sheathmaker

There would likely be no tariff on Terry's knives, but shipping to the UK could raise the end user price considerably........although the knives are small and don't weight much at all so considering the excellent quality of The Knip knives it could be well worth it. Another excellent maker is Joshua Fields. I have both the "Knip" and the Fields and they are both great. Paul

Weel, I called it Nylon, but I don't really know what it's made of. I most probably is a plastic or ploy of some sort. I get a lot of use out of mine like I said on longer runs of borders. My very first one came from Tandy, but they discontinued them years ago and i finally found them again at Springfield and they said they were going to discontinue therm, so I bought 50 so I could have them on hand for people who saw them demonstrated on my four instructional videos, and then Springfield decided to continue with them and that's a good thing. Paul

I had Bob bBeard make one for me out of tool steel (with his traditional gun blueing) and the nylon bevelers are head and shoulders above the steel in my opinion. The steel seemed to drag and the nylon is smooth as silk. That was my personal experience with each of the two types. These are really inexpensive, so you may want to try one just for the heck of it. Paul

I have had this one for years and use it with nearly everything that has a border to bevel. I use them primarily for long runs such as border work. The border on the sheath in the photo was done with it. I prefer the conventional bevelers for carving work. You can get them at Springfield Leather. (They generally have banner ads at the top of this forum) Paul

I'm sure it's great, but unless and until you upload the photos, I can't see them . I get either non opening or "Safari can't find the server" Paul

Your Cobra 14 will probably do the job......BUT I would first remove the blade and strop it to make sure it has a sharp "new" edge and then take a small piece and do a test split to be sure the temper of your leather is going to run through smoothly and give about the required thickness. If all goes well, hold your breath and split the oversize wallet pieces. Good Luck! I have successfully split many different exotic leathers other than veg tan on my C14, but there is always the chance for a screw up.

Beautifully executed. You are good! Layout, carving, tooling, all very pleasing. I'm sure your customer will agree. Paul

If you lay out your belt pattern slightly oversize also and the glue the liner(also oversize) and then cut, the result will be a smooth edged belt ready form burnishing. I would still use a round knife for this. Paul

I've been at this since 1951. I have come to believe the "Wow" factor is pretty well hidden in the last 3% of any project. By that I mean too many folks quit at 97% saying things like "that's good enough"......well, for me it's not good enough until it's perfect....(by the way I've never hit that magical perfect mark yet!). I won't buy "that's good enough", but I will buy and help where I can if I hear "that's as good as I am capable of right now". I think the Wow factor comes with the consumer's very first impression of your work, and you rarely get a chance for a second first impression. The wow factor is when they consumer thinks, "Boy that's really expensive, but look at the fine quality and finish; it's certainly worth it compared to this other one" Above all, be patient . Great skill does does appear over night, it's earned one day at a time with improvment piled on top of improvement. You have to be honest and be your own harshest critic, because there will always be those who say "GREAT JOB, Fantastic when you know in your heart it's not so great. ...and I still say if I ever make that absolutely perfect piece, I stop while I'm ahead and so far I haven't stopped in over 60 years. Paul

But you did do a really nice dye job won the front. No run overs on the back side. That is just great. Paul

For what it's worth.....I buy ONLY W&C skirting sides, and have it split to what ever thickness I want. Since this discussion is primarily about "natural", "oak" or whatever I won't bring up the vat dyed colors I use which happens to be 5 colors. I buy Russet color and it oils, dyes, carves, and stamps just about like the HO I used years ago. It is very consistant in color and quality from one order to the next. While I specialize in custom knife sheaths, I use the various weights for many other projects as well. I tried some of the "tooling"leather in the past and if I recall it was a lighter shade which might be attributed to a slightly different protocol in the tanning process. I have splitter and can make use of most of the belly leather of which nearly all has good and useful top grain, so most of that goes for 2/3Oz. lining material, or an occasional wallet, etc. so buying full sides makes sense in my operation. Paul

A very simple solution. Glue up first and then click. Nice even edges, and carving or tooling a double thickness rarely stretches any at all. it works for me. Paul

Rocko, if you want perfect points, then intentionally fail to join the point lines by about 1/64" and then let your beveler create the point. Works every time. Paul

It will be interesting to semis they can duplicate the properties of veg tan leather, ie carving, stamping. I can see how it could replace chrome for clothing, upholstery, fashion bags and purses etc Paul

The suede is NOT going to finish exactly like the veg tan. You will always see at least a texture difference. Any finish (bees wax, saddle soap etc. will darken if not stain the suede. For the application intended for these two pieces, I believe I would finish both pieces of the veg tan completely and then glue up the lining and then trim it flush with a #11 Exacto blade and leave it with the very sharp cut edge with no further finish. When in actual use the suede will become almost "invisible" any way Placing the mats between two flat surfaces under weight should take care of the curling. In fact, if they are just damp, not wet, that would be even better. Just let them dry completely under the weight. If you are lining something else, knife sheath, holster etc. the process is entirely different. Paul

