rawcustom

Really love the clean lines and edges. Nicely done!

Thanks Bruce! And yes I didn't fully capture in the pics but it has a steel ring connection between the belt loop and sheath. I like the fusion of old world look with state of the art steel and performance.

Just finished up a fillet knife with mammoth ivory handle and made my first scandinavian style sheath. Carved a wooden insert from poplar and my client liked the ivory for having an "old from the sea look", so I did a scrimshaw type carving to match.

Monica, I make skiving knives as well as many others and I can tell you that I like my skiving knife in equal parts to my head knife. You can skive easily with a well sharpened head knife, but there are tasks my skiving knife can perform more easily than my head knife. One of my most common skiving tasks is tapering belt loops on knife sheaths, and I find the straight edge of my skiver is easier to use than the rounded head knife. I also use mine for cutting bevels on sheath welts or acting as an edger and the sharp point can double for a trim knife on reaching tight corners, although I have my own trim knife as well. There is a lot of conjecture on different steels and uses. High speed tool steels should not be demonized as some make excellent knife blades. Steel performance will be based off of how the steel is made (homogenous dispersion of alloys and impurities), what the steel is made of (wear resistant alloys, or corrosion resistant alloys) and lastly how the steel is heat treated. As a knifemaker I use and test many different alloys for many different applications, and each have a place and more is personal taste. Better steels from good makers will cost more, because the steel costs more, it's much more difficult to work, and most of us pay a professional service to heat treat and hardness test the blade to ensure it meets our required specifications. Simple steel AKA "High Carbon" is cheap, abundant, easy to heat treat, and easier to work. A big myth is finding steel that will "sharpen easy" and also "hold an edge". The exact properties that will allow a knife to hold it's edge (wear resistance) will resist sharpening efforts since this is just a directed wear effect. There is some truth on the finished grind angle coming into play, that would change the amount of steel required to be removed to sharpen, i.e. thin edges will have less steel and therefore sharpen faster than a thick chisel edge. The main thing with leather tools is maintenance. Since your tools work best sharp, you should be in the habit of stropping everything before, during and even after use. The more you stay on top, the less problems you will have with trying to sharpen a severely dull knife later. The best knife steels I have found for leather are the high alloyed steels, some classified as high speed steel. The wear resistant alloys keep them sharper much longer, their higher hardness allows them to become sharper than that possible of simple steels, and the ones made correctly can do all of this without being edge chippy or brittle. I love sharp edges that stay sharp, so I'm not a fan of the high carbon simple steels in my leather work. I have played with them a lot, but they just require a lot more breaks for stropping, or stoning to keep that surgical edge.

Also, in case it isn't obvious, always strop edge down.

You will be fighting a few issues with the HF belt sander. As others have mentioned sharpening on slack belt is tricky to not develop a rounded edge. A lot of guys still do this with the right angle and pressure, but no matter how you do it, you will get an elliptical convex edge, that I find far from ideal and tend to burden your next sharpening efforts. If you try to sharpen against a platen then you will have more heat (that belt sander is running at a high belt speed) plus you have to take into effect the belt movement, and true flatness of your platen. Even with a true flat platen you will have enough belt bounce to round and edge, especially if you grind edge up. Belt grinders are great for knocking down your primary bevel and I like them for power stropping. Use it to restore or add a bevel to a dull knife, then switch to hand sharpening. when you are all done it and it should be very sharp, a leather belt strop works well with a little CO. Just be sure you focus your pressure at the back of the sharpening bevel and that will lend just a small amount of stropping to the edge. Very easy to overdo things with power tools, and that belt sander is running fast enough and likely wild enough to make for a sharp learning curve. May want to practice on the axe and hatchet and garden tools first.

"If it's not Scottish it's CRAP!!!".

Elmax steel, 62 RC, 0.09" thick.

Thanks, and yes stabilized black palm.

Just finished this one up. Being a leatherworking knife I thought I would share.

Like the carving wraith, very distressed looking.

That's a nice edge right there.

