Nocturne

Those look pretty awesome. What're the heads made out of? And those of you who have them, how do they hold up to lots of use?

If at all possible, I would suggest taking the time to dye the cross red and dying the belt black around it instead of painting it. The color may fade or change a bit over a long time, but it doesn't run the risk of being scraped off. That being said, if you would rather go with paint.. test on scrap first. Sometimes paint has a problem holding to dyed leather. Most painting on leather I've ever done has been without dye underneath. A good acrylic is preferred, and I usually thin it out with some water, and apply in light coats with dry time in between. Gives a better overall coverage. Another thing to consider, is if you're rubbing in the super shene and not using an aerosol, then you can possibly end up wiping the paint right off when you try to seal the belt.

Looks awesome, man! Definitely the right choice on the lace, really framed in the design right. And to think, it wasn't that long ago you were taking a basics class from me. Look at ya now. -Tom from the shop

That's a good looking maul right there, I like it. Where did you get the material you used for the head? I've been looking at making my own, and what to use is giving me some trouble.

Try this product - http://www.decoart.com/cgi-bin/Products.cg...-Purpose_Sealer You can get it at craft stores... Michael's, Hobby Lobby, etc in large bottles. Small bottles can be found at Walmart, even. It dries within minutes, and works well with just one coat against hi-liters and antiques. Against a solid dye, I would suggest two coats.

Are you looking for a way to get that darkened effect in all the tooling while leaving the rest of the leather almost natural? Take some neatsfoot oil and add a bit of Eco Flo medium brown (or dark brown, depending how you'd like it to look) Gel Antique. Sorry I don't have exact measurements on this one, it's more a trial and error til you get the shade you like. Shake it up well, and apply in circular motions with some wool scrap. Buff it in with a clean piece of wool, let the oil soak in and you'll get a very similar finish. Of course, try it on some scrap projects to see how you like it. Hope that works for you.

Cecil, It looks awesome! Are we gonna get to see it in person at the shop before you wrap it up? -Tom

I've not worked with any tattoo ink on leather, but having about a dozen tattoos myself, I would have to guess that it would need to actually be injected with a needle for it to last. When you get a tattoo, the ink tends to spatter all over, and tattoo artists are constantly wiping away excess so they can see where they're working. After it's all said and done, a few sprays of water/disinfectant later and it wipes pretty well clean. At most, it may stain your skin for a few days. I'd think it would react much the same way on a piece of tanned hide if brushed or applied to the surface.

The biggest factor is that it's not *just* the detail work needing the paint. The entire belt is being painted. White. Any other color, I'd dye the belt, and paint the detail. But my biggest call is for white belts for re-enactment. And we all know there's no *good* white dye. Thanks for the info, though, I'll definitely test out heat setting the paint.

Do you know if painting by hand will give similar results as far as flexibility and such? Would using a heat gun to set an acrylic come up with the same outcome, or is this really only viable with the Createx line? I have an airbrush, and use it for large area base coats, but don't have near the expertise to paint the fine detail work I carve with the airbrush. The main application would be for fully carved reenactment belts. Thanks for any info!

http://www.tandyleatherfactory.com/product...?number=1295-00

http://www.tandyleatherfactory.com/product...?number=1250-01 These are probably what you're looking for. They're called Segma snaps, and they're what you'd find on a pre-made belt blank from Tandy. Smallest snap size TLF carries. Hope this helps. -Noc

Have you checked with your local Tandy about setting yourself up with a business account? If you have a Tax ID or EIN for your business (orrleather.com i see there) then that would greatly reduce your cost on the books, and there's no fee to you for this. Something you should definitely look into. -Nocturne