pete

Chocolate is my favorite color- so I fill a little nestles chocolate bottle like the kind that you out into a school lunchbox, with Bick's #4 almost to the top, and pour in(for me) about 3 tsp of dye. If you have one of those Nyquil or cough medicine cups it's about 3/4 full. Experiment and find a shade that you like. Kevin Hopkins ttold me about it and said that he was experimenting as to how much to use. I got the impression that bick's wouldn't mix with it if you used too much but I haven't found that to be the case. I rarely use antique anymore. I out on a coat or two of Bee Natural RTC as a resist and then the Bick's. You don't have to rub it off afterwards, use as much as you like (a little goes a long way) and it leaves the piece smooth and protected like a coat of shoe polish. Plus the Bick's really gets into the tooling because it's so liquid-y.

Thanks Storm. Helped a great deal. I might even post the results. By the way- do you have a translator on your mac? I noticed that you reply to every country in their native tongue! Either that or you speak 26 languages!! pete

I've never made a belt from a craftaid but I have an order for one. The craftaid is for a 1 1/2" belt and has borders. I can cut a blank or order a blank. Storebought blanks always seem to be about 1/32 narrow so what do I do about the border as it won't fit well with a 1/8th edge? Should I center it, forget the edge and border on the template and scribe a border after tracing, cut or buy a blank that it ,say, 2" wide so that I can see the edge and border and trim both sides after, ???? Any help would be appreciated. I know that I can pull it off (having made many belts before) but I would really like this to come out well with a well defined 1/8 border. I just hope that the craftaid lines are straight and true!! pete

I'm telling you. Try the Bick's and dye mix. The dye goes on evenly and the Bick's resists water. I have a coaster that I made awhile back that I put a glass of water on and it left a wet ring on the coaster overnight. It didn't soak in and didn't leave a ring so I would think that you could dunk your holster to mould and SHOULDN'T have a problem with blotching. pete

I always finish my project and then simply use a sponge(not wet but soft) to liberally rub in Bick's with the dye mixed in it. Always goes on even, buffs to a shine in 1-2 minutes. Bo at Springfield Leather showed it to me a few years ago when I asked him how he does an antique finish. He said that he never uses antique anymore.. No need, as the dye darkens the tooling and goes on lighter on the smooth leather, doesn't need wiping and sheepskin afterwards, and treats the leather as you do it(the Bick"s restores the softness like a coat of neats would) but it doesn't darken the leather. try it on a scrap. pete

just a thought- how about we all make 4x4" coasters with our maker stamps somewhere on it. That way we can get creative AND trade stamps. Plus we will have a practical item to put on the desk pete

pete

Mark- Beautiful work! Question though Did you cut or click the straps before tooling? I ask because I wanted to know how you got the "channel" widths parallel and even with the stitch groove. What I mean is, did you cut it out, lay in the stitch groove and use IT as a reference to mark the parallel channel for the border stamp? thanks and once again REALLY NICE WORK respectfully pete

just stunning! Question- when doing your finger cuts, do you draw them on the leather, draw a general shape, lightly sketch in borderlines, do them entirely freehand as you go.......? How do you keep them so even as to shape, spacing, size, etc?

Were I you- I would buy a piece of 4/5 oz leather. Call Kevin at Springfield Leather. He will pick out a nice useable piece that will fit your budget. You generally buy leather by the sq. foot so if you have limited money he will cut a piece for you. I say 4/5 because it is great to work with. It is thin enough to make wallets, billfolds, checkbooks, coasters, etc and is thick enough to really practice your carving and getting depth and color to your shading. pete It is a great all around weight for many projects.

