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

Welcome to the forum. An inquiring mind would like to know, as this is something I've been considering doing, how'd you made the maul? I've seen a couple home-made ones on here recently, all with very different methods of construction, so learning yet another way would be nice.

Beautiful work! Absolutely! I really don't know what else to say, but ... yep, that rocks!

Thank you all, thank you. She just turned 17. She's been drawing flowers like that since she was about 12 or 13. The shine is spray Super Shene... two thin coats, buffed to a polish in between the two and after the second dries. -Noc

Just showin' off a present I completed this afternoon for my daughter's birthday. Her favorite color is orange... she sometimes dresses as head to toe in orange as she can... so I went all out orange on this. She's also very artistic, so I decided a binder cover that she can showcase her work in would be nice. The lacing around the edge is the vinyl 3/32" lace we carry at Tandy, and is the first piece I've ever done the Mexican basketweave braid on aside from a piece of scrap when I was learning it. I think it turned out quite nice. The back artwork, with the card suits, is the symbol of one of her favorite books, "The Looking Glass Wars" (a very good read if you haven't checked it out before) The cover artwork, a tribal looking flower, is her original artwork, so please don't copy it. But definitely feel free to comment and enjoy the piece. Thanks. -Noc

Ahhh, Got'cha... Good to know if I ever make a seat. Thanks.

Lookin' good. Got a question, though. Why use the round holes to do the lacing? Wouldn't the slits a lacing chisel would make be tighter looking? Or is it just personal preference? Just wondering... I just started learning to lace this past week.

That looks phenomenal! What kind of paint did you use for the gold and silver? I love the tones.

This is what I tell people when they come into our store and are interested in carving, but have never done it. What you want to start with is called the "Basic Seven" tool set, and some veg-tan leather. Buy a pound of scraps, or maybe a couple small kits. http://www.tandyleatherfactory.com/product...?number=8170-00 <-- Basic Seven Toolset This comes with everything you need to get started. It has a seeder, camo, veiner, backgrounder, pear shader, beveler, and swivel knife with a 3/8" straight blade. Every tool you buy after this is beginning to specialize and personalize your collection, but those seven tools can keep you busy for quite a while. Also, this way, if you're not that into it in the long run, you're not out a huge amount of money. If you get really hooked, and start carving a lot, you'll want to next look into a ceramic blade for your knife. Before you look at these, and gasp about the price... know that they are worth every penny. If you carve regularly, steel blades will need to be stropped routinely. Sometimes multiple times during one project. With my ceramic, I strop when I begin a project, and that's about it. Plus you never have to re-hone them, only strop. http://www.tandyleatherfactory.com/product...?number=8028-00 <-- 3/8" Straight Ceramic Blade If you start doing finer, smaller work, requiring better control of your cuts, look into a 1/4" filigree blade. http://www.tandyleatherfactory.com/product...?number=8027-00 <-- 1/4" Ceramic Filigree Blade. Another great thing to look into is where your closest Tandy store is, and call to find out if they offer classes or open workshop time. Not all Tandy's do, so be sure to call! And be sure to look into the Wholesale Club at Tandy. $35 for a one year membership, and you get a reduced price on every item in the store, as well as once a month "buy one get one" on craftools and craftaids. Hope this has helped in some way.

Try these on some small scrap/practice pieces.. I would try waiting a full 24 hours for the background to dry before trying any type of finish or protective coat. Once it's had enough time to dry, it shouldn't bleed any. If that doesn't do the trick, then since you're not using spray finish, try putting a thin coat of your finish on the background area first, let that dry, then finishing your entire piece.

Pretty average lookin' lighter there, man... Where's that uber-spiffy one? Looks good, bad "spot" and all... don't ya love how the significant others can do that? Mine does it to me all the time, with a simple "what happened *here*?" lol

Very cool. Can't wait to see finished construction.