Boriqua

I sell on ebay all the a time. I actually just started not posting things to Etsy unless it sits a while because of the speed at which my items sell on ebay. I was posting stuff to both etsy and ebay but my stuff was selling on ebay in days so it was a waste of time and 20 cents to post to etsy as well. Now like another post I made about ebay ... they do some weird (annoying) things with relist and changing default settings so now I know to watch closer and check ALL my settings but by and large Ebay is better to me than Etsy. Problem is they have no real provision for accepting custom orders and I get a fair amount of requests from ebay folk looking at my listings, waiting and then the item sells before they jump. Then they contact me and want me to make them one. I wish they would bring some type of custom order request like is available on etsy. I like having the ability to post 12 pix too. Having said all that ... My marginal success may not mean very much compared to you guys who are producing a lot more stuff or whose products demand a much higher price. I'm lucky if I post 12 things a month between custom requests.

The saddle tan can be kind of orangy if done light. For that one i dyed it then let it dry and dyed it once more. Hope that helps with your project!

The last one is fiebings saddle tan.

I think a better question might have been "how MANY times have you done this" Yup my wife's cell phone case spent some time with a plastic block in it before it was road worthy and you would think I had some of this stuff figured out!

here is the brick red

I have used the Angelus Cordovan and like it much much better than the fiebings, Ive used their brick red and it was a wonderful wonderful color and applied nicely and evenly. So I just ran out of Angelus Cordovan and Fiebings Black and Mahogany and instead of replacing with Fiebings I went ahead and ordered some qt bottles from Angelus direct. With $75 shipping is free so it actually came out cheaper than if I ordered fiebings from weaver even with the reseller price. I also got a pint of Brandy to try. Angelus has some nice color choices but you really cant tell what they look like from the computer swatches So what I wanted to ask the group was if you have used Angelus Dye what colors made you do the happy dance?? Which ones should I try and if you have a pic of something you made with one of their colors that you think was cool ... could you post it? I am a little nervous because I finally figured out the idiosyncrasies of the Fiebings line but ... really want to try something new and play with more colors.

if you are worried about its current ridgedness in order to form it on a form ... dont .. when you boil it it will become a floppy somewhat slimy hunk when you boil it. It will also thicken some and shrink. I have only done hard boiled 8/9 oz I cant even imagine how thick the 12/13 oz will become. Cant answer the dying as I never tried it but the leather gets much darker when boiled. I used acrylics on my project after it hardened.

I think I am the only person who loves the stuff. Yeah accidentally getting it on the smooth leather means its ruined but my edges come out pretty nice in quick time and I buy the stuff my the quart. I apply it to the edge with a q tip somewhat heavy and then using my fingertip work it into the edge back and forth into the fibers. I let it almost dry completely which takes a few seconds but never go at it wet and then I take a piece of horn and a few rubs and it glistens and is nice and smooth. I usually finish my projects with a coat of supersheen on the edge before it leaves here. I get a better edge using glycerin and water but have ruined some projects by getting the edge to wet and going at it to soon and then turning the edge mushy. The glycerin and water takes me longer to do than gum.

lol .. I was going to suggest the same thing. Dunk it in water get some old cards and jam jam jam. All good

If I am going to use contrasting thread I dye after gluing the parts together and I let it dry a bare minimum of 24 hours but usually a couple of days. I just set it aside and dont think about it for a couple days. I then buff it until no dye comes off turning my rag often. depending on the dye this could be a few minutes or until your elbow bleeds. I then stitch it and havent as of yet have trouble with dye bleed onto my thread when I go to wet mold. You didn't say what dye you were using but some are more of a problem than others. I gave away almost a full qt of USMC Black because it just never seemed to stop rubbing for me. I hated it. I have some trouble with red sticking well too.

Well I went ahead with a welt since I never did a knife sheath without one and I took some pictures since I had done a few knife sheaths but had never done a pancake style so here is what I came to and I am happy with it functionally and aesthetically. If it helps anyone else ... great! Its my first pancake style knife sheath so YMMV!!! I didnt want to go to the end of the sheath at the belt loops at three thickness thick. This knife has about a 3.5inch blade and it would just seem cumbersome to go three layers of 8/9 oz all the way out to the ends of the sheath but I was sure I wanted a welt. So this is how I resolved that. Photos are not great so ask questions if ya have em. Here is the welt made from 8/9oz and tapered to zero Here it is from the rear of the knife from the front of the knife blade edge At the end of the sheath at the end of the belt loops Without dye with dye but not finished but finished enough for you to make one like it

Not yet !! that has to come this weekend. I can't keep up with demand so I gotta do some work before I can pull out all my patterns and start chopping. For some reason people are excited about the silly things I make and I cant make it fast enough..... But a choppin I will be this weekend!! Oh a choppin I will be.

