Colt W Knight

You can put an amazing edge on things with an inexpensive double sided Norton stone and a strop/fine steel. I put razor edges on knives with one of these for years http://www.amazon.com/Norton-614636855653--8-Inch-Combination-Oilstone/dp/B000XK5ZDY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1459563089&sr=8-1&keywords=norton+sharpening+stone

That is definitely an edge paint of some sort, which may or may not have been applied with a heated tool.

http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm308/coltwknight/Leather%20Work/received_10103120989528890_zpskx605clj.jpeg.html

I use shearling and deer skin on my really nice straps Wool needs trimming to really make it look right http://s299.photobucket.com/user/coltwknight/media/Leather%20Work/received_10103120989528890_zpskx605clj.jpeg.html http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm308/coltwknight/Leather%20Work/PA%20strap%204%201%20of%201_zpsq1lsukja.jpg.html http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm308/coltwknight/Leather%20Work/FrenchStrap3_zps2530050a.jpg.html Here is the super soft and squishy felt and deerskin http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm308/coltwknight/Leather%20Work/VanFlowersStrap2C_zpsa4a774b6.jpg.html

Neoprene, foam rubber, and other types of rubbers and vinyls will melt Nitrocellulose lacquer, a common finish on expensive guitars. Keep that in mind. Best and most practical padding I have used on a guitar strap is to line the strap with a sandwhich of wool felt and deer skin on the back.

Nothing wrong with that stitching. Once you get some practice in with the edge guide, you can sew that belt in about 30-45 seconds.

I have the 3/8 and 1/2 Crafttool Pro swivel knives and they are both very, very nice. Haven't tried any of the expensive boutique knives though

I find its easier to make cursive writing look nicer freehand than block letters.

Kudos, that is a slick pair of boots.

I bet if you take a smooth faced hammer, and tap those stitches just a bit it will look even better. When I sew belts, I use a bit longer stitch length, but not much.

That is very nice work

I also always melt thread ends, and yes the smoke from melting that stuff is super nasty. I where a double cartridge respirator when I burning holes or ends.

I have a Consew 206RB walking foot machine, and I use #23 leather point needles and 138 bonded nylon thread to sew my garment weight leather purses. My machine is super picky about needle placement when sewing leather. It needs to be set just right or it will fray thread like crazy.

Good looking machine, looks a lot like a 227.

I've seen people asking up 500$ for them in Tucson, but most were ~$100. Here in WV I hardly see any old singers come up for sale.

I think a fair value on those 15-91s is 50-150$

I use chrome tanned leather about ~3 ounces and line with cloth, canvas, or whatever suits my fancy. If I want to add tooling, I sew on a 5-7 ounce piece of vegtan with the tooled pattern I like. I came up with my own shapes/patterns, so I am not sure what the Tandy patterns call for. I use a lot of deer skin or garment type leather for purses because the women Ive made purses for all love how soft it is. Using the weights I mentioned, they purses keep their shape and don't flop around like a cloth, especially after they have all their stuff in there. The pockets and side gussets add some rigidity as well.

Not everyone has a metal lathe.

If you make the cover to thick or too rigid, it will rip the spine right off the book. I used 4-5 ounce vegtan for the outside and line in a soft lambskin or chrometan leather. In the same respect, the book needs to slip freely in the cover when opening to prevent the leather from grabbing and ripping off the spine and jacket as well.

I would line the belt with a vegtan leather, glueing the 2 flesh sides together. Then you really have a belt that will hold up and look nice. A coat light coat of anything will still allow the leather to age.

Machines that sew leather well are expensive. I had an old Singer 66 that would sework what you are describing, but I had to buy a new motor and pulley to add power and torque. Even then, it didn't control the feed real well. I fussed with it for a while, but got fed up and bought a real compound feed walking foot machine. The lighter to medium duty machines pop up occasionally for 4-600 $ used, and sometimes a good deal will pop up less than that. In most markets though, used leather machines are pretty rare

I just finished making 30 GPS tracking collars for cattle out of booths new material. I used #138 thread and had to sew with a needle 2 sizes larger than normal to get it to pull the knot up through.

I use a small artist brush, dip it ito in the dye, and then dab the brush in the middle of the letter and let the dye flow out to the edges. The stamped edges act like a border so the dye stays within the stamped portion of the leather. I do the same thing when I amoved dying backgrounds in tooling. Just be careful not to drip dye transfering the brush from the dye to the leather Repeat until you get full coverage

Use a setting tool. It looks like a metal rod about 4 inches long with a domed end. Set the dome over the rivet head, and give it a good whack or two. I have different size setters for different styles/sizes of rivets.