Well. I don't know for sure because I've never tried them, but I'll bet big bucks that they will work. The Ligne 20 and Ligne 24 snaps are uniform from just about any source and the dies are produced to the same tolerances. I have the Tandy press and dies which are now many years old (It's so old, it's blue instead of red) and I have run snaps through it from many different sources. Paul

My experience along this line is that 2/3 veg tan is just about perfect for the task. I make a piece for the outside consisting of 2 layers of 2/3 cemented flesh to flesh and then the end "sleeves" are just one piece of 2/3. Finished product shows no raw flesh side and remains thin enough to work and use comfortably. Bends nicely at the spine and ism easy to use thereafter. Paul

Rocko, that's Axis Deer. Indigenous to India, but now we almost have as many here in the hill country as the White Tail deer, (and probably as many as India)! Paul

@Alane, A few years ago I hit on the idea of custom "Arena" chairs and used the bar stool height director's chairs for the purpose. They were just right to pull up to the area fences and sit comfortably and watch the Equine and Bovine shenanigans take place. They were very popular, generally sold in pairs and I sold something over 100 of them before I just got tired of making them. I used NuBuk leather7/8 Oz. where there was usually canvas and then overlaid 7/8 Oz veg tan skirting for the decorative and custom parts. This allowed sufficient thickness and strength to prevent sagging The NuBuk was just right to fit in the slots on the seat with the metal rod I used to replace the dowel. From that point the only limit was your or my imagination regarding the custom work, tooling, inlays, etc. They sold for almost unbelievable prices and it seemed like once the first couple showed up at a show, then every body had to have a pair. Ah, the good old days! Any way you might get an idea or two for your project. Good luck! Paul

Bill, there is one book you should get if you don't already have it. "Leathercraft Tools" how to use them, how to sharpen them by Al Stohlman. I believe theTandy stock number is 61960. The book deals with tools, not stamps. I don't know if I've ever seen a complete, all in one place, glossary of stamps, but there has been over the years a wealth of information concerning stamps and their individual differences and uses in the "DoodlePages" which are no longer produced, but Tandy has them for download for a price. (they used to be free and came out once a week or so and could be picked up a the Tandy stores). Stohlman's "Figure Carving" book Also has a wealth to stamps and their individual use. With regard to different bevelers, there are plain, lined and checkered. Within each of those there are deep (steep),rounded, pointed, undercut, and within those there are many different sizes from small to very large. Each has a use or it wouldn't exist, your experience level and the type work you want to do dictates whether or not you either need or want a certain type. This general theme repeats itself throughout the various categories of stamps. First you have general categories, Bevelers, Seeders, Crowners, Border, etc, etc, etc. then within that you have the plain, checkered, lined, etc., then within even that you have various sizes, yet all are called bevelers, or seeders and so on. If you decide to do figure carving. you need to "specialize" your tools to accomplish that best. Sheridan style carving also requires some specialized tools but they also fall within the general categories of Bevelers, Pear shaders, Background etc. Don't try to get them all at once. One to two here and there as the need arises when you spot one you need or one that will do the job with more precision and in 50 years or so you'll have over 400 (like me) Good Luck Paul

Try an #18 needle and see what happens. My 69 thread likes the 18 much better. Paul

I go one step further. I layout the belt width I want and then block cut that out with about 1/8" margin and then cut the back piece about 1/8" larger than that on both sides and then cement it flash to flesh, and then I cut out the actual belt width. Nice 90 degree edges and ready to edge and burnish. it wastes a little bit of leather, but the quality of the finish is worth it. I line everything I make so I use this procedure on just about everything,' holsters, knife sheaths, belts, head stalls spur leathers, whatever. Paul

That is correct, one blade, and on the Cobra 14, unless they have changed something recently, a straight blade screw driver and the correct size Allen wrench is all you need to remove the blade and insert a new one. Paul

@bikermutt07, the Cobra 14 is below the strap cutter, scroll on down. Paul

@Dun, reference your baby cousin's scissor case. The leather is not really all that important. Could be either Veg. Tan or Chrome Tan. Think about how the case will be used, scissors in and out multiple times a day. The interior will burnish fairly quickly. The Exterior will pick up oil (ever so slight) from the operator"s hand and will fairly quickly glaze slightly and patina naturally. The case will likely spend its life in a clean climate controlled environment, therefore any concern about leather care will, in fact, be minimal and any conditioning efforts will be few and far between If veg. tan a very light coat of either Neatsfoot Oil or Virgin Olive Oil every few years is about all it would need. If Chrome, leather cream or some other "balm" same time table. If I were building it, I think I would use 2/3Oz veg. tan cemented flesh to flesh so the case would be self lined when finished. Just stack it up front panel, back panel, and welt would not even be necessary. Long life, low maintenance. Paul