Tim Schroeder

Hi, I was lucky enough to add a Bob Beard swivel knife to my small collection the other day. Those are some nice collections. I don't have many but do have a few nice ones.

Couldn't really tell whether Bob was a myth or a legend. Turns out he's an actual person. I got to meet him at the show in Wichita Falls last Oct. I ordered a swivel knife and a small angled detail blade. Came home and found this in my mail box the other day. He makes a couple of other specialty tools I would love to get. He's a great guy and makes a really nice swivel knife.

Had some extra time so I decided to build myself a new work belt.

Thanks Art, I tried to keep track of time on these so I would know how long they took. I have a 40/hr. a week job so these were done in spare time between Jan. 7 and Feb. 9. Thanks Tim Tote Bag 50 plus hour Make Up Bag 15 hours Checkbook Cover 11 hours Phone Case 12 hours Wallet 23 hours

Hi Karmindixie, This is a great place to learn. I used Sheridan Style Carving from Tandy to try to learn how to draw and carve Sheridan style. Here is a couple of pictures of my last couple of drawings and a couple of pictures of what my work looked like before and after I found Leatherworker.net. I looked at Hidepounder's work on this forum for hours for inspiration. The tooled pic is what the one pattern looks like after tooling. There are plenty of articles on every aspect of making anything out of leather. Hidepounders Casing and Edge Finishing are a couple of good ones for really good looking finished pieces. Tools make a big difference in the way the tooling looks too. I have 40 Barry King stamping tools and the really make a difference. Good Luck Tim

My wife has been carrying some old stuff so I made her some new stuff for Valentines Day. The Tote Bag was a late Christmas present. (Only 2 weeks late)I put a picture of her old stuff for comparison. The old stuff was before I found Leatherworkers. This is a great place to learn. Thanks Tim

My wife liked the last bag I made like this one and she wanted this one for Christmas but just didn't have time. It's 3-4 ounce on the outside and Tandy's lining leather on the inside. The Alligator is embossed veg tan so you can dye it any color you want. Thanks Tim

One of our Chief Mates on a ship in the Persian Gulf wanted two wallets and is going to let his dad pick the one he would like for Christmas and he is keeping the other one. Both have two ID pockets stitched. Can't wait to make me a new wallet.

Thanks. I use a gravity fed automotive paint gun. I like to spray 8-10 coats, so thinning keeps it from getting to dark. You can keep spraying until you get what you want. I also spray the Wyo-Sheen for a blocker when Antique Finishing. Thanks Tim

Finally finished this bag for a lady in New Zealand. All leather with embossed Alligator veg tanned handles. She wanted Angel Wings, A snake, Roses and Lily of the Valley flowers. The color is Fiebings Chocolate brown and light brown mixed 50/50, thinned 3:1 thinner to dye and sprayed thru a paint gun, 8 light coats. Learned a lot on this one.

Looking for small D Rings for zipper pulls. 1/4" inside. Thanks for any help.

This Lady said she would like a Lily Of the Valley Flower, Roses, Angel Wigs and a snake in a busy Floral pattern.

This is one of my wallet insides out of Tandy's Pigskin lining material. I'm looking for material already thin enough to use without skiving the back of every piece. Hard to imagine having to carry all that excess in your pocket. I know the pile is fluffy but squeezed down to 3 1/2 x 4 1/4 and compressed it is still pretty thick. These insides still come out about 3/8" thick sometimes a bit thicker. Any leads would be greatly appreciated. The pockets are all leather, no nylon anywhere. While using nylon saves a lot of leather and skiving time, it takes more time and the part of the pocket you see is thicker. Thanks Tim

Hi Ben, Thanks. I didn't keep good track of my time. I probably had 50 to 60 hours. It took about 25 hours of tooling and the rest dyeing and assembly. I could do it in a lot less time now. I still think 40 hrs min. Hi Jesse, Thanks. I used Fiebings dye. Took some time to come up with that color. The dye is sprayed on with a gravity fed automotive type paint gun. I needed to thin a little more. I was only able to spray 7or 8 light passes before I achieved the color I wanted. I usually thin everything enough to spray at least 10 light coats. I think this is the best way get more even results. 4 oz. Oxblood 3 ml Light Blue 24 ml Chocolate Brown 4 ml Black 80 ml Thinner Thanks for the comments everyone.

Hi jayjay, Thanks. It's all made out of 3-4 oz. An Econo hide from Tandy.

Hi Kathi, Thanks. My machine is the same as a Cobra Class 18. $1695. Mine is a Mitzi. I bought my machine from a local sewing repair man. ($750 for just the machine new) and bought a stand ($49) then built a much bigger top than most you can buy. Piece of Corion counter top out of a place I remodeled. I built my own speed reducer. 12" pulley to a 2" pulley. 6:1 reduction and I can sew thru 1/2" veg tan leather as slow as I want, still have variable speed and it feels like you are sewing thru fabric. There are many different servo motors. I paid $125 for a half horse Consew Servo motor and it is more than you would ever need for 1/2" and under with a speed reducer. It is a walking foot needle feed machine. Thanks Tim

Thanks for the compliments. Here is a couple of pictures of the front. I did have it done for the first day of school so she was happy. She already knew what she wanted with the Fighting Farmer Logo, her name and initials then said I could put tooling anywhere I wanted. Just used an old backpack to get some starting numbers. Thanks to Leatherworker .net I am drawing my own patterns and my tooling is much better. Thanks Bob Park. I do have some leather zipper pulls made and need really small black D Rings to attach them to the zippers. Thanks again Tim

My daughters backpack for school. It's not finished yet, still have a pocket with tooling and her name on it to hand sew on the front. She starts school Monday.

Looks Great!!! Love your style of tooling. Tim

This is actually a remake for some good friends. I like the way it looks before dye.

I have a BK swivel knife with a 1/4" thin blade I have used for at least a year without sharpening once. When I first got it I resharpened it using #320, 400, 600, 800, 1000,1500 and 2000 grit wet/dry sandpaper laying on a piece of granite. Just spray the granite before you put the paper on it. I have a 9" wetstone sharpener with a leather wheel for a strop on it. I usually can carve 2 flowers in one of my patterns and then a couple turns on the strop and it's like a hot knife thru butter. I can easily cut all the way thru properly cased 6/7 oz leather. I would like to try Leather Wranglers, Bob Beard and all the rest just to see the difference in how long you can cut before having to strop the blade again. Hard to beat the price of a BK. I have 4 with different size blades but do everything with a 1/4" angled thin blade. Proper casing is key to getting the right results. Tim

Looks great! Good Luck at the show. I wish I could make some money doing leather.

Thanks for the comments. I really like black tooled items but my wife still likes the saddletan stuff she already has. To Jazznow, my grandparents were German immigrants.

Padded Tablet case for my wife.