Did not mean any offense Ray, just trying to point out that chemical names can sound more devious than the common names. For example I listed 2-hydroxypropane-1,2,3-tricarboxylic acid because that is scary sounding chemical name, when it is only citric acid (lemons). If you're going to make a habit of exposing yourself to most any type of chemical or dust, you should take precautions. I try to be consistent wearing a respirator when I'm grinding steel. I doubt the metal will cause me much issue, but the abrasive dust if exposed to enough over sufficient time will be a problem. I always wear gloves when handling glues and dyes, and that should be fine until the chemical in the gloves gets to me. These topics always make me think back to the timeless saying of "everything in moderation".

I used to read that on nearly every canister or container we had in the shop. I always thought we were safe as long as we stayed away from California?

Been a few years since organic chemistry, and I don't have anything particular to add about disodium pyrophosphate other than this, don't judge it by the name. I know we are living in an age where people are looking to identify evil "chemicals" in everything we use and eat, but chemical names always sound unnatural, and most are quick to assume they are straight from some toxic refinery. It is added to hashbrowns to prevent darkening. I can't say I agree with it's necessity, as I'm more concerned with flavor than appearance, but many people would see dark brown frozen taters and assume they are spoiled. Did you know many people add 2-hydroxypropane-1,2,3-tricarboxylic acid to keep apples from darkening? I'm guilty of this myself. I have to say that dark dried apples don't bother me, I just like the flavor of apples with lemon juice. Perhaps someone more current on their organic chem can inform us more of this particular compound.

Wow! Way to set the bar on carving Monica! The contrasting white thread is a great touch.

Hey I tried this line and was challenged with the fact the month wasn't over yet. Counting today, you still have 5 days!

Thanks everyone, it's my second attempt at a wallet and I'm finding leatherwork more enjoyable since learning on this forum.

Love your pockets, very nice

Needed a break from knives, so I worked on this. Maybe I'll find a sucker looking for a special Valentine's day gift.

Love the last few comments. NVleather, Leatherwytch and Tramp excellent advice, and so true. I think any of us craftsman get to deal with what I label Kmart syndrome. So many people focus entirely on price and quantity they don't even consider quality. They have in their mind that if a wallet at Kmart or Walmart costs $25 than that is the set price for any wallet. What's even more hilarious is those who spend more for the name brand product who is having their item made in the sweatshop next to the one producing the generic brand item. Do you honestly think Nike apparel is superior when their investment is 1/10 of 1% in their clothing line? I'm willing to wager that the pay and skill at the Nike sweatshop is not anything improved over the knockoff brand. The "more than you can afford line" is perfect and will cut out a lot of nonsense. The most common I hear in regard to my knives is "I can buy a knife for $50 in the store" I usually reply something along the lines of "Great, go buy one then, because I don't make $50 knives". It's also a daunting task to educate a consumer, but I've had a few converts. The best customers are self educated and they are the ones who begin to understand quality, labor, and investment. The more they understand, the more reasonable your price becomes. Sorry you lost your potential sale, but you really didn't lose anything. People who don't understand and can't appreciate your work choose their fate of Kmart living. Not the worst thing, and many people live that way, but they will never be the clientele for your custom made goods.

This was a fun project and really consumed all my free time since Monday when I decided to take up the challenge. I had ideas of a far more intricate and expansive Yggdrasil, but limited myself on account of time. The inside is calfskin, and pigskin, and the sewing is braided spectra, compliments to my archery endeavours. First time using a template and I found it very straightforward and enjoyable. I modified the pockets and realized it would create a gap along the seam, but decided I would try it and see if it didn't make it look a little more different than the rest.

Impressive work so far everyone. I like how the simple variations in this pattern create a complete different look, not to mention the choice in materials. I have to say you lit a fire under me with this idea so I will be joining this months project with pictures very soon. Good luck to all and keep up the good work.

I thought submissions were due the 25th of the month? I will probably make this pattern regardless, it looks very functional.

Damn, stumbled on this thread a bit late for this month. Great idea and I hope to join in for a couple of the projects.