robert

ahh... the age old question... what defines a particular style... as randy noted, today's sheridan style is characterized by small interlocking circular patterns, and as spencer noted, today's sheridan uses "thumprints" instead of pear shaders - thumbprints being flatter and typically are not walked. there are other tool differences as well - steeper beverer being one. today's sheridan has evolved over the past 50-60 years, and Don King is widely credited with developing it and refining it to the style we all recognize today. interestingly though, if you look at the book on sheridan style by bob likewise and clint fay, back in the 50's, sheridan style evolved from other styles, and back then, it was similar to porter style. Today, there are lots of people carving what has become known as sheridan style in a very narrow sense - essentially replicating clint fay's style that is most prevalent in the likewise/fay book. However, there are other artists that that are also known for sheridan style, but have their own individual look to it. Don Butler and Chas Weldon come to mind. And even more artists that have taken the style and combined it with their own tastes and created their own style... which may have sheridan characteristics, but is not what we call a typical sheridan style... so the style continues to evolve, making it hard to define it...

wow... i cant tell from your email if you have the tools or not, but if you do I would love to see pictures, impressions, etc. i was aware that a lot of veterans got started in leather, but wasnt aware that the tools were govt issue. robert

if you dont mind the snow sheridan wy, fort collins colorado or estes park colorado if you wnat to stay warm and like city life, my vote would be for Fort Worth (or west of there), or if you love open country, dont need lots of city amenities (including big grocery stores or hosptals... my vote would be for Alpine or Fort Davis, way out in west texas.

nice... i love the floral stamping. oh yeah, they are a bit bright aren't they?

fyi... i shipped three tools in a padded envelope to austalia last week for $5.40 (USD)

works for me. nice looking site - i like the color scheme

This is a fun topic. I am still working on "my style"... i do floral western items mostly, and over the years i have moved from Tandy style to Sheridan style to California style- then did some "vintage" style using patterns and components from decades ago. With each style, i pick up things that i like. I am in the process of trying to take all the things i liked and combine them into something that I like. Essentially, I am trying to draw a pattern that has some old flowers (some modified/modernized), but using modern stamps, and done in a more contemporary layout (smaller flowers/leaves and a more circular layout). I am mostly influenced by the work that i see others do that I like.

Clay is right on target... Tandy sells some narrower bevelers, but if you do small, tight sheridan work, the steep angle bevelers will be better - obviously with a flatter beveler, you squash down more of your other work. Barry King makes good steep bevelers for the money. Hidecrafters has some too... OR take tandy bevelers, and just make them narrower with sandpaper. Put the sandpaper on something flat and then just sand the sides down till it is as narrow as you want. i would probably use something like 400 grit or other fine paper so you dont take off too much and so it is still smooth when you are done. Then you have a narrow, but relatively flat, beveler. Narrow tandy bevelers won't be as good as getting some good steep angle beverers, but it would be a cheap way to start... or you could make some from scratch... but thats an whole 'nuther addiction in itself...

Thanks Sidney... I always hate it when the best way to do stuff is the old fashion way - WORK! On another note, I see you are from south callahan county... my wife grew up in cross plains and her parents now live between Cross Plains and May.. and my family is from Brownwood - and my last name is Wood... no kin that I am aware of, but heck you never know... Welcome to the site. robert

Chan Geer has a book of Checkbooks and Billfolds for sheridan style.... Hidecrafter used to carry it and still may or send write chan at Chan Geer 41 W 7th Street Sheridan, WY 82801 i have his phone number - send me a private message if you want it as i dont want to put it out on the internet... robert

LOL! come on down anytime - you'll fit in great.

I like it, Wood. I like studying old flowers and modernizing them - it sort of keeps the tradition alive but moving forward.

Very nice - I like that brindle hide and the basketstamping looks great. Are they for working or for show? (Obviously they could be used for either or both, but it would seem that a benefit of chinks would be that they are cooler, but the hair on would make them warmer, so I am just curious about their purpose. Are chinks made short to be cooler or for some other purpose?) robert

Great, thank you. the "buttering up" is very sincere, though - this site is super.