You betcha brother ... that whole "teach a man to fish" thing. Thank you for that!!

Hey Jeff Thanks for the avenger pattern write up!!! Usefull stuff there.

The waxed thread from tandy is just fine and I used it most of my leatherworking life. But... its a little expensive since you can only get it in little bits but if your not doing a lot of work is fine but 8 bucks for 25 yds is steep. I dont know that I ever used thread I hated but there are some subtle differences and YMMV. The twisted thread is a little more "fuzzy" and coarse than the braided. Neither is better or worse just depends on what you like to see. For twisted thread I really like Maine Thread https://www.mainethread.com/index.php/waxed-polycord I arrived at .040 as the perfect balance between thickness and still being able to use it well with the awls and chisels I use without having to use pliers or such. Here is an example of maine thread The braided thread is flat and just has a finer texture so it lays a little finer but the look you want is up to you. I dont think it is any stronger but I dont know how to test that. I use 1.1mm and again it is the perfect thickness as it just fits in the holes I make without being difficult to use. I use both types and it really just depends what I am making and what I want it to look like. Here is an example with braided thread.

I never tried the lacquer on the flesh sides .. hmmm. Anything I used it on that someone forced to bend made the finish crack terrible so I threw it out and never looked back. Im surprised you couldnt get the resolene to work. I would think if you gave it several light sprays allowing it to dry between applications it would work so .... Mop and glo or whatever mop and glo becomes in your neck of the woods should work. Me ... I would be inclined to add a liner and dye and seal that. Alex

Oh and if you dont mind it set to music ..... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88y1j09vl6c

I think it is going to depend on what specific tools you are looking for. I know I am in high love with siewa awls and chisels but haven't tried some of thier other stuff. I use generic tools for cutting and skiving. What is it you are needing?

I used ply for my molds because it was what I had on hand and wasnt the best quality. Problem with ply is it is really tough to sand the edges absolutly smooth and I posted an image below of the first thing I ever did with a press and you can see all the grain and splits in the plys showed up very neatly impressed into my leather at the edge. I have since filled the edges with bondo and resanded and later results were great but I want to get new ones made from plastic. Probably nylon since its fairly cheap. Delrin is awsome but really expensive. The top one is with untreated edges and the bottom which is cleaner was with the same ply but bondo and sanded

In the Sewing section Martyn had a thread on Candy stripe stitching. I thought it was cool and was looking for the right application. Im a sucker for decoration. So I was in kind of a "Day of the Dead" mood and came up with this holster and thought it would be the perfect one to try out the stitching. It is a combination of a wonderful Dark brown and a Havana cigar brown. Thanks Martyn for sparking my imagination!! I will get it up for sale this week and hope someone out there thinks its cool too?! Ton of pix here if you are interested http://www.boriqualeather.com/Gallery/index.php/Leather-Holsters/Day-of-the-Dead-1911-Commander

That is certainly a piece to be proud of! Very nice work. Guess I have to practice a bit more

Damn those came out sweet!!

So one of the commissions I got as a result of the one above was to make a set with a double mag pouch and holster. I think this one came out just a scootch better. More pix of the set here for anyone interested http://www.boriqualeather.com/Gallery/index.php/Leather-Holsters/Spanish-Design-Influenced-1911-Set

I mix it up so I am not sitting all day. Out at the shed I do all my tooling and dying while standing. My tooling height surface is between my belly button and solar plexus while standing and I have over head lights and two clip lights from two different angles so I eliminate shadows as much as possible. Then I have a regular height desk that I use for drawing and Chisel and my stitching pony is a floor model that is about 33 inches high and when I use it I use a head lamp. When I used to do everything at a desk I would sometimes get nasty back and neck aches but since I started moving around using different positions during the day I haven't had a problem. I find tooling while standing much easier on my body period.

I am making a couple as it was long overdue that I add them to my skill set so like I am want to do, I read a bunch and look at a bunch of videos and look at many pix. Today I watched Mr. Cheaney make one on you tube and discovered there doesnt seem to be a welt in that design. After looking at a bunch of pix I am either not seeing it or its not there. I was going to make a welt that tapered from full width at the knife to zero where it hit the end of the belt slot area. Does this design not require a welt? I have made more than a few knife sheaths and always included a welt but never a pancake with slots so any advice would be appreciated. alex