The Major

very nice indeed

Very nice Art.

Real nice work.

Thanks! No, there was no antique or highlighter added. To achieve that color I basically used about 15 different shades of green and red

Thank you everyone. I really appreciate it.

Thanks everyone!

Welcome! Sit back and enjoy yourself.

Well, I started this binder 2 years ago as a competition piece. Needless to say, it got put off to the side as orders started piling up. But I finally finished it. So I thought I would share. Design is colored with spirit dye. The inside is covered with a nice soft goatskin suede left in its natural color. The edges are braided in a two tone color with kangaroo lace. the only thing about this binder is there were a couple scars that was hidden on the leather that didn't come out until I put the finish coat on it. (Pisses me off) I put up some pics of the scars, they are not real noticeable, but you can see them none the less.

Beautiful work as usual. Thanks for sharing.

There should not be any reason you can't fasten the leather the same way as you did the rope. Using a combination of small brads and cyanoacrylate adhesives, in some cases you can even use white glue. If you are going to use a spray adhesive, use a web adhesive. As far as the type of leather goes, that all depends on you and what you want the outcome to look like. But if you are doing the fancywork, try kangaroo.

It is still available. Anyone???

Nice job.

Pete, Yes it does smoosh the backgrounding a little, but you can just touch it up after you are done beveling. And the beveling is there, but since you run the backgrounder over the beveling, it masks it. I might also add, this is how I teach it to beginners to get them to learn to follow lines. If they jump a line, its much easier to cover up the mistake before beveling. Nothing is more annoying than seeing a tiger cub in tears cuz he screwed up and can't afford the $50 for a new piece of leather (That's a story for another day) Once the skill is developed, you can do it in any order you want. Personally, I bevel first then background because you get much more depth. You will find also if you bevel first your backgrounding goes much more quicker.

Dubbin - AKA leather tallow or dressing. I would also like to comment about over oiling. Please exercise caution when oiling. Otherwise you will have a piece of leather that is like a wet noodle. I would dress it. and take it from there.

That's great for a first project! Nice design on the spur straps.

Thank you!!!

What do the insides look like? I am assuming there are some pieces in there with hold to hold the que's. Thanks for sharing!

Wow, that is really nice.

Nice start. Can't wait to see the final product

Out of curiousity, what do your falls and crackers look like? It may not necessarily be the plaiting of the whip, but the fall and cracker if you made them yourself. Some thoughts would be length of the fall being too short, wide, or thick. And maybe the cracker being too short. You may also want to look at how your fall is attached to the tail. If the knot work (for lack of better words) is too heavy, that might also be your problem. Just my $0.02.

The best is to sandwich it between two pieces of leather. But another couple options could be, coating the snap with a rubberized coating which will eventually wear off. Or, skive the part where the snap sits, so it will be below the surface of the rest of the panel.

Very nice!

Thanks everyone!

Absolutely great tutorial. That lettering jig is a great idea. Thanks for putting it together.