Rawhide

Hilly, If you go to this page on the forum, there are some pages that illustrate some uses of the head knife. Head Knife

My local Tandy has not discontinued Fiebings dyes. They have discontinued the Tandy Pro dyes in lieu of the Eco-Flos. I don't know how much help this is, but just thought I'd chime in. Marlon

I can't explain it, but a maul will feel natural almost immediately. I have several types of mallets's mauls. I have two rawhide mallets 9 and 11 oz., a 1 lb poly mallet Al Stohlman mallet, a 1 lb Barry King poly maul, and a 2 lb Al Stohlman rawhide maul. I use the Barry King maul 90 percent of the time. I use the 2 lb maul for cutting strap ends, setting rivets, etc... Every now and then I use the others, but I prefer the Barry King maul, hands down. Hope this helps. Marlon

Thanks for the pictures Johanna, I don't know who made it, but it was very nice. Marlon

Thanks for posting the pictures Johanna and Clay. Does anyone have a picture of the stitching horse that was in the competition room? Thanks, Marlon

I don't have any videos, but I learned how (and still learning), using Al Stohlmans book Leathercraft Tools. He has a lot of pages dedicated just to the head knife, how to choose one, how to use it, and sharpen and maintain it. I highly recommend this book, even if you don't buy a head knife. There is so much valuable info in it, you'll wonder how you managed without it. Marlon.

Clay, If you do a google search on the webpage ( I just typed in "buckanear designs"), the results page will give you an option to translate the page right next to the main link to the page. Then you can read it. This doesn't work for everything, but a lot of times it works. Marlon

I would dye/finish my pieces before cutting the stitch channels and I'll tell you why. When you cut them first, dye them second, you get dye into the groove. It's hard to get the loose dye out of the grooves. so when stiching, the dye transfers to the thread. Just my 2 cents. Marlon

I agree with steveb. The head knife is absolutely the best tool for cutting out shapes. Steve mentioned head/round knife, these are actually two different knives. I think the head knife is more suitable. A head knife has a round cutting edge, but the "wings" are straight on the handle side of the blade. On a round knife, the blade is round as well, but the wings have a notch in them. The straight wing is much easier to control in curved cuts. Also, be aware of several things when buying a head or round knife. The osborne round knife is too big for me, the blade is about 5 1/2 inches. You want something in the 4 to 4 1/2 inch range. Another thing is that some knives don't come sharpened i.e. osborne. They assume you want to define the cutting angle yourself. Round knife and head knife pictures

That's a good question to ask. I don't know, but I just bought a Barry King Beader blade and it didn't fit my knife, so I had to...dare I say it....grind it down and sand it smooth enough to fit my knife. Good thing it only cost me 20 bucks. I hope I didn't screw up the temper on it. Marlon

Thanks for the invite John, I may come in Tues. On Sat. I teach the lacing class at Tandy across the street. (One Sat a month), but it happens to be that Saturday. Marlon

I use the regular stitching needles from Tandy. I just use an x-acto knife to "scrape" the ends thin and to a taper, wax the ends to a fine point and thread the needles up. Needles

The name of the company is Chaylor-Fenneli Austrailia. www.chaylor.com At the show, I think I paid 30 bucks for it, but regular is 35. Marlon

When I bought my sewing machine, the rep gave us a foot like that for free. I think he said they retail at about $40 bucks. It looks good. Now you can get right up to the finding when sewing a dee ring or buckle. Nice job. Marlon

Thanks for the comments guys. I try to improve on every project, and I think this one is my best yet. I almost don't want to give it to him. Marlon

You'd probably have to create yourself a jig to make sure your tool stays at a 45, and your workpiece stays flat. Marlon

I made this belt for as a freebee for my cousin. How much would you charge the general public for something like this? Criticism is always welcome.

Robert, I did not get to take any classes, for the fact that I didn't know which day I would be able to attend, But I did get to peep in on a class making lace baskets. I had a blast at the show and I feel fortunate to have gone. Dave, You are welcome for the pictures. Like I said, I know folks like pictures, and I figured Johanna would post a bunch of general pictures, so why not get specific. Marlon

Thanks for the advice Clay. I am definitely trying to expand my comfort zone. Right now that is color dying. I really like the idea of dying the leather, rather than coating it with the covas. Dying takes a lot of work to get it just right. One of these days...., Anyway, I will definitely continue my pursuit. I love working with leather and people seem to like my work. Hopefully that will continue. Marlon.

I was also awe struck at the show. So many wonderful pieces, so much dedication and time. Amazing. Not only the work, but the Tools...The time it must take for these guys to hand make this stuff, WOW. I bought a few tools from the show, and am extremely happy with my purchases. I have one more that I'm waiting on to be shipped. So many nice people attended the show, I found myself talking to a lot of folks. Clay B, I don't think I have words for your work. Simply amazing, sorry you couldn't make it to the show. The Robb Barr display was outstanding and inspiring. I hope to one day get up to the level of carving I saw at the show. Johanna, it was a pleasure meeting you, you do a great job running this place. Marlon

I would suggest that you get Al Stohlman's book, "The Art of Making Leather Cases Vol. 2" There are a couple of toiletry bags there and I'm sure you could customize it to fit what you want. It gives you the basic principles of builiding it, how to put in the zippers, etc... BTW I usually handsew my zippers, simply because I like to handsew. But I just bought a leather sewing machine and can't wait until it arrives so I can sew some stuff with it. Marlon

Here's a photo of the things I purchased at the show. I didn't know if people like to see things others buy, but I do, so hence the reason for the topic. Enjoy. 1. Bottom left - Artisan, 1797 AB LTHR Sewing System 2. Top Middle - Some Barry King, Backgrounders, and Beader Blade. 3. Top Middle - Danny Marlin, Head Knife. 4. Far Right - Tandy, Strap End Cutter. 5. Bottom Middle - Ron's Tools, #4 Edger w/ sharpening rod, and also #6 French edger. 6. Bottom Right - Some company from Austrailia, Edge dyer

I'd use the heck out of it. I don't pay for pretty. I pay for quality and use. Marlon

Kate, I like the "calculated" measure you use for the border lines. I usually just let my stamp tell me how wide. What I do is scribe my first line near the edge of the material, 1/8 inch or 3/8 inch or so. I just eyeball it and cut it with my swivel knife, then I take the stamp and stamp one impression near the corner of the workpiece. next I set my dividers to whatever spacing I want and "walk" it down the scribe line making tick marks. At each mark I then stamp another impression. This guarantees even spacing. then I align the stamp in reverse in-between the first row of stamps (like you did in picture no. 10). I stamp the one impression, scribe my other line using the end of the impression to gage it, cut this line with my swivel knife, and eyeball the centering of the remainder impressions. Marlon

Steve b, I bevel on the outside of the design where the toe of the beveler is next to the design facing the design. In other words I want to "raise" the meandering. If you face the toe of the beveler toward the outside, the heel of it could interfere with the design itself if you stamp heavily. A beader blade is one that has two cutting surfaces, and a rounded top. The cross-section looks like the letter "U". when you cut, it cuts two parallel lines and leaves a "bead".