Colt W Knight

I am amazed when I see people who can dye just one side of the leather cleanly. That is definitely not a skill I possess.

I am working on making a bunch of GPS tracking collars for cattle, and I realized that my economy punches and cutters weren't going to cut it when I start making 30 collars from heavy duty Latigo. I invested in some Weaver Master Tool brand Strap end cutter and Oblong punch. They are kind of pricey, but they were sharp out of the box, saved me a ton of time, and remained sharp even after using the tools to make 30 strap ends in 13 ounce leather. Very impressed with the 1 1'2" english point strap cutter. One whack with the maul, and I had a quick/clean end. and the oblong punch usually took two light smacks to get through the thick leather.

Very nice artwork.

Thank you. Yes I do, that is my 1992 Martin D-16H. The D-16 H is basically the same as the D-18V with a few cosmetic differences ( Binding is different, and originally came in satin, not gloss finish).

Thank you sir.

I am digging that handle.

I would love to see the tutorial

It is also important to know that cattle prices are at an all time high right now. Prices have doubled in the last year/year and half, and probably will not go down for at least another year or two. Not defending Tandy, but you can expect to see all beef products/byproducts to increase substantially.

What do you plan on sewing?

I saw this the other day, a custom corset pattern generator. I have no idea if its a good pattern or not. http://www.elizabethancostume.net/custompat/

Since those buckles were so cheap at Weaver, I went ahead and purchased some of those nice Master Tools oblong punches and strap end punches.

I am not using the GPS collars to find cattle, I am using it tell exactly where they have been, their distance traveled per day, distance traveled from water, and elevation. Thanks for the buckle link.

I am starting a new research project, and I need to make 30 GPS tracking collars for my PhD work. Anyone have a good source for buying some plain jane 1 1/2" belt buckles. These are going on cattle, so I need a sturdy buckle, however they need not be pretty. Regards, Colt

Thank you Bill.

Welcome, I also live in the Sonoran Desert.

Thanks

What are you calling a deer skinning knife? Are you talking about those Ulu type knives or a butchering knife with a big round tip? Actual knives designed for butchers to skin animals are generally thin, long and flexible so they can cut through fatty tissue holding the hide to the body and bend around the muscle tissue. I don't think they would be that great for leather work. Knives sold as hunting knives for field dressing deer generally have thick blades so you can use them to cut through bones. Those thicker blades wouldn't be that great for leather work. Leather working knives are designed to cut in a pushing/pulling motion where as most hunting/butchering knives are designed to slice/chop, and that is why they have such beefy handles.

I use this metal one from Tandy It isn't real high quality, but with a sharp blade, it makes quick work of cutting straps. I like that it will take cheap utility knife blades. I bought this wood top work bench to work leather. I like to make a straight edge cut first Then I hang that fresh straight edge off the side of the table, and run my draw gauge down the edge to the cut the strap. The table supports the weight of the hide so I can hold the draw gauge in the one hand, and hold the strap I am cutting in the other.

Is that going to some Italian Mafiosos? Very slick rig.

Yall are freakin' me out with this "Mr. Knight" stuff. I am just Colt. I really won't know how to act when I finish my PhD next year, and folks start calling me doctor. I was meaning to ask. What did you use for color? I love that color you have there. I don't like the browns I have tried so far. I end up using the ecoflow gel antique saddle tan and fiebings black for mostly everything.

Customer got his strap today. He was very happy with it.

Neat, I would have never thought to use the barb wire like that. I love coming to this place and see how folks think differently. Gives me all kinds of ideas. When I first got into leather work, the first stamps I bought were a barb wire set and an alphabet. I basically barb wired everything I made for a year or so.

Cool strap. I can just see that I would have been cussing a lot trying to figure out which color goes where on the "celtic knot" part of the dragon. I have had to get creative on a few guitar straps because guys tell me they don't want a country/western or cowboy guitar strap. The first time someone asked me that, I hadn't realized that my guitar straps were "cowboy" guitar straps, I just thought that is how guitar straps were supposed to be made.

I can honestly say I have never seen anything like that before. I can also say that I like it, a lot.