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2Mad, don't be disgusted... If it wasn't for the questions, comments, and fuss, none of this would have been revealed. This forum has opened up doors that nobody even knew existed. Not too long ago, the leatherworker had limited information, now it seems we have this open forum to discuss. I just don't see this as bad....choices, information, competitive pricing, looks pretty good from my side of the fence.

I would wager that, with vinegar, they blacken, rather than dull.

The best thing to do is look to buy both to match. A visual walk through Tandy, or a place close to you will help choose. I doubt there is any effective manner of buffing out rivets to match a manufactured finish of a product from another company. But, and not seeing the two together, I am guessing a fine steel wool over the top of the rivet MIGHT sort of match the dees. This will be a new one to me, if anyone else has a solution they know works.

Okay, it just keeps getting better, and better from your shop! It's real hard to get large backgrounding even, but you pulled it off. Nice job, Ian. And that letter carving...wow!

Too cool for School, Tom! Must be that cold arctic wind...lol

Suze, Osborne makes arch punches that big, and bigger. Most of the bigger suppliers have them. They are around $40, I think. If necessary, You can probably get one made to the exact size you want for just a little more.

Sheesh...... I am the last person to drive anyone away from this board, but I'm also not going to shy away from a conversation (I do hold my tongue on politics and religion...lol). The people who run Artisan are adults. As businessmen, they should be able to hold up to a discussion of pricing and business practice. I know, I have to in my business. This thread has gone for a while, and no further comments from Artisan. A 40% ,or so, reduction, plus extras, is a little more than a sale on a modestly large priced product! If I was in the market right now for a 3000, I would JUMP at the chance for that price. An accompanying sale on accessories to show appreciation is not a "where's mine", but a little love towards current owners, and is not bad business practice. I love my machine. And may buy another machine from them. But to me, this board is about us, the leatherworkers first, not Corporations. Do we KTA, or do they K ours. Support them, buy from them, show our appreciation to them for contributing to this board...Absolutely. Try to get them to appreciate us, too.

I can see that being a loyal customer to some of you doesn't mean much. Should I put any new belts on sale to new customers (say $12), and my old customers (bought at say $24) commenteded. I would definitely offer them a new buckle (say $12) at a reduced price (say $6) to show I appreciate the customer who comes back. If I say "get over it" to my previous customers, I can surmise the results. That's my way of doing business. I don't lose on the cost of the buckle, and my customer knows I appreciate them all. Sounds like the people that bought these machines feel a tad under appreciated, and people that didn't spend the 2400 or so can pontificate.

Welcome to the Forum! You'll have a grand time here, I'm sure. Make sure you learn your way around, using search, etc, read as much as you can, but most important, get the camera situation fixed. We love pictures!

Kevin, I don't consider this a polarizing subject. I certainly don't know the whys or wherefores people come and go from companies, and really don't want to know. From what I gather, Steve is having the same MFG in China make his equipment. Maybe they will be better, maybe not. Time will tell. All machines seem to be foreign made now, so it's not even" Buy America". The future value means little to me also. I'm 60, if it lasts ten years.....cool. I LOVE my Artisan. It's a great little machine, and the next closest in price was twice as much! I would never gather that much cash to buy anything, if it wasn't for the Artisan. No, my concern is the fact that to restock with the new 3000, Artisan is offering a very good price break, but if they can do that, then they were fairly successful with their first round. But to throw in the extras, and the price break means that the new buyers are getting a better deal than those of us who helped get them off the ground. With the actual wholesale cost of these extras, Artisan could offer their PRESENT customers some sort of deal. The plates, and such are an expensive add on for me, and although I should have them to make my work better, I find myself holding back on the purchase. I will take all this under consideration for my next machines...

I bought mine before the increase over 2k, but it was still more money then they are offering it now (several hundred). Now I wonder what changes have been made to the new product, and are our older ones upgradeable...I hope so!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Maybe they can offer a deal to us "TEST" customers of the past one/two years, like a special half off deal on holster/stirrup plates or something...we/I didn't get all those presser feet, etc when we/I bought.

