steveb

wow - those are crazy! very cool.....

thanks, Grumpy - ya know i took the easy way out using rivets on the flap, normally I'd sew it and use burr/stake rivets, but this is a goof, so I cheaped my way through it a bit anyway - the color - airbrushed on with the following colors: fiebings oil dye> light brown >dark brown>mahogany> burgundy>black

that looks outstanding, i love the quilting and pattern - super tight stitching and I love the stud nice!

well the round knife is my tool of choice for cutting leather..specially curves circles? I'd use a circle cutter or get a punch/clicker die - if i was going to be doing lots of circles

very cool Spider - love the design - the font is killer, great carving and coloring..i also like the billet - great way to use it...excellent job but - why not line it? -it will last alot longer and will be more durable - also - i think i would have used a rounder lacing pattern if i were going to do a belt edge that way - i forget the pattern name - easily researched the back and edge of the belt can and should easily look as great as the front - and you could even do that now if you wanted! personally i think the front of the belt warrants it..lol my .02 steveb

yep - i use a version of this tech. and it works fine...i use a small weight and a piece of flat and smooth wood - rather than Dave's hi-roller setup..lol

sheesh, that looks more dangerous to the carrier than the assailant...

well Brent - let me tell you I have considered what you mention - and there is indeed a full fact sheet on the materials and tools that i use, the type of thread, the leather, the dyes, the topcoats, etc...it is a full letterhead page, goes in every package i send out - gives all the info you could even want, quite the fact sheet, if you will ..but i dont mention the scraps or "label" them for the following reason/ my customers are usually bikers or hot rod devotees and mechanically oriented people for the most part. These are folks that LIKE to figure stuff out - and so they see the scraps , they see their piece and they see how the parts fit together, and the can take part in the discovery of what a piece of handmade leather is all about..these are folks that like to put 2+2 together - i know -I am one of them and we like a bit of drama and discovery, and it is damn obvious to anyone who has gotten a "box" from me - that everything is carefully thought out and planned..... there is no "off the cuff, there is no spontaneity, I got this down, I know it pleases..i have years of customer testimonials...and have fine tuned my delivery to a configuration that works for me...you need to be true to your brand, know your customer and understand what delights them...it is diff for horse folks, i'd suspect..... the trick is in asking people what they want in a skilled manner (ya just cant ask 'em what they want) and then this is the hardest part-> ya have to listen (most of us suck at listening, but it is a critical skill, if your gonna be a good marketer) - and thats in a very small nutshell how you learn to delight your customer... personal peeve-> I hate it when people tell me they "exceed" their customers expectations - that smells of blowhard-ism, and is the sure sign of someone who doesnt listen - god knows it is hard enough just to MEET someone's expectations, let alone "exceed" 'em.... Bottom line for me: as soon as you take someone's money - youre a professional and there is responsibility that goes with that, IMSHO with all of this palaver - of course steveb

Thanks Dave - yeah, nothing like having speedy access to your balls....but to your other point, yes indeed, I am going to repurpose this idea for an eyelgass case....need to bee a bit stronger, but the overall concept is goo

background tool is an oddball one-off tool, I got in an ebay buy years ago..... interesting & neat? - never thought they were mutually exclusive..lol

my friend holds a license on the beer pong game and asked me to craft 2 ping pong ball holsters for him.....go figure!

ugh, gee well that post took a left turn, well the belt did come out nice, and i liked that font and style of burying the the font in the borders....

bingo - gold star for LarryB. Nothing like showing how far you have to go and how much work it takes to bring a raw piece of veg tan to the finished state to satisfy a customer. Never had a complaint from a customer about price or work after i started doing that - way.back , and its pretty cool to see what I started with.. since my belts are usually pretty ornate and colorful it is obvious that alot of work went into it. Since i start every piece wiwth a raw slice and dont make anything beforehand - it brings that point home. I use good leather, i want my customers to see what i started with and the knife marks. I also tend to leave a little piece of each belt raw, so every time the customer puts it on, he sees how much work and thought went into it. stingy with scraps? not me - material is cheap - even the good stuff in the grand scheme of things.....i turn my scraps into stuff, give 'em away, throw 'em away, make myself stuff with 'em like key chain fobs and luggage tags or zipper pulls, i try and churn my scrap pile every three months and my customers love getting the scraps that came from their piece....i mean who else does stuff like that but me....? ;-) I print my own brochure on a a good laser printer by the 100 count, my original mallets logo, an illustrator designed based on my explicit direction and every year i do something new with my logo presenation - a new sticker and a new business card are customary and every 2 years i do a new shirt - all designed by a good friend of mine for barter. hmmm yeah, thins isn't not rocket science, but i care about it more than most do and am in a position to do something about it... - and ya know friends, if i was half as good a leathercrafter as i am a marketer - I'd be able to give up me day job!! steveb

