mtroyalguy

Can I dilute black dye to get a grey or will it just be a thin black? If not, do I need to use acrylic or is there a grey dye available?

Any out west? Specifically the Edmonton region, although Calgary is doable for me as I get down there every few months.

I am in Edmonton.

They were just 3/4 ounce veg tan from Tandy. I buy the edge scraps they sell for 5 or 6$ for smaller projects and testers. I stamped them and then dyed them with Fiebings Oil dyes. Now that I look at them again I didn't do a very good job finishing the edges. I would also like to find a better way of closing them.

I made these as Christmas gifts, posted them in my gallery a while back. I was going to copy the tower cup but then came up with this idea.

So it is not as old as I thought. It is a Singer Spartan 192K, 1954ish. Google seems to indicate it should be quite good for sewing leather. Any tips or stories for this or similar machines. Mostly a hand sewer but would like to save some time.

I have an old Singer, originally from a treadle set up that I got from my grandmother's estate. It is already motorized. Does this mean I can use it to sew leather, with a tune up and the right needles?

That is a beautiful and detailed video. I may have saved it for future reference. Thank you for pointing it out.

Tanned is the process of preparing and curing the leather. Dying is done after tanning and adds colour. Generally leather is only moldable once. Once you wet it and shape it and dry it, rewetting it does not work well. Adding more water while it is still wet to correct or reshape works to a point, depending how dry you have gotten it. In my experience, mostly masks, there is no need to boil the leather, just soak it until the little air bubbles stop coming out of it in hot tap water, but not so hot you cant put your fingers in it. And watch your fingernails if shaping by hand. The leather wont hold your finger marks noticeably for the most part, but I have a few masks with little grooves from my nails.

There is also a store on Ebay named Toolpaw. I saw a reference to them on here somewhere and have ordered 9 stamps from them so far. The buy now price is around 45$ and sometimes you can get them for less than 10$ on auctions. The shipping is also very reasonable, they will combine your orders and save you charges, and they ship very promptly. If I recall correctly they are out of Prague. http://stores.ebay.com/Toolpaw

I ordered the the dremel set recently, and a maul. They should be here in the next week and half or so, expecting to see them hit Canada Customs anytime, then I will no longer be able to track them. I can't wait. I might take back my boyfriends artist's collection I made and redo the edges.

It is just a few coats of the Timber Brown Eco-Flow, with a Neets rub and then Dubbin later. I used a lighter weight for the portfolio and the pattern of the leather is much more visible on it than the other pieces.

I finally completed my project for my boyfriend in art school. A pencil case, a portfolio and blueprint case. My stamping is what is called "handmade" or "rustic" on Etsy. Also known as I need to be more careful, it's uneven. Also my pattern must not have been quite square on the blueprint case, the seam is crooked, twisting the bottom. I can't seem to cut circles well, so the ends are not very round. I also learned Al Stohlman knows best, next time I sew a cylinder I will use the technique in his book. I will also use oil or spirit dye next time, eco-flow scratches too easily. Very much a learning experience. Feel free to critique.

A suit of SCA armour almost 10 yrs ago, then when restarting, harness and cuffs (adult). First sewn project was top hats.

I will be fair and admit I never looked at the tutorial because I had done lots of dying before, and no one mentioned that I needed a different technique. Having read other posts about it I am a bit concerned about the durability of the colour. As well I tend dye very heavily so small nicks and scuffs will not show a difference in colour and I do not think I will get that level of coverage with this dye. I will admit it may not suck as badly as I initially thought, but based on these other reviews I am not convinced they are truly a viable option.

So I hope I am not off topic, but can you tell me the benefits of "rouge" and strop vs stones?

And if you don't have Photoshop there is a free one called GIMP. It can do pretty much everything Photoshop can, and certain can do basic functions like that. Its not quit as intuitive to use as Photoshop, but it is free.

Well Arty, you made my pinterest page lol.

Very nice. Did you do something to the background on the bear? I like that texture.

You know, what kind of places would I look besides Tandy, which is the only tool supplier I have found in my area. I have one or two others for leather, but nothing really for tools. I don't really want to order them online, they are heavy so shipping will be excessive. Is poundo known by any other names? Could I find it as something else at Home Depot or somewhere?

I found a lot of useful stuff on pinterest, after avoiding it for a long time. Over the holidays I got stuck in a 4 hour pint-hole. I think I have now been over all of the major leather pages there. Just in case anyone is interested. http://www.pinterest.com/Mtroyalguy/

I am working on a case for my boyfriend who just got accepted to art school. I stamped his name below the buckle in 1/8" lettering. It looks ok as is but I would like to highlight it in a gold to match the brass fittings. Is there a product I can smear on to fill the impressions then wipe off the surface? Currently for metallic I just have the metallic pens and the last time I used them I just got ink from them and used a brush, but these letters are a bit small for that. Thank you

It is that simple? Sweet. I think I will pick one up at Princess Auto next time I am in that part of town.

I was thinking of doing the same thing. When we get these arbor presses do we need to do anything to adapt them to accept the stamps?

Can I dye over them with an oil dye? I tried using a brown one on a piece and it is splotchy and uneven after many coats, you can see drips from the brush and darker streaks. I have done a bit of dying with the Fiebings oil dyes, and never had this trouble.