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So many details. It's a wonderful bag. The edging looks good. I don't think I would be able to lift all that thing can carry!

Nice job. He'll be able to find that H# key now, that's for sure.

Wonderful news Kate! It doesn't mean there shouldn't be a few coins in the cup for all that you people do! For you newbies, the information retrieved will be well worth a little in their tip jar....

Johanna, Please let us know what it will take to bring back all the data from before the Crash. I'm sure there's a lot of us who believe the world is a drearier place without all those treasures, that were once here. It's like the loss of the world's history when Library of Alexandria burned down. (Maybe I'm stretchin' it a bit there...lol) If it's a matter of money to hire a programmer, please count me in for adding to the till, and I'ld bet there would be plenty others who would too! Just let us know. If any of you people out there feel the same way, don't be afraid to Paypal a few dirham Johanna's way. Or if you haven't become a Contributing member yet, maybe you could do it now. She deserves it for all that she's done anyways..... Not trying to cause trouble here, just feeling the loss today for some reason, and anything that makes this place stronger..., I'm all for it.

Nice job Jordan!. I really like that color, it's a rich brown...and me too on the corner idea.

I like that style of lettering. Looks kewl. I like that little monogram diamond too. Yep, practice is always the key, one day it just clicks, and you are off. People don't like to see carving done in black, they don't want to hide the carving...but in this situation it actually accentuates any mistakes. The reflection makes even minor things pop out at you. So don't be too critical of yourself. Someone on this board said something to the effect that, if they didn't see improvements in each new piece, then they weren't doing things right...

Thanx CitizenKate and Pip. Things I have observed: Python is a heavy skin, and the scales are hard. With thin snake skins you can wrap all the way around the plug, and push the plug through deeper, further into the opening, but with this heavy skin, it's hard to do it that way. I sanded the plug smaller than the hole to make room for the skin, laid the skin in the hole, and pushed the plug into it, but it wasn't real tight after that, exposing the edge of the strap around the hole more than I wanted. Python may be better used in a larger/flat situation, with an overlay border of leather, like on a knife sheath. I will have to try this with a different snakeskin or exotic. There is another method of inlay where you slice into the leather at an angle, and beat down the center, then you slide the edge of skin into the cut. I've tried that before, but my cuts looked like a 59 yr old man cut them...oh yeh, I am 59...lol "Hands of a sturgeon" Share your inlay tips here....

Is that a swivel knife I see in his hands?! Congratulations...nothin' better than this.

Thanx Tom and Ian! Tom, I can barely afford to look at a Les Paul, never mind own one...lol. Thank goodness, I still have my Gibson Nouveau that I bought for $350 in 1987.

I have a 35 year old python skin hanging around. I never did any inlay before, so I thought I try it. It's done with cutout plugs. I've got a lot to learn on how to do it right, but for a first one, not bad. Still fighting to learn the Toro 3000, but I think it has more to do with the operator. No...I'm sure it is...lol. Overall good looking strap, I think. Python plugs in 8oz, 3oz backer. Swarovski crystals. Walnut dye in neatsfoot oil, with just Dr. Jackson's on it for now. It's a bit heavy but should break in after a while, especially if used with a heavy axe.

Now you tell us!!!!....lol

I am truly impressed. This style of yours is developing into something incredible.

Be careful Beaverslayer, first it's Primo goathide, then you move up to the hard stuff...

During the week it's just NPR, and a local oldies station...nothin fancy out there, except on the weekend, I get to hook up my wife's Sirius Radio from her car, then it's the Blues all weekend. Woohoo....

I've got the latest smellorama card for my PC. 10mgs onboard memory, and quad simplex processor. Everytime I log in to this forum, the whole house smells like my shop.

That's a beaut! You do know your stuff, that's for sure! With each passing day, the odor will dissipate. For me, the color is awesome, i prefer it. You can't do any rush jobs with this stuff, but the time waiting is worth it, to me. The important thing is no bleed or rub off. Scratches don't show cause the black goes deep into the hide.

I think you got it just right. It looks used, and burnished from a bit of wear, but not so much like some people with the cracked leather, and whipping chains against it. Great job there...

David, You had me looking all over the internet for this for the past hour...no luck! I did see a Craftool 3D of the wolf Paw print at Zack's and others, but that's it. Strange there isn't a series of different animal prints.... Good luck, but you may be forced to have one made. Or if it's for a one time project, maybe carve it into leather once, and then take some liquid steel (in a tube) to make a stamp that won't last long, but just might work.

Very classy looking job, Tom! Braided handle is a knockout, and the lettering looks well executed. I like the linework with the texture. Makes me want to tie up some flies...now where are those turkey feathers?

There are still some large saddlery companies, with carving and braiding capabilities in house, making things here, you might try them to test out a price. Or...you could hire All of us to make them. E Pluribus Unum! Some people might make one a month, others maybe 10....You set up the final quality control, and payments...Trust me, that will be the wave of the very near future. Just a thought...lol. You don't want to really hear my rant on Manufacturing in America.

Zack's Manual edge ink dries bright and shiny without burnish. Nice if that's what you want. Reliable dries flat, and it takes a lot of burnish to get it to shine, even then, it's a flat shine. There is a wax in it, so the more you burnish, the smoother it can get... If you want it to shine, you have to coat it with leather balm, or tan kote, or something like that. Sounds like Reliable might be what you want to try.

I have set my tent up at fairs alot, and the one thing I have learned is that you want people to come into the tent. If more than two people queue up in the front, the passerbys look over their shoulders, and move on. Make room inside for a few people to mill around. That leaves room for the others to enter and look around. Out front is okay if you are handing out pamphlets or serving food, but if you have wares to look at, you need to make room for the looking. And a way to enter and leave, buffet style is even better. Generally the workbench/deskshould be as far back as possible. If the site you are working has room for the bench behind the tent, or off to the side....even better. Some fairs are more lenient than others that way. Depending on how much stuff you have, those "museum" type stands take up a lot of space. They are good to show off certain items,or if you have only a few items, but If they were a bit taller, and had some shelves...all the more room to have smaller stuff below the premier things, for people to paw over. Sometimes the walls are great to hang things, at other times, it's better to be open...the people from the next booth can see your stuff at the same time...brings 'em in sometimes. Overhead things are headbangers. Too many stands/legs on the ground are foot kickers. These crowds are not the most courteous or careful. Kids nowadays are basically unsupervised!!..Precious little snowflakes that they are. I've had entire tables kicked over, and you have to smile, and eat the profits lost. Millions of things to learn...each vendor has to learn what special circumstances he/she has to adapt to. The only way is to just do it, don't be afraid to change things even as you sit there. Write notes to yourself. Observe the goings on during the day. Watch and talk to the other vendors. If you're too busy for that because of selling...don't pay any attention to anything I've said...you've done it right...lol

I've never beeen successful in 49 years...that's right, I started when I was 10. My father just passed his 80th birthday...he quit around 60yrs old. Here's how he did it...gospel truth.. There was this mysterious russian guy, supposedly some kind of mystic hypnotist guy, in Boston. Long beard, frumpy clothes, the works. My father, and his fairly new bride went to see him. When they went in, he didn't say a word. He reached out his palm, and they put $150 in it. They sat down, he looked at them, and said "You're done". They both walked out of there pissed. They never smoked again.

Glad to see these bags up again. They sure are among the best I've seen. You should be proud Ian. How you stitched that heavy leather inside out is amazing.

My favorite part is coming up with the new idea. Whether it's a simple new stamping pattern, or new design of a bag, when it finally clicks...that's the best part for me.