RandyScott

There are several more sheath forums available: The Knife Network Forums: The Sheath Making Forum (1259 threads in the forum) http://www.knifenetwork.com/forum/forumdis...mp;daysprune=-1 Also, British Blades Forums: Sheaths and Leatherwork Forum (1295 Threads in the forum) http://www.britishblades.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=5 Many, many hours of reading!

Josh, Dave has provided an excellent listing of suppliers and vendors to the knifemaking craft! Since you indicated there may be more questions in the future on knifemaking, perhaps it would be better to post those questions on one or more boards/forums catering to the knifemaking community, such as: www.knifenetwork.com/forum/index.php http://forums.dfoggknives.com/index.php?ht...foggknives.com/ http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=789 They all require registration to post and it is free. and finally, the following link contains a lot of links to great information! http://gbrannon.bizhat.com/

http://www.wrtcleather.com/ This is the link to Chuck's website.

Try these links: http://www.bowstock.co.uk/tutorials.html http://www.classicbells.com/verlane/sewing...tching_awls.pdf I found I needed a very good light source and a magnifying glass to see what I was doing to that tiny little blade. Good luck!

Gibbs, The value of this website and its forums is the availability of knowledgeable folks to help us noobs in this journey. Your intention was meant well however the links did convey some information that was not totally correct (and you are not responsible for the content of the videos). One of the primary rules in sharpening a knife blade is that the angle must be kept consistent and both sides must be consistent. The originator of the video clip did not have any narrative as to his experience level or what he was doing, yet it sounded like a production shop as I thought I heard tooling or stamping in the background. The head or round knife is a specialized knife that, when sharpened correctly, scares some of its owners so badly that they will not use it. Six inches of blade as sharp or sharper than a scapel. The stone he used was also dished out from useage. He was moving the handle end of the stone around and moving the blade around so much that I doubt seriously that the blade bevel angle would be consistent along the entire width of the blade. It also appeared the bevel was too narrow. At one point, he drug the blade edge off the stone and probably created a flat spot on the blade edge. Regardless, as was mentioned in previous posts in this thread, the blade, when sharpened properly, will not make any sound when cutting leather. Turn up the volume really loud and listed to the blade cut leather when he was testing the edge and also when he skived leather. I don't think the leather had been cased which may make a difference. The blade simply was not as sharp as it could have been. Was the blade sharp? Yes. Did it cut leather? Yes. Was its owner satisfied with the result? Yes. Yet there was something to be learned from the videos. I have never used a head or round knife nor have seen one used. I have seen the instructions on how to use the head or round knife by Al Stohlman mentioned in a previous post but seeing someone use the knife is worth 10,000 words. I was amazed at how straight the cut line was. I noticed how he started the cuts in the corners and either rolled or pushed the blade to cut through the leather and stopped the cut before the other corner, then start in the corner and cut back to his original cut. Just as described in the book. I also noticed how close a couple of finger tips were to that blade. Human flesh should never be in front of the cutting edge of that blade! I noticed how even and thin the skived leather edge was when skiving on glass. Better than I can do with a utility knife and a safety skiver! Additionally, for the noobs out there, there were other videos that were available that showed how to make a strop, how to add the compound to the strop, etc.. Any time there is video link, check out the others in that area, never know what you will find that may benefit you. A couple of tips: A quick test to see if there is any part of the blade edge that is not sharp is to hold the blade edge up with a source of light overhead. Examine the edge for reflected light (that is not sharp) or the lack thereof (that is sharp). What it shows are the flat spots or rounded edge. As mentioned earlier, draw the edge over a thumb nail, wet or dry works. Also, one can use the barrel of a Bic pen or felt tip marker. The sharp edge will cut a little notch and when the part that is not sharp hits that area, the blade will slide down the nail/pen or marker barrel. Just grasp the knife handle with thumb and the first finger, rest the blade edge on thumb nail or other and draw edge across. Make sure that is a towel underneath in case it slips out of your grasp. Take a black (blue, black, red - it doesn't matter as long as it is clearly visible) felt tip marker and color the entire bevel area of the blade, both sides. Then sharpen the blade as you normally do. Examine the blade. Any area with color was missed. Do the same when stropping the edge. You will be amazed at what you miss and it will help you improve your sharpening skills. I respectfully offer the above response from the perspective of a noob who brings some other perspectives with me, not as a put down, but that there is much to be learned in this craft by one and all, and especially me.

