Rawhide

A short answer to your question. When you wet the leather for the first time, wet the back then wet the front and pay attention to how quickly the leather soaks up the water. I wet it let is soak in, then wet it again (just the front, I only wet the back once). Usually the second coat of water is enough. I can tell because the leather doesn't soak up water as fast. If you really want to do it right, after you wet it, slip the piece in a ziplock overnight. this will let all the fibers swell with water, and you can literally stamp for hours on it. by the way I use a sponge. As far as when to re-wet it, (if you don't use the ziplock method), Re wet when the leather feels warm to the touch. I use the back of my hand to touch it. If it's cool, keep stamping if it's warm, wet it. This does come with experience though.

Yeah, Bob's tools usually have a 3 to 6 month wait, because he makes them all by hand. Now I think it will be a little longer, because Bob's father just passed. However, I think it is very well worth the wait. I just ordered a catalog from them and hope to order soon. Marlon

Well Steve, I have both of these knives. I like them both. I have both small and large stainless knives (I like the large better) The stainless is a very good knife and with the wholesale club you can get it at a decent price. I like the feel of the stacked leather on the other one better than the knurled on the stainless. However, you can never have too many swivel knives. I've got 6 or 7 and plan on buying at least one more. It's much easier to pick up another knife than to change blades all the time. As for frequency, I find myself using the stacked leather one the most. I think I'm going to go with a custom made Robert Beard Swivel knife next. I've heard nothing but praise for them. But if you go that route, plan on a premium price. I think they are around $100-125. Something you may be able to do is have Tandy let you try them out on a scrap piece of leather. They may let you do that to decide which one you like. Regards Marlon

Thanks for the tip, I will definitely have to aquire some of that.

No need to be sorry, We're just conversing. I agree with you in stating that it's not a grand difference, but there is one. I also agree that I can get a smoother cut with a hollow ground steel, and a ceramic blade a lot of the times, but depending on the leather chosen, the ruby can out cut them. Different blades for different situations. I am by no means getting rid of any of my blades, I like them all for their rightful strong suits. By the way, I did strop mine for a very long time when I first stropped it. Now I only need to strop a few times between sections of a carving. Have a good one!

To echo billsotx, get the best tools you can afford. For the swivel knife the Al Stohlman brand knurled swivel knife is a decent one, but it doesn't come with a blade. If you plan on getting into the craft deeply, consider the wholesale club membership (or if you have a business tax i.d. you can get better pricing). As far as books go, I would get "The Leatherwork Manual" first. This is a great book to get you started. Welcome to the craft.

Thanks for the reply whinewine. To comment on the stropping fiction, I beg to differ. One, I feel a difference when I strop my blade. Two, a ruby's main composition is...guess what, aluminum oxide. Ever heard the saying the only thing that can scratch a diamond is another diamond?, Don't you think that aluminum oxide could polish a ruby then? The aluminum oxide that makes up a ruby is called corundum which is naturally clear. Chromium is added to it to make it red. Since it is very hard (9.0 on Mohs scale) it is commonly used as an abrasive, yes even in sand paper. So theoretically you could sharpen it on sand paper (realistically you can't because sand paper is a mixture of elements that reduces its hardness.) Marlon

I don't think it's TLF. I'm in pretty good with Tandy here in Fort Worth, and I'm pretty sure I would have heard about that.

I have heard that they can come off as well. I have stropped it some as greg mentioned, and found it to glide a good bit smoother, so I imagine it could get better with continued stropping. Thanks for the advice. Hog on ice, now that's funny.

Thanks for the compliments guys. Peter, that is one of the ideas of none other than Al Stohlman.

Thanks Greg. I wasn't sure if you should strop it or not. My edge is very clean, no chips or nicks, but it doesn't glide through the leather like I assume it should. Thanks again , I'll try stropping it and see if that helps. Marlon

One particular advantage I have is that I live in the Fort Worth area and I can walk into Tandy, or Hidecrafters (They are right across the street from each other.) Anyway, a couple of months ago, someone told me that Hidecrafters had filed for bankruptcy. A couple of weeks ago, I was in the store and the investment group was in the store going over something or another and the person checking me out mentioned they were being bought by this investment group. I don't know the name of the investors though. Hope this doesn't spell bad news for Hidecrafters. Rawhide

Just wondering if some of you experts out there know how to care for a ruby blade. I know you don't have to sharpen it, but do you need to strop it? What do you clean it with if residue builds up on it, etc... Many Thanks

Here is a purse I made for my wife. And a small tool carrier

Thank you for the welcome David, I'm going to attempt to post a picture of a purse I made and a tool carrier.

Just wanted to formally introduce myself to everyone. My name is Marlon and only been tooling for about a year. I am learning a lot, mostly from books. My wife got me started by talking me into going to a class and has regreted it ever since. :biggrin: Hope to converse and learn with you. You have already been a wealth of knowledge from my lurking. Nice to be here.

Thanks for the tips Barra. Screwed up brown paper eh? By that I assume you mean wrinkled lunch/grocery bags?

I notice that when I pull my stitches tight, my thread darkens quite a bit. Any andvice?

I don't know what kind of resin you can buy to fill the voids and eliminate the pitting, but I'm sure you'll pay at least $20 for the chemicals. You can go to a head stone maker (grave stone) and get one of the screw-ups for little or nothing. I bought a piece two feet, by four feet and had them split it into two tooling stones for $40. I could have had the one for $20. Just my $.02.