blink1688

@MendellLeatherOK, thank you! Admittedly, my heart sank a little when my wife said she wanted the edges stitched. I hadn't done a lot of edge finishing without lace work and part of the long was trepidation since I wasn't confident saddle stitching such a large project yet -- lots of intermediate practice and experimenting before I felt up to the task. @YinTx, those are Texas Instrument scientific calculators. My wife uses them daily. Thank you, for your words about the tooling. You'll get there too; just keep practicing and make sure to case your leather (Hidepounder's post on casing combined with some experimenting was HUGE for bringing this project to a new level). I'm still not to the point where I can design something like that on my own -- my memory is a bit foggy but I think the front panel design itself is from a Tandy Craftaid and I partially designed the back panel with the aid of a scanner, my computer, a book with some small designs I could combine, and hours of trying to draw stems to connect everything in a way I liked. One word about something I wish I had done much better -- be very careful with your swivel knife cuts... they generally shouldn't cross and they should always taper off because thin points like the flower bud at the top of the front panel get flimsy and will peel up when rubbing in dyes and finishes. @tearghost, thank you! @Rolandranch, thank you! Most definitely a lot of time. No, not trying to hide them, I just want to reduce the bulkiness when I transition from one thread to the next. There are a lot of very noticeable transitions that I don't find aesthetically pleasing on this project.

I really like the look of the scale stamp. I saw that and immediately asked myself where I could get that.

I am right there with you! It's nerve-wracking for me every time becasue I can't resolve myself to the old adage of "You can always dye it black" if things go wonky. I started with learning to use the Eco-flo gel antiques to obtain a solid even finish on other projects. They can be nightmare-ish at times because they have a tendency of going green (apparently not just in the environmental sense -- sorry I'm a dad and a dorky chem/physics teacher), especially around the edges when your sponge/applicator is too wet. There were also a LOT of trial and error test samples I made from the belly of the side I used for this project. Since every hide is different, they'll differ somewhat in how much dye they'll accept in each application and how they'll react to the antique, particularly when using the antique to desirably "fade" previously applied dye. I've found that doing some tests on different parts of the same hide that you don't intend to use will give a decent indication of how the piece you've selected for the project will behave. I highly recommend checking out How to Color Leather by Al Stohlman. It was instrumental in this project.

I really like how you were able to get the zipper to rest. I agree that a little bit smaller stitch with a slightly deeper groove (if possible) would be good but the contrast is spot-on. How did you finish the edges for the opening to the back pockets? They look really nice in the picture.

It's been a couple years since I did the dye work so here goes my best efforts to remember in order: Satin sheen (maybe 2 or 3 coats?) to provide a bit of resist in the silhouette Eco-flo dyes on the flowers and leaves (emerald green, scarlet, and sunshine yellow) Fiebing's solvent dye on the backgrounds, initials, and the horse (black and light brown of various strengths with multiple passes) Satin sheen (slightly diluted) on the flowers and leaves for partial resist Super sheen on the horse Eco-flo gel antique (tan) all over back panel, spine, leaves and flowers, and boarder of front panel Satin sheen (full strength) on background, initials, and flowers and leaves Eco-flo Pro waterstain (tan) on interior and over all non-tooled surfaces (before stitching and assembly) Rubbed-in / hairdryer-heated-and-rubbed-in Aussie (after stitching and assembly) P.S. - After posting, I realized I got carried away with pictures in my excitement -- I started this project in late 2012 / early 2013 and then life took over until May 2017 >.<

Very nice! It even looks as though you could make two out of one saw blade?

Hello, This is a project I started a LONG time ago but didn't get back to it until this year -- kinda embarrassing since my wife's initials have changed since I started this when we were dating. Plenty of things to blame such as teaching high school science but excuses aside, I finally started to get back to the craft. Probably helps that I'm looking to make a career change and I'm hopeful that I can make leather work a big part of that change. I'm currently trying to learn about tack and saddlery because there's high demand in my area but doesn't seem to be anyone to supply to that demand. I'm still trying to find someone near-ish Cincinnati, OH, USA to learn from so if you have any leads, please let me know. Anyhow, back to the project and my questions for you: I made the front and back panels and originally intended to use them for a three ring binder with laced edges. I then learned that my wife preferred to have a portfolio similar to my personal portfolio but with stitched edges and pockets/pouches for her pencils, calculator, and phone (she's an actuary so she does a lot of calculating). Also, she really doesn't like pen/pencil loops so the internal snap pouch is what I came up with. What do you think about the coloring and finish, particularly the silhouette on the back panel and fading on the horse? How can I make the transition to a new thread for my saddle stitch less apparent? What do you think of the construction? Is this something you would have used an edge kote on -- I don't have any yet and I'm unfamiliar with its behavior?