Campbell-Bosworth list the CS Osborne Harness Needle in Size 4: OS-517-4 http://www.campbell-bosworth.com/catalog/i.../sort/3a/page/4 or http://www.campbell-bosworth.com/catalog/p...products_id/938

I think that most of the rouge and polishes were designed for application on buffing wheels. As such the abrasive material is mixed with a high temperature grease or wax. When the stick was applied to the buff as it is turning, the friction created heat which melted the grease/wax and deposited the abrasive on the buff. I recently saw a video of someone using a candle to melt the stick of rouge/abrasive and smeared the melted stuff on his strop, similar to melting a crayon. He then used the same candle to bring the smeared stuff up to temp and then worked it into the strop material. Note: he did caution the viewer to keep the strop moving to prevent overheating the leather. He then used a knife blade to further smooth and work the abrasive into the strop surface. I have not tried this method yet.

Ed, I don't have any experience with a hand held 'circular' sander. The 'gyrating', I think it is also known as an orbital sander, may be a better solution. Just so we are on the same page: an orbital sander moves the face or platen rapidly back and forth in a short horizontal arc pivoting from the center of the platen. Some orbitals move the platen forward and back, some side to side, others in the arc motion described above. It is easier to control, the weight is less, therefore less risk of gouging or sanding a divot in the leather. There may be another type of obital sander that employes an off center mount yet spin or rotate the platen (hmmm.. circular?) to achieve a flat but somewhat random sanding pattern. It this is the type you refer to, my concern again would be torque. The faster it spins, the more torque and with more torque controlling the sander becomes an issue. Just a curiosity question or two Ed, what size workpiece are you trying to thin? How are you holding it flat? Randy

Ed, My experience with a hand held belt sander is that it is heavy, awkward and fast with lots of torque which makes it hard to get 'fine' control of it. As to the planer, I assume you are refering to a powered planer used to thin lumber. It uses some sort of traction mechanism to grab and pull the lumber through the planer. So that action alone would leave traction marks on the leather. I have a neighbor that is a finish trim carpenter and when he turns his planer on, it wails like a banshee. I think the planer blades are spinning so fast it would burn the leather if it did not just eat it all. Hmmmm, I just re-read your post... are you referring to a 'hand held planer'? I don't have any experience with one but I think it would be even harder to control. I know a hand held belt sander will eat a 1/4" gouge in oak lumber in the blink of an eye. Here is a link to an article "How to modify a spokeshare for paring leather", http://www.hewit.com/sd16-ss.htm, that I discovered some time ago. I just checked it and the link is still good. I found this on a leather bookbinding site, so it may have an application in your case. I hope this helps.. good luck! Randy

The Pebbler tools, PA003, PA004 & PA005 are listed in the 2008 catalog (page 37, top section of the page) as being available, or maybe more accurately 'not Discontinued'. In the 2008 Catalog Price list, they are each listed at $7.50. There was an earlier thread on the pebblers here: http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?s...ic=1613&hl=

A comment about the above posts on warming the vinegar: I picked up a 2 quart tupperware pitcher at a garage sale, filled it about 3/4 full of vinegar, dropped in a handful of rusty nails and set it in a window in the sun - like making 'sun tea'. Every morning the sun comes up again. Works great! The vinegar may work 'faster' when hot but even just warm it works fine.

Chuck Burrows is also known for his knowledge of natural dyes.. find his name in the member list or in a thread and then browse through his posts as I am sure this topic has come up before, if not in this forum then in another forum on another website. For a sticky on 'Alternative dyes.." try this link http://www.knifenetwork.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=16 and check the first sticky in the list.

"Is there any difference between harness needle brands. I think we're talking "John James" vs. "Osborne". I haven't seen any other brands on the "WWW". Do you have a favorite?" All I have ever seen (and my experience is limited) is offered by Tandy, C.S.Osborne and John James. The C.S.O. Catalog list various harness needle sizes and the Campbell – Bosworth website offered both C.S.O. and the John James in various sizes and they were in stock! The Tandy/TLF product may be the C.S.O. product re-packaged or private labeled for Tandy/TLF. My favorite turned out to be what was available in stock. "Now . . . do you have a favorite un-waxed linen thread brand? Is there a real difference between Barbour's (USA, red & black package) vs Barbour's Irish linen thread? Are there other Irish linen thread brands available in the U.S.?" I think the threads you referred to are one and the same. Campbell-Bosworth also offers a Hungarian brand that has received favorable comments. There may be other vendors/suppliers that offer an 'Irish linen thread' but I am not familiar with any (again, my experience is limited). "Lastly, do you have a preference for thread size and needle size combinations." I use 18/5 and a CSO #1 harness needle at 6 SPI for handsewing sheaths.

