immiketoo

Yep, that is very true, especially on FB pages. Do you think its because of the arguing or the sensitivity of people today?

To be clear, I am not suggesting that people shouldn't offer their advice or experience, just that there some REALLY bad ideas floating out there and that those seem to have the loudest mouths. Contrary ideas are what spurs discussion and I am all for that. Also, a noob with a lot of experience in another area may come up with a genius idea that we haven't thought about before. Terry, I will tell you that I know of more than one person that has stopped "arguing with the masses," because despite their clear knowledge on a particular topic, someone with a heavy brow ridge will argue that their way is superior because reasons. Despite their example looking like trash, they will not take the advice, so the skilled folks back off because they are sick of it and the loud mouth keeps on shouting. This is what makes this site and many others great. It's ok to offer your experience, and its how many of us got where we are today. You make a good point about definitive statements. There are a thousand ways to do most things leather, and they all have varying degrees of success. Saying this is the only way is usually wrong. Not always, but usually. As I said before, people get tired of arguing with the know it all who can't see the flaws in their own work. I think there is a significant shift to Facebook that occurred about 5 years ago as well. For better or for worse, there are a lot of pros there still sharing. Instant gratification, perhaps? This is a great perspective. When I said do you want your work to look like theirs, I didn't mean exactly, but the parts. For example, who wouldn't want their stitching to look like Nigels? Or their Floral to look like Bobby or Akikos? I am not belittling anyone who is willing to share. This came from observing many threads on FB where I see knowledgeable people share their best methods and some goober shouting at the top of their lungs that their way is better and why spend the money on this expensive tool or that superior product. Most recently, its been about how to cut leather, but the list is endless. As for teaching to learn, there is value in that statement, however, there is also the instant access to youtube where someone may lead a lot of new folks away from the craft on account of poor or unsafe demonstrations. If you ever want to do a class on cuts, say the word! You get it sir. I have watched people from the beginning and some that I looked up to, I can now see the limitations in their work, while others continue to impress and spur me towards improving my own work. I have learned a ton from others, but I have learned just as much by discovery from practice, and failure, as much as successes. Being told pales in comparison to learning from doing. Like you, I don't automatically discount someone if they are new, in fact, I listen carefully to them as they have an un-indoctrinated mind and much can be learned from a fresh perspective. The youngest child in your example. Wise words. I am talking about your wet dishcloth. You know, the guy who swears the carpet knife is the best secret in leather working since leather was invented, but has never tried a round knife. You know the type. Unwilling to try something new because they KNOW their way is best.

My advice on antiquing is don't. Unless you're doing floral work, its pretty awful. Even when I want the look of antique I usually accomplish the effect with dye or paint. Offering your opinion is fine. We all like to hear most people's opinions. Especially if you find something that works for you. Nearly everyone has something useful to offer, and as you gain experience, you'll feel more comfortable sharing.

Advice. It’s everywhere. Some is good. Some is great. And, some is crap. Absolute crap. I’ve given a lot of advice over the years. Gotten quite a bit as well. I have always tried to provide the best advice to the best of my knowledge. Occasionally, I’ve screwed the pooch and been corrected, rightfully so. I am all for whatever works for an individual, but works is relative. Many times, what “works” is either because someone is too lazy to develop a skill or too cheap to buy the right tool for the job. I get that sometimes there are limitations both intellectual and financial, but it’s more often the former and not the latter. All I’m saying, if I’m saying anything at all, is to take a look at the work of the person giving the advice. If you don’t see any work, be cautious. If they patently refuse to show an example of what their advice can accomplish, be skeptical. If you do see some examples, ask yourself if you’d like your work to look like theirs. There are many ways to do this thang we all love. Some are better than others, while some are personal preference, but its up to you to decide if the "good advice" you just got is actually worthwhile. For example, I would never take advice on how to do deco cuts from someone who can't do them well. Likewise, I would never give advice on building saddles since I don't know jack about them.

Craftool's old pre-letter tools are worth investing in. The figure tools have the correct (read useable) shapes for figure carving. There are 5 different tools and all are useful, but the larger sizes are the most useful. If it has a letter in front of the number, i.e. F897 as opposed to plain old 897, pass and keep looking. There is that much difference between the two. Expect to pay about 10 bucks per tool for old ones. Well worth the investment.

