TomSwede

Good lookin work Jordan! Solid and suits the knife well, it has that look that says -will last for a lifetime! That basketweave in that space, phew, tough one and you get points for bravery. Tom

Yup, those look decent...... well my man it's a good thing that you keep an critical eye at your work but I just think they look FANTASTIC! No 2 there is absolutely faboulous with it's lengthy, sleek, tooling all the way work, stunning stuff. I'm sure we'll enjoy having you on the board and no matter what the skill I just think there's a little something for everyone here! Tom

That's a cool seat, I love the looks of rivets going all around the edges even thou I prefer nice braids for most type of seats. I've seen somewhere a seat where the leather doesn't cover the pan out to the edge so there's a nice metal border sticking out with brass type old style rivets holding the leather down. Theres some really sweet opportunitys with theese types aswell so i hope to see more of theese seats. I think they're just really down to the core of the art of tooling leather. Tom

You're the man Frog! I love stuff that blends two styles and this is a new style to me. The clownhat bonehead blend in really cool with that hat going into the pattern. I also agree with Grunt that it would be really cool with a version where they're almost hidden and pops out at you at closer look. Keep 'em coming! Tom

No such things as dumb questions! I done one strap so far. 2" wide and 1/8" thickness. Don't know what weight that is but I think you'll figure that out. Veg. tanned, no lining, rough edges (per request) no particular strap adjusting, just very long and holes for adjusting. Some simple carved tooling on the front and it carries the weight of a massive Gibson Les Paul. Owner is superhappy with it. Oh and one thing, this is THE place to ask such a thing! Congrats and welcome to the friendly and helpful atmosphere here! Tom

Wow Tammy! That is so cool, the mask really found it's way to the right owner. I get chills to but have to admit that it's the cold draft I have at the moment (open window, Sweden, winter=cold), lol. I'm really happy for you and things seem to be spinning your way now. Carpe diem-Seize the day...okay I do it in Swedish aswell, fånga dagen! Wish you all well and good luck! Tom

Nice job on that bull. Looking forward to see the progress 'cuz it looks realay promising. I like that bull. Tom

Very nice and cute stuff! Tom

Looks good for being a stressed out item. actually i get my best ideas with this conditions, downside is that some solutions get's poor development. Pic's to small to show but I'm guessing you didn't have time to care for smooth edges and getting that silver stripe really even. I like the shape of it, clever idea! Tom

Nice and well done! And a nice gesture towards your friends dad. Looking forward to see it laced n done. Tom

They don't charge!! Then they appear to be faulty and should firsthanded be replaced with what you ordered from the beginning. I'd probably end up sending them back but after reasoning with my friend in the matter. About cheapos, I use Soligor batteries for my Canon slr and they work fine. Quite popular here in expensive Sweden. Tom

Hey Tammy! Nice to see that you're on a move and daring lifes opportunitys! I wish you the best of luck and hope you'll have some time left over to pay your regular visits here and show your cool work. Tom

I get the idea of what you are saying. I think the work area probably plays a big role too. A table that I could walk around completely would be nice for the big stuff. I have a desk scuffed up against the wall and some shelfs there aswell so I just gotta struggle on and try to find my way! Thanks for your reply, I really appreciate it. Tom

Oh yeah! Now I'm just so curious! Actually, I got the itch really bad today for making myself a new belt for our whisky clubs trip to Scotland in may. Just have to bite it out of me and try to get along with brading the string I need. It is soo difficult and I'm in a slacker mood now (and having a couple of whiskys..but shhh don't tell anyone, it's only Thursday) Tom.