I use a cork from a wine bottle to back up the awl.

JBird, good first effort! A couple of suggestions: Dye the inside of the belt loop (and the inside of the keeper strap) a dark color - black, brown, etc.; round or point the end of the keeper strap; use the smallest edger you have on the keeper strap and the belt loop; use a contrasting but complimentary dye on the edges of the belt loop and keeper strap (requires a steady hand and the 'oh crap' factor goes way up!) ; in one photo (it is really dark and I may have mis-interpeted what I think I see) the spine side welt appears to be uneven, regardless, ensure all welt edges are sanded and burnished smooth; burnish all edges; and, my last suggestion is to pick up the piece, close your eyes and let you fingers explore the entire work piece and you will know what needs to be rounded, sanded, burnished, etc..

Check this link for Dale Grabowski's Sit-n-Stitch www.grandpas-pastime.com/stitch.htm Cost seems reasonable. Or check out the WildRose Trading Company plans for a Stitching Pony at this link: http://www.wrtcleather.com/1-ckd/tutorials/_stitchpony.html I made one of these over a weekend. The only reason it took that long is because I put a coat of varnish on it. If no varnish, done in a morning. Tools needed are minimal as are the skill needed to construct. Need a handsaw, miter box, hand drill, screwdriver, drill bits of couple sizes, plus the items in the material list. Cost me about $20 total.

Regarding baby food jars... years ago, when my kids were kids, the baby food jars had metal lids with the screw threads impressed into the rim of the lid.. when I fed my grandson recently I noticed the baby food jars now have a plastic liner that deforms when mating with the jar. I made an alcohol lamp from one and was dismayed when the lid popped off while the lamp was lit. The alcohol was denatured alcohol, the same used in spirit dyes. I am not sure if the alcohol or the heat caused the lid to pop off. The plastic had swollen which pushed the lid off the jar. Since you wish to store a dye, I suggest a more reliable container. A friend of mine uses old prescription or OTC drug containers, like the 200 count aspirin or vitamin bottles, to hold a small amount of dye for use at the dye table vs. trying to pour dye from a quart bottle when needed. I saw someone drop a quart of black pro oil dye once.... jeez... what a mess, and the language was atrocious too.

Cut stone first, then drink the beer. I learned that lesson when I moved once...

My first suggestion: find a local granite/marble countertop installer and pay them, if cost is reasonable, to cut it for you. A local stone company or tile installer may also have the ability to cut it for you. My other suggestion was mentioned by ArtS. If you have, or can obtain, a skill saw, buy the least expensive masonry diamond blade at Home Depot, Lowe's, Ace Hardware, etc.. You will use it to cut the piece and, hopefully, will never need it again. The blades are 7" - 7.5" in diameter and can be obtained for under $20. Cutting stone creates massive dust. Get a mask/filter to prevent breathing the dust. Clamp the stone to a sturdy surface. Wear steel toed boots or watch your toes when the cut piece drops!. Wear hearing protection.. huh, what did you say? Wear googles - high speed grit is not good on your eyes! Clamp a board to the work piece and use it as an edge guide for the saw, make the cut and the set up for the next cut. Your angles may not be precisely 90 degrees but the cuts should be straight. If someone will cut it for $20 and you do not have to worry about the safety issues, pay the money and don't look back. Edited: I see that someone posted the same info while I was typing my post..

Greg and Everyone.. my apologies on my calcs... I did use a calculator.. just a little ol' Casio 8 digit and thought I had gotten the decimal thing correct. So, after seeing your post I resorted to pen and paper and you are correct. I fall upon my sword.