The hardest part about a Koi fish are the fins. Or maybe coloring them, since white paint has a tendency to make things look like 3rd grade art class. As for relief or pop, you may want to try raising your formed bits and then go back and re-bevel the lower bits to put them back in perspective. 3D carving is a dance between embossing and making the rest of the picture stay flat. You can do it all with only those two tools, but a few specialized bevelers will make your life a lot easier. Steep and regular figure bevelers are invaluable with this kind of carving. As I mentioned above, you can do it with standard tools if you work at it, but figure carving tools really make a difference.

Wow. The level of cool here is off the charts. I love this experiment.

Technically, acrylic paint is plastic and doesn’t really need a sealer, however, I like to use RTC by Bee Natural to give the finished piece a consistent sheen. Acrylic paint and acrylic sealer does the trick. Don’t ever worry about that. I’m here to help where I can.

Thanks Bikermutt for including me in this convo. We do a LOT of acrylic on leather and the hype about Angelus is just hype. Frankly I hate the stuff. Too thick out of the bottle and when you thin it, the color breaks down so it’s useless. We use Golden hi-flow acrylic almost exclusively with the exception of Lumiere for metallics and createx airbrush colors because they’re thin. thin is the way to go with acrylic because you get the best adhesion to the leather and you can sneak up on your colors as opposed to slopping it on thick. Golden has the widest array of colors and hues, and are readily available locally in most cases. I highly recommend them and Createx. additionally, you can use them with an airbrush right out of the bottle. here are some examples of golden on leather.

What Bruce said.

Thanks, Noob. Pics are great, but videos are even better. IF you guys have any requests, let me know.

Generally speaking, cops are the worst shooters out there. I was in charge of our department training and I would DQ guys for not being able to complete what I consider basic drills and firearm handling skills. FFS, I had to order a guy to buy a new holster because his had broken and was only being held together by the lining cloth of a Safariland level 3 retention rig. As a competitive shooter in several disciplines, I was appalled at the average cop's ambivalence regarding firearms.

Good work thats pertinent deserves a share. Thanks for taking the time!

i actually shared this on this page yesterday

Good luck. After that, I suffered a severe allergic reaction that caused my eyes to swell. I now have what is called a retinoschisis, or a tearing of the retinal layers. Nothing can be done to fix it, and so it could never change or I could be blind tomorrow. Fortunately, its been stable since the diagnosis, but I find that using glasses reduces the strain on my eyes and helps my vision overall. It's not getting better, but not getting worse either. More lights changed my life in the shop. Sucks getting old!

As I got a very late start in leatherwork, I can tell you you can do it! I wish I had started 20 years ago! Ah well. Love the canoe!

HEre's a read that may help you. https://medium.com/@jasontimmermans/a-comparative-study-of-leather-hardening-techniques-16-methods-tested-and-novel-approaches-8574e571f619?fbclid=IwAR2gSSIg1JQvTMOQOMo-mJSaNuDdsoB65d-jEy6HOkEmhbANBudIz8rawsc

Nice work dude. Goes with that bass perfectly!

Buy the right tool and they still do I know this because my Knip knives are so sharp that you don't even feel the bite until the blood stains your leather. Or the awl from elder Louis comes out the top of your thumb from the bottom :/

Like you, I had amazing vision my whole life. I could see things that others thought were impossible. Then I turned 40 and just like that the warranty expired. Went to the doc and he said because my far vision was still perfect, just wear the readers. I have all the focal lengths from 1.00 to 3.75 for super close detail work. I hate it, but there's no other way around it, except getting a lens replacement. Since its an elective surgery, its very expensive, so readers it is. One tip. Leave the stickers on the lens telling you what magnification on, or buy different styles for each magnification. Otherwise you'll spend a lot of time trying on the wrong pair!

Your best bet for lace it buying metallic lace. Knotty Linda sells nearly every color imaginable. If you have to add metallic to your existing lace, there is metallic dye from tandy thats frankly uninspiring, and there's metallic paint by both Lumiere and Golden. They each have very sparkly paint but I have no idea how it would hold up to the physical act of lacking.