Very nice and it sure will put a smile on his face! Clean and neat design, that fox looks good! Tom

Not any cheaper in Sweden if that's a comfort for ya'! And the leathers, ah NOT cheap and kangaroolacing ha ha ha 4 times the australian price (and not beveled) but we have lacing from reindeer that is a Swedish animal and the price for that is almost as much (it is a little cheaper but one has to put in aspect that kangoo lacing is a bit stronger, I think) well, oh they surely are expensive exotic imports, yah right! Well, have a pint and cheers bro, we're in the same boat Tom

I like it! Black n white and shades in between is soo nice. Only thing I didn't like is the knife pic to the right, maybe it'll work better if the background was cut out completely so it was just the knife against the black page. Gotta try to keep in mind to come back to it 'cuz it looks promising and has some similarities to the design I have in mind for creating a webgallery (I can reveal that black n reds are my essentials), oh BTW I really like the nightowl logo on the left. Tom

Oh, hope we get to see it! I'm kinda eager to see stuff at the moment since I make a large item and go slow with it, the lust to finish off projects and post them at a higher rate is eating me inside out. Tom

That looks really cool and, phew what alot of basketweave, respect! I guess you got the technique down before undertaking that task. Antiquing sure looks well with this kind of items! Now that you're all buttered I'm gonna ask how you feel about carving and stamping such a big leatherpiece 'cuz I just tooled a design on a piece similar in size for the first time (4,5ft x almost 1ft, 145 x 28 cm) . I'm not happy with the tooling and the carving especially was really hard to get as good as usual. I just had such big problems since it's so hard to turn the leather when going around corners and such and very tricky to place my stamping tools correctly and it took alot more time aswell. Any pointers would be appreciated since I'll do more work on this size leathers. Tom

Nice going Corter! Shure are stepping up with your designs and how fun it is to see the development of your wallet projects! Tom

Nice work, just love that fat braid around. This seat is well suited in black with that clean uncompromising motif. The finish is to die (dye) for, very crisp! Tom

Hey Scouter! Feeling for ya'! I have not had this experience but very close. 1" remaining and I still had the ending of a mexican basketweave to do. After some trouble getting the lacing needle into the braid for closing I did manage to get it closed, puhh. I sure was frustrated with myself for being sloppy with measuring. I did not want to rip up 3 hours of work! The double loop is easy to splice so if you have some similar lacing laying around it could be done without you having to start allover with lacing but being who I am I'd probably end up on the phone with TLF and my angry voice, lol. Anyways here's a link to how to splice, just in case you'll need it but you should give them a call anyways. http://www.btinternet.com/~kingsmerecrafts/page96.html Good luck and hope we get to see the final results, always enjoy to see your pics. Tom

Looks good but I think some kind of antique will make it look even better, but thats me then. I thought about the strap edges right by the snaplock, maybe they should be more rounded off to prevent ugly fraying there. I like the edges the way they are now but with suggested antiquing or colouring they would need some attention probably. Nice work! Tom

I have about the same problems as you guys and really don't have much info (or experience)for you but this is another Fiebins acrylic finish, leather sheen, that I think look far better than their arcrylich saddle lac spray and Tandys super sheene. Only used it for a couple of items so far, one belt ("simple belt" post in showoff) and it seems to be working fine, customer have used the belt almost three weeks and is happy and then this one handle wich is for items currently in the makings. This handle has been forcefully testbended without showing any tendencies of cracking or coming off from stretch. Here's how it's built up, first a layer of fiebings pro red and a layer leather sheen then Tandy saddle tan (seem to stick well) and a topcoat of leather sheen again. http://www.fiebing.com/product.asp?typeID=8 Down on page you find the finishes mentioned here but super sheen. So heres a closeup that shows off the finish a bit, as always there's a problem with glare in photographing leather that I tried to keep to a minimum but the actual piece off course look better in a more normal lighting situation but I think the glare that I get with saddle lac finish is so troublesome that for the last stuff I did with that I just snapped the pics before finishing and with this finish it looks at least acceptable. Tom

Great looking stuff! Didn't spot many mistakes at all so I guess it's 'cuz you know them that you see them. I bet the owners of theese are really satisfied. Loved the background stamping on Leo Zulueta and the black bursting against the edges of the Diane bag. Slick! Tom