There is a very old joke in the US, "I am from the government and I am here to help. Trust me!". Only one part of that statement is true! The initial draft of the bailout plan, if the news media reported it correctly, called for the Secretary to have unlimited, unfettered, unreviewable control over the entire bail out plan. He instantly would become the 'CEO' of a goverment organization with greater resources than some of the oil companies with "no Congressional oversight" of his actions. This situation, i.e., the 'credit crunch' is not new! It occurred in the mid 1970's and was referred to as "the period of dis-intermediation" if I recall correctly. The Viet Nam conflict was winding down and inflation was rising to pay for the vast sums of money expended (sound familiar?). The US Treasury raised the money by raising the interest rates paid on US Treasury Notes. This caused people to withdraw their money from (at that time the typical savings institution) the local Savings and Loan Associations to buy US Treasuries. The US Treasuries paid a lower yield because they were 'guaranteed by the faith and credit of the US Government'! This caused the lenders needing the money to compete against one another for the funds and they then paid a higher yield to compete for deposit funds. Investors demanded a higher rate of return because the S&L's could not meet the same guarantee on the investment as offered by the US Treasury. So the money flowed out of the 'tradional savings and loans assocations'. This cause the S&L's to not be able to meet the Federal Reserves mandates for capital requirements. So, the S&L's and other banks then had to reduce the funds offered to their clients or reserve the funds for their 'best' clients. The result was a 'credit' squeeze. Not precisely the same scenario as now but somewhat familiar as to the effect. Businesses were closing, layoffs were occuring, etc.. Coincidentally, the 'Oil Embargo' occured in 1974 and this 'little' shortage we have in the Southeast USA is nothing compared to the vast shortages experienced then. We don't have an oil problem now. We have a supply problem. In 1974 cities were turning off street lights, automobile dealerships were turning off the lights illuminating the cars at night, the shopping centers turned off the lights in their lots after closing hours, one could drive down the street and it was 'dark'. Go past any shopping mall at three in the morning right now and every damned light is on! The most important question to ask about the 'bailout plan' is who will benefit? See my opening statement! The premise is that the Federal Government (backed by the ability of the US Federal Government to enact and raise taxes to be paid by the American Taxpayer and his children and grandchildren) will 'lend the money' to the 'financial institutions' to 'buy the bad debt' and it will be 'held for a few years' and when 'market has improved' the 'properties will be disposed of' and 'the goverment will make money' and the "taxpayer will not have been stuck for the check"! Refer to opening statement. So, let's see what we have here... A system (the American mortgage correspondent banking system) that 'evolved' over a period of 15 -20 years into reduced credit requirements, also known as 'easy credit' (not only mortgages, but automobile loans, credit cards, home equity loans, etc..) that produced such mortgage products derisively referred to as Ninja (No Income, No Job, No Assets) loans within the mortage industry. As the financial industry realized the money, yes it was that old devil - Greed - that helped grease the skids on this debacle, lots of money, fortunes, that could be made. Then the modern day 'Robber Barons' of the 21st Century - banks and financial institutions - stepped in to finance the machine. Do NOT feel sorry for the institutions! The people that made the decisions were paid fortunes over the years and became enablers to perpetuate the 'business model'. Don't feel sorry for the stockholders as they benefitted from the stock dividends paid and the increase in the share value. Don't feel sorry for the homeowner that, knowing he had to 'stretch' to get in the house but was counting on the 'increase in market value' to 'bail him out' when it was time to sell. Frankly, a lot of people gambled and lost. Now, I know someone is going to flame me - I am speaking in generalities here and not into individual specifics. I was a Collection Manager for a Mortgage Company in a former life and I know for a fact that bad things happen to good people. Again - generalities. The 'debt' of $700 Billion is NOT a specific yet. It is a generality. It is too good an opportunity for the 'Robber Barons' to pass up. Everyone will be bellying up to the bar looking for his free drink! No Congressional Oversight! My, My... the lip smacking, the $ signs dancing in their heads, the year end bonuses they thought were gone.... It will be a bloody feeding frenzy! Are the "$700 Billion in assets" at market value or or they at their "current value". An example: A loan for a single family residence of $1 Million. The original loan appraisal was for $1.25Million. The 'current market value' is $900,000. The property is expected to be held for 4 years and, since it is a luxury class residence in hurricane prone Florida, the maintenance and insurance is expected to be $100,000 per year. Would the lender take $500,000 right now and move the property and avoid the pain of preserving, securing and marketing the property for potentially the next 4 years? Or under a bail out plan would they just sit on their hands as they no longer have any money in the property and it is not their loss? If so, that loss gets eaten by the US Taxpayer, his children and his grandchildren. There is no such thing as a free lunch. Someone has to pay every time. See my opening statement. This whole plan is based on the future being bright and rosy, all the income projections come true, the war in Iraq is over and the financial drain stops. It is really amazing in that the Bush Administration has yet to hit their income projections that were put forth in his first term to secure the tax reductions promised in his campaign 8 years ago, the Federal deficient is growing and now, as if by magic, there is another $700 Billion to be doled out! This is a very complicated issue that has shaken the American financial markets to the core and that ripple went around the world. It should take intense soul shaking debate in the House and Senate to reach an agreement. This is not something to do ill advisedly or quickly regardless of the 'political pressure' of a 'Presidential campaign year'. Now, let me address the comment in the original post: I heard something similiar in casual conversation but don't recall the specifics. There are approximately 300 million US citizens. Well that includes children too. I think the average family size is 2.5 people so that is 120 million households. 700B/120M = $5,833,333 per house hold. But it gets better: approx 60% (I think this is pretty close, could be wrong though!) of the households are home owners. That brings the amount to $9,722,222 per home owner! Kinda sobering isn't? Especially when the average home price in the USA is a LOT less than $9,722,222. A lot of the debt is in construction, land acquisition and development loans. One builder locally went under with a debt load of $120 million. This type of 'asset' is the hardest to work out. The inventory of unsold building lots will take years in some localities to absorb. I heard a news cast recently that the inventory of unsold condo units in Miami constitutes a 5 year inventory. Is this thing resolvable. Yes it is. I believe the longer it takes to come up with a 'workable plan', the better the plan will be. One last little USA saying: The American voter often gets the goverment he wants, not the government he deserves. Refer to my opening statement.