Ok, I am not sure my question is either feedback or a suggestion, so just to makes sure that I am following all proper protocol, let me say that this site is GREAT! I am sure everyone has spent time on other internet forums that regularly degrade into flame wars and other nastiness. This site is always positive, which is great. And everyone has so much to share... Now i have a question... is there any way for me to pull up the posts on which i have contributed? Sometimes I dont remember which topic and I "lose" good info. Any suggestions? Thanks. robert

Jordan, i had the exact same situation as you... except it was for a paying customer, not my wife... very embarrassing. I was told then that the dye has alcohol in it... so between casing and tooling, and the alcohol based dye, the leather was dry. Now I put a very light coat of oil before dying. I havnt had any problem since.

Snaallen... as you see, there are as many ways to finish edges as there are leathercrafters probably.... i have tried most of these methods and some others but still am not as good at is as i would like. Recently, I've gone back the way Al Stohlman taught us... water and a hand slicker. I've learned that you don't want to get it really wet and then start burnishing.... it needs to sit a bit (like you are caseing the edge). I have a wooden slicker and use an antler for hard to get places. That is for non-died edges - die wont take once you slick the edge. I am ok at straight edges, but those curves and hard to get to places are boogers! Keep expirimenting. And when you find something that works really well, tell the rest of us! On the question of your stitches - if you are stitching at 6-8 stiches per inch, probably the easiest way would be to stop stitching with an inch or so to go, then evaluate, based on the space remaining and the stitch size, whether the remaining stitches should be a hair over or under the "standard" stitch length to work out even. That way, you are making your adjustment over 6-8 stitches and not all at once. You could do this with a ruler or just eye-ball it. Hope this helps. robert

cool... could you post a pic or two of what it looks like? i have a push beader but have never figured out how to use it with good control. robert

very nice. i really like the beaded border where the back binding peice is sewn to the front and back cover.... very stylish. robert

cool... thanks all for the good suggestions. Sounds like I have a little research to do... My previous sites were very simple - mostly just an electronic brochure to point people to when they say "can you make (fill in the blank)" - I could just show them the kind of work I do and some examples. I always kidded that the page was really so my Mom could show all her friends (just fyi, i am mid-40s... I've learned that moms never tire of showing off their kid's stuff ).

Over the years, i have had a couple of webpages... the first was designed using a template that my internet provider provided, the second was using Front Page Express, which was included on the computer I had at the time, but is no longer available. Both created simple websites, which was all I need. i think the total site was 8-10 pages, with probably 40 pictures. For you folks that have webpages, what is a good software that is just "plug and play"? I just want a simple site that is easy to update... Any suggestions? thanks robert

WOW! very nice work. Thanks for sharing, and welcome.

i read that a lot of people think they are hard to adjust, etc... I have had one for about 4 years and really like it. It took me a couple of months to fiugre out the quirks and get it adjusted right, but since then, it has been great. it probably depends on what you want to use it for. I am a hobbyist, and probably sew a couple of projects a month on it. it takes about 45 minutes to stich a belt, which is much faster than hand sewing, but obviously slower than an electric machine. i sew mostly belts, notebooks, bible covers, etc - average of say 8-12 ounces. the throat is fairly narrow, which can limit what you can sew. i have had to adjust some project designs because of that - again, for a hobbyist, that isnt too bad, but if you are trying to make a living with it, that might be unacceptable. i use the flat plate attachemnt on most projects - belts, notebooks, etc. i remove the flat plate for things that wont lay perfectly flat like holsters, knife sheaths, etc... hope this helps. robert

ditto to jredding's post... smooth tools are the easiest to make or modify... get a couple of tandy bevelers and go to work with a file. if you have a beveler that you like, study the face of it - we think of bevelers being flat on the bottom, but good ones are not - they have a belly to them. once you file it down, you can work it smooth with some wet/dry sanding paper, then strop it with rouge to polish it... it has to be really smooth and polished as much as you can so it will walk and so it will leave a good burnish. or buy the procrafters from hidecrafter and sand off the checkering with fine grit sandpaper... then polish. its a bit intimidating at first, but once you try it, you will find that it is not that hard... and for some of us, it becomes a new hobby in and of itself! robert

The LTLG is the only physical guild in the area. I dont think San Antonio has one. The Lone Star Leathercrafters are in Fort Worth - I am a member of that one too, but dont attend the meetings of course. I am not as active in the guild as i used to be (due to work, kids... ) but let me know if you need anything. Tandy does some classes on some saturday mornings, and usually on saturday mornings there are a few folks there working on projects - so that is also a good place to get help, meet folks, etc... Dennis is the store manager - and all the folks there are good people. robert