garypl

I use a Japanese marking knife to skive - it's about 1/2" wide and is as sharp as a scalpel. I bought it years ago in Japan for woodworking - suppose you could buy something similar at any good woodworking tool supplier.

Good luck Jon - I will be interested in seeing your results if you go this route. I actually enjoyed the process of looking at all of the different designs that came in. Once I awarded the job for the best concept, I tweaked the design a bit until it was just what I wanted. You are welcome to PM me if you have any specific questions or want to chat on the phone about it. Gary

I think it looks good. I made a wallet out of very lightweight goat skin once and I didn't like that it puckered/wrinkled in a few spots from the stitching. Looks like you might have a little of that going on on the outside - but still looks good! Gary

Jon - I have used a site called logotournament.com to develop a new company logo. You set the price you want to pay and graphic designers all over the world submit designs to you. If you see any you like, you select several designers and then tweak the design until you finally award the design to the winner. Its a novel idea and you receive many types of design concepts - I was very pleased with the final design that I selected. Only downside is the award you offer must be attractive enough to make it worthwhile for designers to want to work with you. I think I set my award at $500 and I received many creative designs to consider. Gary

Thanks Mattsbagger - I will try your technique! Thanks Gigi - I will download the manual! Thanks for the tips Richard - I will certainly try out your suggestions!

How do you hold the thin edges to get a good burnish? I find it difficult to burnish when the leather is soft - maybe it's just the less than ideal quality leather I am using? I'm trying to improve my skills and I appreciate the tips and suggestions I receive from everyone who contributes in this forum - thank you!

I agree Richard, that on thicker edges it is easier for me to burnish/dye. When I use very thin leather that is not easy to burnish, I like to use the edge paint - I get better looking edges this way. Small items like checkbook covers, eyeglass cases and other projects using thin veg tan - I also do this as a hobby, so I'm not particularly concerned about spending time on these type projects! Gary

Thanks for the photo Brian and comments on the Giardini. I spent just a few minutes yesterday with a small pallet knife heated with a small alcohol lamp (I use this for applying stick shellac when repairing finishes on wood projects) testing how it smoothed the edge finishes. It did not feel like it did anything to the Edge Kote, but I could see and feel it melting and smoothing the Angelus and Giardini edges. I want to do more testing and will publish more photos with the results. Gigi - good point - I have only worked with these on veg tan, but I have some chrome tan and will use the finishes on that as well and compare with the veg tan.

Really nice job on this bag! I am envious of your stitching skills!

Thanks - I use the Listerine when I make a bottle of wetting solution - I read somewhere that it helps prevent mold. Not sure if it works, but doesn't seem to hurt anything, so I'll keep adding a splash to my solution!

Hi Matt - thanks and I am interested in hearing about the Norsol - first I have heard of this brand!

Brian - I have not tried the Fenice, but may have to buy a small bottle. I also am going to see how applying heat with a tool works on the different edge finishes to smooth them out. I'll post results and pictures when I do.

You're welcome JD62!

I have acquired 3 types of edge finish paints and decided to do a comparison of the three. I painted 3 edges of a piece of 7-8 oz unfinished veg tan using Fiebings Edge Kote, Angelus Acrylic Edge Paint and Giardini MaxMatte Edge Paint. I thinned the Giardini with about 20% water and the other two I used right out of the bottle. Picture 1: Picture 2 is the Fiebings Edge Kote. I applied two coats of each type paint using an edge roller, sanding lightly between coats with 400 grit wet/dry paper. Picture 3 is the Angelus paint: Picture 4 - Giardini paint: I let the paint dry overnight, then took a clean cotton cloth and vigorously rubbed each edge to see how much paint rubbed off. See results in pictures 5, 6 and 7: The Fiebings had the most paint come off on the cloth. I noticed that the Fiebings paint felt dull and slightly coarse, while the Angelus and Giardini both felt smoother and almost like plastic. Next I applied a coat of my leather dressing to each edge, allowed it to dry for a few minutes, then buffed with a clean cloth. The results are shown in the next 3 pictures: Fiebings Angelus Giardini I was surprised to see how much of the Angelus paint rubbed off, while the Fiebings and Giardini both had very little rub off. All three edges had a dull luster after buffing. In my opinion, the Giardini worked the best. It gave a durable, smooth finish and I liked the glossy look. I would not apply any type of finish over the panted edges. Next I would choose the Angelus paint, followed by Fiebings. The Giardini was the most cost effective at @$38 delivered for 1 liter (and it can be diluted with 20% water). It will probably last for many years at the rate I use it, assuming it doesn't gum up from age! I am interested in hearing from other leather workers who may or may not have had similar results using any of these paints. Hope some folks find this information to be useful!

I'm not saying it's a scam - I just happen to have denatured alcohol on hand (use to mix shellac) and it is a good solvent for cleaning purposes or to thin dyes.

I have a small squeeze bottle filled with denatured alcohol and after about 6 months it is fine. The tip makes it easy to clean my airbrush, just turn the brush upside down, squirt some alcohol in the feed tube, and spray it clean. Also makes it easy to dilute oil dyes - add dye to airbrush bottle and squirt alcohol into the bottle.

They look great Bolt! I especially like the Black and Tan model.

You are probably right Wiz - I bought an upholstery side at Tandy that was pretty inexpensive.

I agree with fredk - two pieces of upholstery leather sewed together should cover a pool table. Cost might be around $85-100 per piece, so not extremely expensive if you really want leather.

I had a piece of embossed leather that was 3-4 oz and it was stiff as cardboard - that's why I asked. I bought it at Tandy and I believe at the time that all the embossed pieces were pretty stiff. I'll look through the pile the next time I go there to see if any of the embossed pieces are less stiff. I'll have to try adding a bit of NF oil to the piece I have to see how much I can soften it up.

I was surprised to learn the leather was so thick - what did you do to make it supple enough to bend and easily fold over to close the journal?

Nice job! Please provide details (i.e. Weight leather, thread type, dimensions, etc.)

I remember I wore a 34" belt many years ago - they must be making belts with smaller leather because now I need a 38" belt! LOL!

Beautiful work!

I tend to overdo projects I make because I don't like my projects wearing out or breaking prematurely!