Hi ClayB, Johanna and the rest of the Leatherworker.net community, This really is an unexpected pleasure as I truly made my contribution to support this site! The efforts of Johanna and 'others whom I don't know' have made this site possible. The freely given information to the 'newbies', such as myself, help to educate all forumites and help perpetuate this craft for I have received far more than I have given. Thanks again to those who made this site possible. Randy

Siegel's of California www.siegelofca.com

For awl blades, both C.S.Osborne and John James, try Campbell Bosworth Machinery Co. I ordered from Siegel on Friday, had a call back on Monday that the awl blades, CSO #44, and the harness needles, #3 & #4, were not stocking items. I ordered the same from Campbell Bosworth via internet the same day, prices were much cheaper than Siegel, shipped on Tuesday, anticipated delivery on Thursday via USPS First Class Mail.

Hi RonSC, I sat down one time and developed a ‘formula’ for calculating the thread requirements of a project and promptly forgot it! Here is the quick answer: Use an arm span of thread. It is recommended in Al Stohlman’s book “The Art of Handsewing” and it was recommended to me by a gentleman with 60 years leatherworking experience. Thread is cheap. The leatherworkers for hundreds of years used the same technique. If you think you will run out, cut the thread, get sufficient new thread, start with a few backstitches and finish the stitch line. It is better to have too much rather than not enough at the end of the stitch line! Ok, now the formula!. WARNING: Your mileage may vary due to how tight you pull your stitches, the thickness or number of cords/ply and/or weight of the thread and any variance in the thickness of the leather used in the project. Final warning: I developed this for saddle stitching. Needed: leather thickness in inches, i.e., .250” for example; stitches per inch; seam length in inches; and, the length of the “working end” of your thread, i.e., that part of the thread connected to the needle. First, calculate the amount of thread needed for one linear inch: ((leather thickness X Stitches per inch) X 2) + 2. Now that you have the amount of thread needed for this thickness and stitches per inch for one inch, multiply this by the seam length in inches. This gives you a length of thread to sew the seam. Now add the amount needed for the 'working end' of the thread, i.e., when you finish the seam that amount to thread from leather to the needle and double this number (remember? Saddle stitching and two needles!). For example: edge on sheath consisting of two 8 ounce leather = 16/64ths or 1/4” or .250”, sewn at 5 SPI for a seam length of 6” and a working end of 12”. ((.250 X 5) X 2) + 2 = 4.5” 4.5” X 6” = 27” 27” + (12” + 12”) = 51” The average man in 5’9” or 69” tall. A ‘span’ of thread is about 69”. So, I use the span method. You mentioned you do rifle slings. What is the seam length? Let’s be conservative, say 48”. 48 x 4.5 = 216” or 18 feet of thread to keep straight, untangled and clean. The benefit to me of this exercise is that I now know that, for me, my rule of thumb (based on the projects I do) is 6” of thread per inch of stitching/seam. I know that anything less than a 8” seam is a span of thread. So my ‘unit of measure’ is 8” and thread length is in multiples of spans. Hope this helps! Good luck…