lcmattson

Thanks everyone for the advice! Sona, that sheath is beautiful! The blue is exactly the color I am looking for. Did you make the knife as well?

Hahaha! Touché. With the other colors, though, I haven't had the issue. But, yes, blue is a problem. Thanks for the visual! Nice carving, too.

Ah, I wasn't aware that Fiebings made a blue dye. I'll check that out! I haven't yet had a problem with the Pro Waterstain, but I'll keep an eye on it. Thank you!

Hey, folks. I am looking for some insight on dyeing leather blue (a dark, navy blue). I use Tandy's Professional Waterstain for the majority of my dyeing, but I've noticed that the blue fades to a odd pale greenish color over time. The dye will be coloring the covers of longstitch books. My question is: Is there a blue dye/stain that any of you have found that doesn't do this, or do I simply have to deal with it? Thanks! - Lauren

Also a good strategy. And I do agree with Cyberthrasher and Lightningad on this one. When I look for leather items, I do care about how it was crafted, and I will pay more for something because you can tell when someone put thought into the item. And as an art and design student, there's more to design than just slapping 2 pieces of leather together. I don't want glue I know it could be done with stitching, and I don't want stitching that's there just for show, because, in my opinion, function takes precedence over looks. And when a craftsman can combine function and beauty flawlessly, that's when items become worthy of expense, and that's what I'll dish out the dollars for. Excellent craftsmanship takes time and skill. In the same way, excellent leather working takes time and skill. The more time you put into something, the better it will be. If it could be fabricated so easily, there wouldn't be a point to selling it for more.

Cynical, but there are grains of truth there. I'll keep all that in mind! Thank you Roseville, St. Paul area.

Excellent advice; thank you!

Hey folks, I'm fairly new to leatherworking (I know the basics of tooling, sewing, lacing and carving), but I've never sold anything, and I'm curious if there is a "system", so to speak, on how to price original pieces of work. I've been making quivers lately, but I was asked to design a pattern for a belt. The job is easy enough, but I'm not sure how much to sell the pattern for, and then I started wondering how you folks price things for sale; whether it be finished pieces, or patterns and design-work. Thanks!

Drawing arrows isn't half bad, but I certainly won't be taking it hunting. I do agree that my next quivers will be slanted for any sort of hunting. Thanks, Shtoink! Thanks for the quick critique, Red Cent! I wasn't really planning anything for the design, and this quiver will only be for target practice and plinking around with my buddies in the back yard. No bells on this one, though, haha! The feedback you gave me is really helpful, and I will remember it for my next quivers.

First real project. Lots of amateur mistakes, and very simple build. I'd do it again, but more skillfully; clean up all the rough spots and add more stitching, but it was a good learning process. I kinda "MacGyvered" it, (harvested the hardware from horse halters, used an old bracelet for the decoration, didn't really research the strap system, and such) so its a bit scrappy, but I think I'm still proud of it for my first project that isn't a little bracelet or just designs on paper. I just wish I had carving tools and dye. Any tips on when I make more? I have 2 more in the works. One is still on paper, and the other I have the pattern cut out, but I haven't started sewing or anything like that.

Nevermind, folks! I found some

I'll definitely be getting foam for the bottom of the quiver. The arrow separators are a good idea, too, but this quiver that I have been commissioned on needs to hold 15 arrows with tips. So...it'll be rather large. I've got some efficient designs on paper already, but I'd be looking for a rack design like this, rather than tubes. I only need the straight line of grippers. I think I want two of them, 8 arrows long, each. I don't suppose anyone would know where to find these?

I'll be sure to pose those questions, and the foam blocks are a sound idea. I'll be sure to check Tandy to see what they have. Thanks so much for the info!

A friend of mine asked me to make him a back quiver and asked that I add a place to store extra hunting tips for his arrows. I could just make a pocket, but I was wondering if any of you folks know a better way to do it that might be better for the tips, and for the person who will be sticking their fingers into somewhere to get the tips. Also, there will be assorted tips on the arrows. I'm guessing I aught to put down something like sheepskin in the bottom of the quiver or something? The quiver I made for myself is pretty much for target practice arrows, so I didn't have to worry about hunting tips. What's the best way to go about this? Thanks, guys! - Lauren