MonicaJacobson

Very nice look! Now I want to make one. I prefer the end of the belt to be rounded, but that's just me..

Yes... the question is, if resolene seals the leather, would putting aussie on top of that do anything at all? It might just float on top of the resolene and be a pointless addition.

I have a similar question to Nick - I was about to make a bag and dye it black, and use aussie leather conditioner to seal it. Is that the worst idea in the whole world? The customer wants it to be "soft", so I'm wary of using resolene, but I don't want any dye bleeding off later.

I can't really give you the best information, unfortunately. I largely only make bags, and .8 mm looks good on that size. I made a wallet/clutch recently and found out that the 6 holes per inch pricking iron I was using was not small enough, I needed smaller needles and even thinner thread than .8mm. If everything is too big, the leather tends to get mangled, especially as you really need to use thin leathers, something else I found out on that project. I haven't gotten around to researching what I will need yet, but I do know I need a nice pricking iron that is more like 8-10 spi. Sorry I can't be more precise than that. There are a lot of wallet makers here that could probably give you better information. But don't let that discourage you. The best thing you can do is just try it with what you've got and see how it goes. It's always fun to see your own progress as you do more projects and get better. Go through the forums with the search option. It's time consuming, but if you find someone's work you really like, they'll often say what oz leather they used, what size thread, and you can ask them what kind of tools they have.

Thanks, DavidsonL - Panther, above, had some good ideas for making it easier. I'll probably try it again and see how it goes. I was looking at your shop, and I really like that sheath you wear horizontally on the back of your belt. I was considering making something like that for my sister, sometime.

HiJQ, If the project is small enough, I glue the two pieces of leather together before I pierce the holes. If I'm using the pricking iron to put holes in a gusset, I usually count them when I finish to make sure both gussets have the same number of holes. Otherwise, it will come out uneven. It's not a problem if everything is exactly the same size and you're not careless, but I often make mistakes, so I like to make sure. Also, when I'm making something with softer, thinner, chrome tanned leather, the leather tends to stretch when I use the pricking iron, and I'll have too many holes on one side and not enough on the other. I suspect this is because I don't own very good pricking irons. Or perhaps in those cases, I should just use an awl to make the holes. What projects are you working on, and how many holes per inch are you using? You might want to invest in smaller thread. Tiger thread comes in .8 mm, which is plenty small for everything but watch straps and wallets. You can get it from Ludlow Leather supply, and it's basically the same price as cheap Tandy thread.

Oh yes, I remember the one with the frogs. I like your distinctive tooling style. I usually sew on pockets and d-ring holders first as well.

Thanks for all the excellent advice. The orienting mark, etc, are all very good ideas that I'll definitely put into practice. Ha, I've already spent a fair bit of effort having to turn it to fit the hole orientation. Thanks for taking the time to write them out. After giving it pretty good use for a week, I think I've decided it's too long. Otherwise, it's very comfortable to use. However, I don't usually pierce leather with it. I open up the stitches, but do the actually piercing with a pricking iron. I think I'll have to make another one with a thicker bit at the end as you mention for actual piercing work. Anyway, thanks!

I actually agree with Wyoming Slick (though I'm no expert on holsters). I really like how it looks.

All three are very cool. I'd like to see the bus panel when it's actually on the bus... Nice bags! I like the lacing and the carving.

If you guys are fantasy buffs, you should try "Way of Kings" by Brandon Sanderson, "Gentleman Bastards" series by Scott Lynch, "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss, and the "Powder Mage" trilogy by Brian McClellan. I read Tolkien when I was in my early teens, and these books may not be as vast in scope, but they're definitely clever, imaginative, and well written. I'll have to try David Eddings. I haven't read anything by him, though I did read 3-4 of Tad Williams books.

It looks really nice and solid.

Yeah, the braid looks great. Very nice strap!

That looks great!

That looks really nice. And stingray is not easy to work with, I hear.

Ha, that's an awesome design. What a great idea and execution!

Very cool! I like the lacing as well. I just finished listening to a biography of Tolkien (while, coincidentally, doing leatherwork...) and apparently Frodo was "Bingo" for a long time. Heaven help us.

Ha, that's a sweet sheath. Kind of hilarious (because it's so big), kind of awesome.

Scott, LOL, yeah, I was like, "well he must not like brass at ALL if he calls it whiney." Funny. Thanks, I guess that's exactly what I need to do. Call springfield, that is. My problem is, the client is somewhat sparing on the details, and what he said is that his wife's current bag has gold hardware. So. Should the new bag match? It's supposed to be a surprise, and I don't think he wants to make niggling detail questions. Thanks also for the kind words! I hope I'm getting better, but there's still a long way to go. David, thanks, I'm definitely considering the all stainless route. At least then I know it's not going to be a problem in a year or two.

Hi all, I'm supposed to make a purse/briefcase for a lawyer. I was planning to buy brass hardware from buckleguy or Springfield leather, but then my husband said that brass will tarnish, so I need to make sure I get anodized brass, or gold plated. However, most of the places I've looked have no information on the finish at all. Should I just steer clear of brass altogether and save myself the headache?

Oooh, I love the lacing on that. I bet that gives it a very nice feel. Especially the straps.

Some fun stuff you've got going on there! Welcome to the forum.

Very cool!

Okay, cool, good to know.