sharkeyfinn

hi eveyone, ive been asked to make something like the picture, but i dont know the name for the o ring triangle thing on the front, could anyone enlighten me or point me at a retailer in the uk . thanks :-)

wrong place

nicely done gemfox, wait till you get the airbrush bug :-)

very tidy, nice work :-)

hi jim, its a craftaid http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/112021286976?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2648&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT you shuld e able to get onefrom tandy or ebay :-)

hi everyone, thank you for the kind words, and hi wulfing, im not far from lulworth cove if you know it and they are they are just double cap rivets with the antique brass finish :-) and hi bonecross, , that was actually a double stitch,that i didnt notice until i took this picture DOH! :-) and yes, celtic design is all carved ,bevelled and back grounded by hand, took a while.... lol ;-)

hi everyone, just finished this today,

great first attempt sam :-) you will learn something every time you make something, a couple of suggestions to be going on with, dont over do the water when wetting down your project, a quick run under the tap or a spray bottle will be enough for thinner leathers,then allow it to dry off for a couple of minutes, try using a camouflage tool around the edge of your basket weave tooling, learn how to sharpen your tools, even if you just bought a brand new edge beveller ,lifter, swivel knife etc, always give them a sharpen before you start any project, moist of all, keep at it, your doing great :-)

the easiest way to look at any bag, is to start with a square/rectangle ,the same dimensions as you want the finished bag to be, and work from there. so grab some pizza boxes or some large card and make it out of cardboard first, then use that for your templates. front-back(with flap)- gusset and thats the basic format for any bag all the rest is down to personal preference. re stitching or lacing. search pinterest for ideas or any site you can find with what your basically looking for . and of course keep plugging away on here for help, but most of all DONT GIVE UP :-) regards sharkey :-)

hi rub, im on etsy too, i have a friend who does pyrography/etching on wood etc, and her advice was to have at least 60 + listings to be taken seriously as a seller,she made 40 grand from etching stuff on hammers etc :-) . i have around 50 items at the moment and i average 2 likes and 50 views per day, 80 views in a week is fair going for a single item, so get busy and get noticed lol ;-)

i just wanted to show this before i do the dying process.......just in case i fluff it up :-)

im likely to be hung by my thumbs for saying this.....but, personally i think the leather was "too" wet when you carved it. casing thick leather is absolutely the right thing to do, however, 3mm is the thickest i have used yet ,and simply running it under the tap is ample to get a nice crisp carve, when the leather is too wet is goes like putty, which is a little like your picture, also, the design you are carving from is fine, but .. for example , the top left of the flower sort of merges with the rest of the design, with no clear outline, if i may suggest an exercise , try carving just the flower, inside a box leaving say half an inch all the way around, bevell round the flower,then use your back grounder out to the inside edge of the box, start a new carve, but this time add just a couple of shoots, nothing fancy, the idea is to get your carving precise and crisp, and as someone pointed out, try using a form of highlighter, or antique dye, i use the smoke black ecoflow highlighter, it really help bring out the detail . the only other thing i will say is, stick at it, practise is ,as always the key word ,, you have all the right ideas and the know how,with the bonus of being able to design your own designs, personally i cant draw for ......well you get my drift lolol ;-)

very very nice, did you forget the holes or is that the design , either way top job :-) your keepers look fine, options for you to try, use thinner leather, skive both ends, if you did skive them, skive a bit further along, if you want them with crisp edges, make a press from 2 pieces of wood when the leather is wet and bend it to get a nice edge, however, like i said, your keepers look fine,

just a thought, but what about using a button hole punch, then half the works done :-)

hi moon, :-) my advise would be to start with plain old veg tan, you can buy it in all shapes and sizes,and thicknesses, aside from some oiled bullhide, veg tan is the go to leather for me, i use 3- 3.3mm for belts and fetish collars/pet collars and occasionally for bags,depending on the customers preference . however for things like bags and purses i use 1-2.5mm veg tan, the thinner veg can be used to make pretty much anything and will take a carve. if carving is something you are interested in, try to make something from the 3mm, the thicker the leather gives better results than the thinner stuff ,and in the long run will give you a better feel for carving on the thinner leathers. i started around 3 years ago and its part of my working life now, im no where near supporting myself yet but im hoping in time it will at least keep the wolf from the door. places like etsy.com are a good place to look for ideas and eventually sell your wares if you so choose. i live in england and my shop of preference is theidentitystore.co.uk they sell some really lovely veg tan and other leathers and tools too, however its probably a bit too far for you lol. welcome the forum and we are all looking forward to seeing your work here soon. :-)

hey jcuk :-) to be honest, i tend to use both, i use the fiebings for darker browns and the ecoflo for lighter ones, i tend to find the ecoflow better for belts as it seems to leave them more supple,also the less dye you use, the more supple the belt hence why i dont dye the flesh side, plus i feel it gives the belts that "real" leather look and feel, however that might just be down to the finishing with neatsfoot and aussie leather balm, the identity store do sell tandy products but i think they get their leather from a different supplier ,ive never had any complaints with the leather i have had from them,i do a fair bit of carving,and the tandy leather doesnt seem to carve very well,dont get me wrong, im no tandy basher, ive just found the right place for what i do :-)

hi jcuk, i have found the eco flow water based dyes pretty good, and the fiebings dyes are lovely,if a little bit messy, to seal colour, you can use a number of things, ecoflow super sheene, resoline, tancoat, to name a few, personally when doing belts, i leave the roughside natural and give it a good coat of neatsfoot oil, and the dyed side i use aussie leather balm, on 3-3.5mm veg tan ,the 2 together give the belt a loely supple feel, and as yet i havent had any complaints about bleed. regarding the tandy leather, personally i have found the identity store provide a nicer quality leather than tandy,thats not to say what your enquiring about isnt any good, just personal experience hope this helps :-)

really like this :-)

Hi everyone, i recently had a very positive exchange with a customer on etsy,who bought one of my other line of belts, he expressed an interest in a ranger style belt,but tooled ,and with a buckle set of his choosing, so i thought it would be a good idea to have a practise at this style of belt,just in case the customer did come back one day :-)

hi everyone thanks for the comments, i posted this a while ago, and have a piece of advice to "give "now :-) i was told to start stitching from the middle and work up to the top,then go back to the middle and restart a new stitch and work up the opposite side,however,the one i use the most,is to just measure round the outside edge and add and inch or so and then trim it to length afterwards. :-)

hi everyone, its been a while since i posted on here, so heres a choice item from the uploads i did today. a very big thank you to all that have given advice ,

my dear ol dad turns 80 next month, we have been shooting every summer for the last few years,he made himself a longbow a year or so back, so i thought he might like this ;-)

which groover do you have? i find this one has eliminated 90% of my problems having the cutting edge inline with your hand and what your doing gives you more controlcontrol

hi everyone, i recently purchased a couple of norse style throwing hawks, from a little company called thrower-joe, he imports all types of hawks and throwing knives from the usa ,and being a fan of these sports i thought i would put a leathercraft twist to the ones i bought and use them for display purposes. although im quite happy with this first attempt im wondering if anyone has any advise on how to make them look a bit more authentic, i have seen ones that use strips of leather for the latice but im unsure of what to use, any advice greatfully recieved ;-)

thanks papaw, i did see this one but its for making the scout mocs, i need the inca moc but thanks anyway