the cord won't seem dirty. Marlon

My fault Kevin, I read it wrong. Sorry about that? I know I'm not good enough to use a motorized stone. Marlon

Hide, I just want to clarify. I NEVER use a stone wheel on my tools. Just the felt wheel with rouge. I know Kevin mentioned he does, but I'm afraid of damaging the temper, or taking off too much material, so I just don't do it. I used to never use sandpaper either, but after taking a class from Peter Main, I think differently now. I figure if it's good for him it should be good for me. I hit my swivel knife on it for about 2 strokes, then on a rouge loaded card (not leather) and I'm good to go. May be a difference of opinion, but that's ok, that's why were here...to learn. I only use the sandpaper if my tool needs to be sharpened. The second paragraph of my post says if you just need a hone...use the rouge. I do like the idea of the skirting with the beads. Good idea. I may be using that in the future. Marlon

One of two ways for me. I either use a smooth rod the same diameter of the edger and use 800 grit sand paper. Place the sandpaper over the rod, and run the edger back and forth over the rod, moving the sandpaper to clean spots as necessary. Then a light buff on the buffing wheel. Or, if you just need a hone, use a string of round lace, rub in some jeweler's rouge and pull away from the cutting edge. Pull through several times. A light buff on the buffer and you're on your way. Marlon

Thanks everybody. I already have the stone. I just wanted to know if it was worth the trouble of polishing it. I see now that they will stay unpolished. Marlon.

Just a question to pose to all of you. What type of flooring do you have in your shops? What you prefer to have if you don't have it yet? Thanks, Marlon

Thanks guys. I just wanted to be sure there wasn't a reason to polish it. I actually have two stones. Both are 14" wide and about 24" long. I bought them from a monument maker as a screw up for $40. They even beveled the edges for me so it would be sharp. Marlon

I have a couple of granite stones from a mortuary that are not polished. They are flat though. I want to know if this will harm (or help) the leather or tooling process. Should I try to polish it? Thanks, Marlon

I have an Osborne Round knife, an Al Stohlman Brand head knife, and a Danny Marlin head knife. I use the Marlin all the time. It's definitely my favorite. I haven't tried any of the others mentioned earlier. Marlon

Jeff, I would suggest a TRI-HONE for starters. This will give you the course medium and fine grits to successfully sharpen a swivel knife. Once you get them sharp, you can keep them sharp by stropping it on 2000 grit sand paper, then on a strip of manilla folder rubbed with jeweler's rouge. You can't get the tri-hone from Tandy anymore, Hidecrafters may have some. I have also seen them at Woodcraft Stores. The sandpaper you can get at any auto supply, or walmart in the automotive repair section. I just use the sandpaper now to sharpen my swivel knives. I use 800, 1200, and 2000 grit progressively and it gives me what I want. For my head knife, I use diamond stones to put the edge on then go to the same sandpaper as a strop, and finish off with a leather strop rubbed with jeweler's rouge. I get the diamond stones from Woodcraft. Marlon

thanks Bruce, that's just what I needed to hear. I'm going to polish mine and use it as is. If I don't like it I'll round it and try again. Marlon

I just bought a C.S. Osborne #2 tickler/creaser and just wondering if it should be sharpened like a swivel knife, a head knife, or at all for that matter. Thanks in advance. Marlon

rwc, I forgot to post what sharpeners i use. I use DMT Diamond hones 1 course (this is what I use if my blade gets damaged or it's a new blade), then I use an extra fine diamond hone, made by the same manufacturer. the grit sandpaper you can get at any auto parts stores, the diamond sharpeners i get from Woodcraft. I'm sure you can find them elsewhere, but this is where I get them. Here is a link to the ones I use. Click Here. I use the 6 inch versions. Marlon

Tracy, I couldn't have said it better. What happens is the rubber matt actually grabs the blade, and makes it hard to push through, because most times, we try to cut in one pass. My suggestion is to get a poly cutting board. I bought mine from tandy, but you can get them anywhere. I bought the 12 x 12 inch version. Then I rubber cemented my rubber mat to the back of the board, this way I can cut with my head knife on the poly side, and use the rubber mat side to punch holes, etc... Marlon

In a word, yes. I sharpened mine on a course diamond water stone. then on an extra fine diamond stone. then stropped it on 800 grit wet/dry sandpaper, 1200 grit wet/dry, 2000 grit, and then a leather strop with jeweler's rouge. What are you cutting on? I would suggest a poly cutting board. The knife will sort of glide across it and make cuts easier. If you're skiving, use a glass cutting board. this will offer no resistance to the knife and make skiving a breeze. I have an Al Stohlman Brand knife and it comes with an edge on it, but it's not sharpened very well. That's probably your biggest issue. Do you have any sharpening documentation? If not, I can probably explain it. I had once before the crash, but I may need to redo it. Marlon

I would tell you to get Al Stohlman's book Leathercraft Tools. He has the definitive answer to sharpening and using a head knife and round knife. Did you buy and osborne? If you bought an osborne, it will need to be sharpened before you use it. A dull knife is much more dangerous than a sharp one. 1st make sure the knife is the right size for your hand. place the end of the handle in the heel of your hand and hold it there with your thumb. stretch your index and middle fingers out and they should be able to touch the blade past the ferrule. If not, you'll have to cut off some of the handle. 2nd. make sure the knife is sharp. 3rd. to maintain the sharpness, I strop my knife everytime I pick it up. I strop it on 800 grit, 1200 grit, (sometimes 2000 grit), then a leather rouge board. I don't like to use a grinder with strop wheel because I don't feel I can control it well enough. (maybe with some more practice). Use of the knife should be effortless. you should be able to skive by just guiding the knife, not pushing it. If you have to put any effort into pushing the knife, it's not sharp. Marlon

Ha ha! John, you don't know how right you are!!! I was teasing Kevin, because he was in the class with me. Kevin, I'm sure Peter's class helped you out a ton. I know it did for me. I now see things in my carvings that I hadn't seen before. Marlon

Not bad Kevin. Keep it up and pretty soon you'll be the next Peter Main. :angel_not:

This is very true. Osborne assumes that you want to define the blade angle yourself, so they don't come sharpened. However, it is very easy to sharpen a head knife. If you have Al Stohlman's book on Leathercraft Tools, you can sharpen them yourself. It doesn't take too long and is very rewarding when you get it right. Once I got it right, I began to sharpen all my tools, and boy what a difference. It makes everything effortless. Marlon

what head knife did you order? marlon

Romney, Thanks for identifying the difference in the wet dry. I went and bought the grey wet dry from the auto parts store. I still used the black 800 grit, but for the 1200 & 2000 I used the grey paper. Marlon