Destrier

Well, it's officially my first custom order. I've got another one underway (a back strap for a sword) and another one ordered (a Kindle cover) so people must like it... I still see a lot of flaws, but hopefully the next one will be better. In this case the design was drawn up by the customer. 'Ego Voluntas' means 'I Will' in Latin.

I have to admit, I saw the words "medieval aquaman" and had to scratch my head. I couldn't picture it but you pulled it off. Very nicely done.

At the moment I'm a little swamped with other projects, however I know someone that does really good work, Crusader Monk - this is his web site http://www.crusadermonk.com/

Hey dktne, welcome to the forum. I'm curious, is it a whole new scabbard you're looking for or a different suspension system? If I can't help you myself, I know a few excellent custom scabbard makers that I'm sure could get you what you need. Zoe

Also would like to know these things!

I'd love to see a close-up of the carving on the scabbard - what's the design?

Very nice.

Well yes, technically he is handy but he's also a little short on time - I think I'd end up waiting about three years for him to make one for me. Thanks for those links, guys - I can see I've got some reading material for the foreseeable future!

Hmm, the noise level is definitely worth considering. At first I hadn't given it much thought since most of my work is done during the day when my husband isn't even home, but there are times when the noise could be an issue (like when he's watching a hockey game). An intro to airbrushing course would be great, I'll do a little more hunting around to see what's available but so far all I've found is one at the previously mentioned art store and they're pretty infamous for pushing THEIR products and not appreciating you bringing something else from home. They do stock the parts for Paasche models but the only complete airbrush sets they sell are in the $3-500 range.

David - we do have a shop compressor, but I'm pretty sure my husband would throw a fit if I took it out of his garage and put it in my office and it's kind of on its last legs. Part of keeping our marriage happy is keeping my workspace and his separate! That's good to know though that it doesn't have to be a 'special' air compressor. Thanks for the links, Cyberthrasher - I did a little looking around and there's a local art store that also carries Paasche parts so I'll probably go with that one.

I would like to get an airbrush, but I don't know a lot (or, well, anything) about airbrushing and I don't want to buy something that won't end up suiting my needs. Is it better to buy an all in one 'airbrush kit' complete with compressor, or is it better to buy things separate? What I'd like to do with it is apply all-over dyes and finishes as well as experiment with different techniques, like doing a gradient colour (example fading from red to black) - what kind of brushes do I need? Is it possible to get a decent machine (including compressor) for around $100-150, max $200? This is one that I'm possibly looking at - http://www.ebay.ca/itm/2-3-5-Gravity-Dual-Action-AIRBRUSH-KIT-Tank-Air-Compressor-Hobby-Cake-Tattoo-/200894367286?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2ec63cc636 - does anyone have experience with this brand?

That was a great explanation Tina, thank you! Now two of you have mentioned airbrushing... I have some questions about that as well but I suppose I should start a new thread rather than completely derailing this one.

Sorry, I'm not entirely clear on the use of the masking fluid - that would be for something you don't want to have any colour at all (including antiquing), right? Like the border areas on that fantastic chamfron? While I can see that coming in handy, at the moment I'm more looking for something that I can antique over and get those darker lines in the carving, like in the braiding, coat of arms, and filigree on the chamfron. Or did you use the masking fluid on those parts too, Tina?

If it gives a superior end result, I'm definitely ok with putting in a little more time and effort. For the most part I would like to stick with Tandy products just because being able to make a quick trip in to the store and pick up anything you're short on is preferable to having to wait weeks for shipping (and paying for shipping!), but I'm certainly willing to try new products. Where do you buy the masking fluid? Is it something an art supply store might carry?

A month or two ago I thought I had this brilliant idea to fill a niche market, as I hadn't seen anything like what I had in mind. After getting to know more leathercrafters and poking around various web sites, I see it's all been done before. I'm going to go ahead anyway though because I'm not going to copy anyone's specific designs, and this is what I have a passion for. As a friend/mentor once told me, everyone has their own specific style. Make things your own - that's what I'm going to do!

I was just going to say that! That chamfron is amazing, and pretty much exactly the type of thing I'm aiming to do someday! My logo is a even a chamfron.

Sorry, I had originally tried to add a picture of what I was trying to say but it wasn't working. From something someone else had said (not in this thread, can't remember where it was now) I was picturing having to rub antiquing on to everything around the areas you didn't want to absorb the darker colour (like my rabbit and fox) and leaving those untouched and just couldn't see that working very well, plus then you wouldn't get the darker contrast on the carving in the rabbit and fox. I apologize if that's as clear as mud... I'm not very good at trying to convey what's in my head sometimes, would you believe my other hobby is writing? Hmm, good to know about the Hi-Lite - I do have some of that kicking around, maybe I'll try using that instead of the gel antique. Since they kind of seem to be the same idea, what's the difference between gel antique and Hi-Lite?

Thanks everybody - I might give Super Shene another chance, since apparently it will work for George Hurst... plus I already have some! That BeeNatural stuff looks like it worked really well on the betta - I will most likely try ordering some of that soon. I don't really mind how the fox & rabbit design turned out, it just wasn't what I had originally planned, so I think I'll leave it as-is. I just finished carving another piece though and so I'll try SS again or maybe pick up some Block Out. Unfortunately Tandy is the only local store so unless I wait a few weeks for shipping I'm stuck with their products, and living in Canada shipping is always a cost factor too.

I just had this happen to me - I think at least in my case it was a conditioner I had used on the leather before dyeing it. I had two pieces cut right side-by-side from the same piece of leather and one turned hazy and one didn't, and the only difference I can think of was the conditioner. Just a theory

Sorry, yes it is the gel antique.

Good to know, thanks. I'll try to curb my impatience and actually give things a chance to dry!

I had wanted the rabbit and fox to be lighter than the background - I suppose I could achieve the same effect with dyeing the background first... though I attempted that with a different cuff I made and I ended up with a nasty smeary mess. I'm not sure if it's just the Eco-Flo dye (it seems most folks around here don't really think much of it) or if I didn't wait long enough to make sure the dye was completely dry... I had left it for about 4 hours and it felt completely dry, but since then I've read that it's good to leave it overnight or longer. This is a picture of that first attempt - it was supposed to be a black background with brown/reddish accents - that's kind of what it ended up as, but the lines weren't as crisp and the whole thing was darker than intended: It's entirely possible I didn't wait long enough for the Super Shene to dry. I'd like to pick up some resolene to try though.

I'm sure someone has already started a thread about this somewhere, but I did a little poking around and couldn't really find what I was looking for so I thought I'd start a new thread. I've very recently started working with leather and so I apologize for any stupid questions. What I ended up with was this: Which is still ok-looking, but not what I had in mind. I had applied Super Shene over all the raised areas (rabbit, fox, filigree) but obviously that didn't do a whole lot. The staff at Tandy had told me that Super Shene would work as a resist - is that what the problem is? I read in a different thread to apply antiquing only over the areas that you DON'T want resisted - but first off I'm not sure I could rub it in effectively without risking getting it over the other areas, plus then how do you get the darker lines on the carving you've done? I found examples of what I'm trying to describe but I can't seem to add the image here, sorry if that's a little unclear.

Also very interested in historically accurate designs and hardware!