Thanks Ian, Also, The plate is only 1/2" wide, so there's room to stitch around with a cylinder arm or post machine. On a table, you'ld have to stitch upside down. James, I'm down to 138 without major adjustments... I'm going to pick up some new thinner stuff, and see if it's better than my old stuff.

Nope, not it... They might not have them in the catalog. In the second picture, there's one next to the snow proof, on the left. Just call them and ask Tim for them.

Three guesses...lol Zack White's

I've had a few people ask about these type of belts, so it's time to make up a batch. Here's the first two. I don't have a splitter, which makes it easy to make the simple kind. With the splitter, you just split back 4-5 inches, place the buckle plate, and keeper in, then sew it up. So I have to use a little creativity... The brown one is bullhide strap, with a calfskin top. Skive the strap tip down, place the buckle plate, fold over the calfskin, glue, and stitch. This one is Walnut oil dye, mixed with neatsfoot, covered with Sno Proof. The other is Chestnut Bridle, with Ranger style billet top. Handstitching would probably look better, and be able to sew tighter to the loop. It would also allow you to sew the loop in, in the more traditional style (ala Stohlman). But for production type, these look/work okay. For those who haven't made these, you can get the plate with either one or two tines. They also come in brass, if you can find them. I haven't so far. But a lot of makers have some metal shops make up what they want from brass and SS...that's a route, I may go. In general, I've seen these go for 16-20 dollars on the low end. 30-50 for slightly better quality ones, 70-80 from craftsman, and as high as 120 from nutcakes , I mean "designers"...lol I've dreamed up different versions for Bikers, Musicians, and Hunters. With a little salesmanship, I should be able to promote these outside of the mechanic crowd. Thanx fer lookin....As usual, feel free to show pix of yours, too

I wouldn't know the difference between light pink or hot pink...lol, but this site seems to have all the colors... http://www.rainbowsoflight.com/Rivets.html

5's 6's and 7's at least...maybe call, he may have the 10's http://www.eleatherworks.com/home.php?cat=696

Your question has got me googling around. I haven't found it out there, yet. But I did come across this interesting story on the history of the rig, and it's Maker (now who wouldn't interested in that?). http://www.fastdraw.org/fd_holsterhist.html

You can make do with many machines, but if you want to be serious about it, you'll confine your search to Industrial machines, with a walking foot. There are several mfgs that represent their products here, including Artisan, Neel's saddlery, Cowboy and a new one LMC ( Leather Machinery Co., I believe that's the name). Do some searches for these names. Our resident expert in these matters is Art. Check all his posts for a Minor degree in Sewing Machines There are also many companies that don't post here, such as Juki, Adler, Pfaff, Singer, etc. We've talked about all of them here, including the really old ones. Read under the Sewing machine topic.

Welcome! You'll probably learn more in a week, here on the forum, than any other method, so you've come to right place. Make sure you go over the quiver section here, and the getting started, you'll see all sorts of styles and methods. Don't forget to show us pictures of your projects as you gain steam. Don't be afraid to ask questions, we call this the best forum on the net for good reasons...

Welcome! Nice introduction with pictures and everything. You've come to the right place, for sure. There's a lot of holster/sheath makers to learn and share with here, so jump in, the water's warm, but stay away from the donuts!

I don't know enough about the technical aspects yet, but that first piece looks to me about the neatest I've seen. stitching is clean, molding...it's all good~.

I make handles for an Amp company, and watch them cover the boxes. The tricky part is the cuts, but everything else is straight forward. Contact cement, sprayed on the box, and the material, a linoleum type roller to squeeze any bubbles or crinks... The cement can come from any home depot/lowes/hardware co. Spraying is more even, but smooth hand application will work just fine too. The cuts are made like a rug installer would do. Overlap the material and cut throught the two layers at the same time...it makes for an almost invisible seam. Butt joints are usually not just butted, rather a piping will lay on top of the joint. Hope that helps

Okay, that's what's known as cool!

Sorry dude! Maybe you can take the train..... I didn't see that company on my searches, but I'm glad I didn't...lol. I did see half a dozen shoe shops, and a belt company...all cheap money for the equipment, but none of which I could use right now...but oh so very tempting....