immiketoo

For thin leather like that, I use a cocobolo burnishing stick with a very thin slot and a light touch. Just water is all you need.

I can't speak to 10 years ago, but the advent of Facebook groups has had an impact on all of the forums I belonged to. Leatherworker.net has survived and fared far better than any of the other forums I belong to, especially the automotive ones. Those places are ghost towns anymore. We are in control of how things happen here and I will keep working to keep the forum alive and well!

Yeah it's an epic series. You bring up a good point. Britt constantly modifies his tools to be able to tool small areas. Knowing your tools and your abilities is key. A man has to know his limitations!

I hear you man, but they are worth it. The work sheets alone will bump you years ahead. Each class is about an hour to an hour and a half. Thats a good way of looking at it. Another benefit of aids is tooling. You can do the same piece again and again until you've perfected the tooling. Once you understand how to tool it, that info can help you avoid pitfalls in design, like too much or too little background space, tricky intersections and learning what elements are on top.

Thanks for the mention. The classes by Britt are by far the easiest and most comprehensive way to learn floral design that I have seen. Britt breaks it down to the individual line level and then builds it back up from there. You almost can't not do it after his classes. However, there are a lot of other good publications out there as well, including Bob Park's book which is good and the Cary Schwarz videos are good as well. Copying and craft aids are great until you get tired of them or find yourself with a piece where they don't fit, so learning to draw it is highly recommended. If you're interested, www.learnleather.com.

Sound advice above. One thing I would add is that since you said you're new, she may try to leverage that against you as a means to reduce your price. Don't fall for that. She clearly recognized the quality in your work and spoke up about it. A LOT of people underprice their work because they're new, because they're shy or self conscious or a myriad other reasons. Things like electricity, heat and water all should be factored into your pricing, even the time and resources spent to pick up supplies and organize them in your shop. Pros know this, hobbyists in their garages often never even think of it. I agree with plinker cases. You've cracked the code and more people will be knocking on the door. What does a high end set of mass produced tack cost? Yours is hand made, with attention to every detail and the eye of an enthusiast. That equals $$$ or at the very least a counter argument to the, "well you're new" argument. Good luck.

Not sure I agree with you there, but kudos on your customer compliment! Always good to get positive feedback from a happy client.

Moved to leatherwork conversation since there are no pictures to show off, and we don't have a bragging section You provide quality for an affordable price, but I believe your holsters are priced appropriately. Simple, effective, and well made without any hype at all.

Sergey is much cheaper than Jim Linnell and he was the originator of that and many other stamps that are now being copied by others. I have many stamps by Sergey and they are quite nice. However, top level stamps are $$$ and usually you get what you pay for. Sergey is the exception and its because his production methods are cheaper with brass with a steel handle vs an all steel stamp.

Tan Kote is decent, but it doesn't seal like an acrylic finish. I don't like resolene either which is why I use RTC. Usually I will do RTC then tan kote on top of that. I'm not sure why you're set on using wax as your final finish. There are better and easier alternatives, unless you're trying for some sort of authenticity or archaic method of sealing.

Your homemade finish isn't a sealer. You're doing the right things by buffing and oiling, but re-applying wax and oil is activating the excess dyestuffs and smearing. An acrylic or lacquer finish will eliminate this.

Mind blowing

You bet

That's how I feel most of the time, but its good to inspire and to be inspired. I have people I used to think I'll never reach that level and now I know I can work at that level. What I find incredibly inspiring is helping folks improve to the point where I think I need to step it up again so I can keep up. I have a couple of people that I have been helping the last few years that have really come into their own.

You'll need lacing chisels, some lacing needles, lace, and a fid to start. Depending on the kind of lacing you want to do, you may need a lace beveler as more complex braids tend to get bulky without beveling your lace. I learned mexican round braid here: http://www.kingsmerecrafts.info/page100.html Single loop and double loop are also popular and I think that site also shows how to do them. Here are sone examples of round braiding. You can see the bulky edges of the lace in the second picture. This is why beveling lace is a good idea.

By all accounts, it was an awesome class. Its available on my website in the e-shop. www.learnleather.com.

ah, right. I figured it was just a relabeled Fiebings product or something.

Dry acrylic is essentially plastic and should have no harmful effects. I don't think this finish is acrylic, but without seeing the MSDS, I couldn't be sure. Acrylic paints and finishes don't have very strong odors.

Welcome! Always nice to have a fellow European in the forum!

Elom, Gary covered most of what you're struggling with and I will second the use of an awl over chisels. You can use them to mark your stitch holes but I've found I get more desirable results with an awl, especially on thicker items like holsters etc. Now, some people swear by stitching chisels and have VERY fine work to show for it, which brings me to the main point. Practice. You can succeed with either method as long as you eliminate the things that are going wrong, and the only way to do that is to assess where in your process that is failing you and make adjustments. As for your edges, on thin leather like wallet insides, I do not edge them. Ever. Its nearly impossible to do it consistently even if you have an ether that tiny. I will slick them, lightly or apply edge paint, but no edge beveling. One the thing. If your stitching is too close to the edge, you will also get waves as the thread thickness will distort the leather. Move your stitch line inboard a little or use thinner thread. Hope this helps.

Give me a shout if you have any questions.

If you choose that route, upholstery leather is the way to go. You can sew a circle of carved veg tan on top of that for a cool look.

Well, the Taylor stool is mine, and the problem you're having is the kind of stool you are starting with. I used a stool with a swivel seat and it has an internal core that I upholstered. You will need to create a physical stand off of the height you want, then add a 2 inch foam disc on top and then upholster appropriately. Otherwise, what you end up with is a short seat with no sides to work with. It can still look good but it wont look like mine.

I have different sized awls for different sized thread. The smaller the thread, the smaller your awl needs to be. I like Leder Louis awls. He makes several sizes, reasonably priced. Best awls Ive used too

Thanks everyone.