This belt was stitched using my boss and 277 thread. glad i could add a bit o inspiration!

well i finished up an old "1623 " belt for a customer..never did find out what the number stands for...lol i love doing obscure stuff like this...

I dont know about all youse, but as I was pacing up a belt to go out, i realized that i et alot of compliments about how my stuff arrives at the clients door - and I though I'd share how i make the "out-of-box" experieince a good one. I use a new box I hand wrap the item in layers of tissue paper i throw the scraps from making the piece into the box I put a few stickers, brochures and a note in the box, etc..some schwag i hand write the address I send it Priority, delivery confirmation it makes a diff, it looks like i care my .02- how do you all do it? steveb

These steel/brass bend snap sets are very old and have come to be a part of my works look. Never seen 'em anywhere else - lucky for me - i also got the press dies with them, otherwise they'd have been pretty useless. steveb

mmmmm, elegant!

ya think...lol

oh yeah for the record, because i never miss an opp to show my ace to a fellow craftsperson, here is the not quite ready for prime time cover i began this project with. the cover is made of elk, the pockets are veg tan, the sticthing sucks and originally used a line24 snap (shown here) but i replaced it with a sam brown stud and lost the penny, i like the press stud closure, but it dont work so good for a book that should lay flat - got to keep the accoutrements simple, low profile and close to the edge oh and elk is fun, but it is soft, doesn't like to be stitched unless it is lined and absorbs dirt and oils like crazy - this is not the right application for elk lessons learned

hmm looking at that llittle strap, i used a flower center stamp, a silversmiths stamp(the wagon wheel design), a small camo and seems to have hit it pretty hard with the #2 (i think) Osborne edger this strap piece was one of those pieces i had in my scrap bin, as were the inside pockets, as they were left over from making wallet pockets.. i always make my own prototype stuff with scrap and cast offs, makes you work harder to get the right result

Thanks all - for the kind words...I am pretty happy with the way this came out... i really like the simple look ah yes, my signature snap - when i was given a garage full of leather "junk" some years back by my friend Robert Praadke, painter to the stars and an extraordinary guy, I got with it - a load of hardware, much of it corroded, but in all the dirty, dusty as hell stuff there was a big bag of these 4 part snaps - along with the press dies - HA!! score one for the good guy!!, learned from a seamstress friend that these were called birdcage snaps because of the shape of the "male" part of the snap ( I will post pictures when i get time), the tops are brass plated steel - that is the only disappointment, that they aren't solid brass, but these snaps are super positive locking and strong, unique - i have NEVER seems another one like it anywhere, and they dont need the harsh tug of your normal line 24 snap - which always seem to stretch and pull at the thing you've put them in, i use them whenever i have to use a snap and they fit the look...which they always seem to do when i am at the helm

i like pecards, clear shoe polish, neat lac, pitch blend - all of them - for a seat., i'd use neat lac due to durability, although it is a PITA with antiquing. my .02

well, i took some time this weekend to make myself a journal cover...for the moleskine journals i carry...something off the beaten trail stylistically for me..shake the tree a bit, ya know i carry a book where ever i go at work and have been wanting to improve on my original, "a little too rough for prime time" cover (which didnt keep my from carrying to all my muy importante meetings , butt of course!!) - which got cut up to be added to the parts bin..whilst i was making this anyway, i had a nice piece of leather which i believe came from Duane some 2 years or so ago - which fit the purpose perfect, lined it with a suede split thing i bought from god knows where...and used one of my signature birdcage snaps to keep the important papers under cover, and a scrap from a toolbag strap i made some while ago, skived down nice - kept my sewing nice and tight on the edge and the corners, used my econosew table machine and there ya have it this one ready for prime time, ya think? steveb

nice airbrish work on the edge and i love the black dragon, with the red/orange sunburst background color - very rich looking