A shoe and bootmakers trick to stretch is to wipe iso alcohol over the boot and stuff tightly with paper. The alcohol stretches the leather without harming it. I've done this on leather shoes but not on exotic leather. Call Kevin at Springfield leather. Bo Ridell is the on site bootmaker. He is nationally known and can answer it for you immediately. \pete

MOST grateful my friend. Is this a great forum or WHAT?! pete

Does anyone know where I can get the mylar that I got from tandy years ago? It was like the film they sell now but had a coated background that held pencil lead really well and erased cleanly. I have seen posts from saddlemakers here but they order it in large rolls like 20' or so. Do any of you want to sell me 1-2 yards? That should hole me for awhile. I'll pay shipping if you like. pete

you can just back stitch 2-3 holes and go 1 extra with the front to back so that both threads come out the back. While pulling both snugly ,,place a really sharp knife as close as you can to the 2 threads and WIGGLE THE THREADS to cut them. DON'T TRY TO CUT THE THREADS BY SAWING BACK AND FORTH WITH THE BLADE AS CLOSE AS YOU CAN- YOU MIGHT CUT THE LEATHER OR ON OF THE PREVIOUS STITCHES. A tap with the mallet and you are good to go. pete

Interesting! I too have 2 ceramics. One I've had for who knows how long, and the other probably 2-3 years. The Old one has an "OLD" color to it, like and old piece of marble- a little yellow and almost a translucent look to it. . Cuts as smoothly as anything I've ever tried. The new one looks more like a white shiny false tooth. Doesn't cut as well and needs stropping. I just viewed and passed on the Jerimiah Watt video. He uses a steel blade but it is really thin. I have searched the internet and have found that a LOT of sheridan carvers use a really thin knife. I mention this because if there is anything that I would change about the ceramic it would be to make it thinner but due to the ceramic itself, I don't think that they can do it without making it too easy to break. I don't use metal blades because it is too easy to undercut my corners- even with a hollow ground blade. I would need to practice more but I have never undercut my pattern with the ceramic. pete

thanks everyone. I can't figure out why I couldn't get an address on him! Sent for a catalog. thanks again pete

sharpie.

can SOMEONE tell me where I can find a picture and an order form for a Chuck Smith knife? I swear that I have spent an hour on the internet looking and can't find anything other than an address to order one. I want to see a picture and the different models of barrels and blades. FEEDBACK- do you folks like them? I didn't like the Henley and sold it to Trot West the other day. Couldn't get it as smooth to cut as my 2 ceramic blades. ANY feedback would be appreciated thanks pete

I have just seen the dvd for the 3rd time and think that it is brilliant! A GREAT help to those who are just starting or want to lay out their first saddle. It's all in there. Not in the least bit too basic for experienced toolers-I LOVED the close-ups of the tools and techniques for perfect flower centers, use of shaders, etc. I paid $180.00 + tax directly from him. I will send it post paid for $160.00 if you want it pete

Kate Beautiful work as usual. Curious- what weight and what brand of leather do you use on a project like this? Because of the nature of a game board- the initial piece of leather better be pretty flawless to say the least. Also- do you cut the squares with a swivel and ruler, ruler and utility or scalpel, ....? I really look forward to seeing this progress. thanks for the "look see" pete

I should have said that it was the blade only. Didn't think that I had to as the blade is $27.95 as posted. Whole knife/blade is more like $85.00 thanks all

I have a new Henley knife that I have barely used. Stropped a lot and never liked. Anybody want one? I will sell it for $20.00 ($27.95 new) and I will pay shipping in contintal U.S. OR... I will take something in trade like a bissonett #2 or #3, a pack of #11 scalpel blades, a ceramic blade that you don't want(I love them) etc. let me know pete

Name your price and I'll let you know immediately. I would love to have a round knife that size. pete

Nice Job! Funny that you would post this as I just finished one last night for my 5 string elec. mandolin. Custom made it's a tele body too! I am either going to glue it directly onto the pickguard or go to the dollar store and get a $1.00 plastic 3 ring binder. I use them a lot for stiffeners in album covers. Just cut out the sides and punch out the 3 rings to use somewhere else (like an album!) DON"T glue it to the body. You will regret it someday. pete

I'd say that if you did it in that order then you should be fine. Please post after shots! and what is a 12" digging tool? pete