Early2rise

Neatlac is now sold under the name clear lac and is available from panhandle leather. If you're using it in something that will flex a lot, cut it 50/50 with the thinner and apply lightly with a piece of sheeps wool. The traditional finish for whips is said to be shellac but I have had less than desirable results. It looks good for a while but then starts to flake off and is very spotty. Any finish you choose will eventually crack or flake if applied to heavily, especially with a lot of flexing.

Cheap leather will nearly always wrinkle around the cuts, even with a sharp knife. If I could find a way to keep it from happening, I'd be a very happy camper. Oh, and cheap doesn't necessarily refer to price! There are some very expensive, cheap leathers out there.

Ok I see. Since I do things in a different order, it's hard to say whether mine does that or not. But I will try next time and see what happens. As long as it looks good when you're finished, that's all that really matters. I've only played around with the russet color a few times. I like the look but I haven't found a project that I think it would go good with yet. Here's a small piece I was messing around with quite a while ago.

I bevel first so it's hard to say. But, either that's a dark piece of leather or it's WAY too wet to be tooling.

Usually, the thumbprint will push and round out the edge, not pull it in. Are you making your initial swivel knife cuts deep enough? And is the knife actually cutting or could it be only making a deep crease? I've seen dull knives do that and it looks like it's cut but the top layer never actually gets broken. That's all I can think of right off hand. Btw, I had nothing but problems when trying to tool inferior leather. I always thought I just was never gonna improve. Then I finally tried Hermann oak and everything fell in place. I still have LOTS of improving to do but the leather really makes a difference.

Get the side. You will use every inch of it for something sooner or later. Every time I have an off-cut from cutting out a pattern, my mind immediately starts thinking of what I can use it for. As stated before, there's always dye testing, making strops for your knives, practice cuts if you tool, straps, etc.

Thanks for the input. I've used it quite a bit on smooth leather but never on my tooling. I was just concerned about it washing out my tooling, much the same thing that happens when you keep rewetting a piece while tooling. All the fine lines of the tool seem to round out and won't hold antiquing as well. It used to happen to me a lot before I finally learned how to properly case. Now I seldom have to add any moisture at all.

I'm sure you've heard of neatlac which is not available anymore. Although there are some alternatives available which are supposed to be the exact same thing, they are rather expensive to ship. So instead, I go to Lowes and buy Deft brand brushing lacquer and mix 50/50 with lacquer thinner. I use the semi-gloss to exactly replicate the original neatlac but you can use either flat or semi. It doesn't really matter because when you cut it in half with thinner it's gonna be flat anyway. I use it all the time for my antiquing resist and top coat on my tooling. I need to emphasize, Deft brand brushing lacquer! It dries slower and has an additive which makes it slightly more flexible than regular lacquer, just like neatlac did.

I read where quite a few people clean their leather before finishing using oxalic acid. I specifically remember hidepounder saying this. Here's my question: How do you prevent it from causing your tooling to look washed out? After all, your adding water to the tooling. Also, do you let your tooling dry before cleaning or immediately after the tooling is finished? Thanks

Also, look at some of the older wall paper designs. Around the time of World War II there were some very ornate wall papers being used. Funny that they almost all had vines, flowers and leaves woven together but somehow did not have that western look to them??

I've been using the #27 size bar grounders from barry king. I would like to get a larger size for things like full size notebooks/photo albums, etc. I'm looking at the #35 size. Anyone with experience with these think it would be too big? Any suggestions. Thanks

I have a Gibson and a Huber, both with cradle straps that were purchased. I've always planned to make my own straps but it keeps getting pushed to the back of the line.