cybertracy

Hi, also listed some sets, all detailed in the post on ebay for anyone interested (such as the celtic or barbwire type). Most never used. Craftool Leathercraft Stamp Sets - Lot of 15 different sets Item number: 170713889230 thanks!

Just wanted to give anyone interested a heads up, I just listed a large lot of Craftool Stamps, no repeats, some discontinued. Complete list of numbers will be posted shortly. Craftool Leathercraft Stamps Lot of 206 stampsItem Id:170713883602 Thanks!

i buy overhead projector paper--you can get it for copier/laser printers (cheapest) even with a bubblejet, print your design and run a copy onto the overhead transparancy. If you watch sales, you can get a box of 100 or so for under $15. It also seems to be a bit more durable than the vellum based stuff. Just be careful not to put the printed side down on your damp leather if you are transferring your design by tracing. I haven't yet experimented with using the printed side down to purposely transfer the toner, but it seems like it would work that way too (sort of like rubons)

also, leather seems to be the perfect organic medium the skulls (or dragon scales) tooled on some vegtan look WAY cool even for a novice like me! My first "skull" fascination was the Pirates ride at Disneyland -- just before the first waterfall--And mark well me words, mateys: Dead men tell no tales!

fyi: if you choose to go the oxalic route, an inexpensive, very common source is the product "Barkeeper's Friend" found in the cleanser aisle of most grocery stores. Its only ingredient is oxalic acid and it's generally used as a less abrasive alternative cleanser for copper and other soft metals. MSDS

most grocery stores carry Barkeeper's Friend (among the powder cleansers). It is oxalic acid.

well, angelina was already taken!

my two favorites... strictly for the costume study of course:

your welcome, and I am still very interested if you find an answer elsewhere! thanks for the post

this topic (somewhat) discussed here. If anyone has any different success stories, I'd love to hear them!

I actually thought Tandy's books were a big help, but I was a complete novice when I purchased them--if you buy these books (even the ebooks) and aren't satisfied, talk to the store manager. A friend of mine got store credit on the purchase of an ebook he already had in hard copy and didn't realize until too late.

My first round knife was an earlier (3 years back) Stohlman from Tandy, and I've since moved on & spent more on a second. I would like to say I'm glad I bought the Stohlman first, I learned to sharpen it and may not have tried on a more expensive blade (it took me a few tries and varying techniques to get it as sharp as I wanted). I also probably would've cut off my hand with a bigger, sharper version until I fully understood how important it is to keep all appendages, pets and children BEHIND the blade in motion! I understand dull knives are more dangerous than sharp ones, but in my case that applied more when I used the blade correctly than when I was first learning. Sharpened correctly, and stropped often, I still grab the Stohlman to make straight cuts on less thick leathers or to lop off chunks when needed.

Thanks a bunch for the info! I'm in Ojai & glad to know a reliable source is so close.

PDF was too large. PM me and I'll send you a copy.

i'm pretty sure this is a copy of the pdf I downloaded here a while ago, hope there is no problem posting it now?

Wow, and he's republishing and benefiting from the manual you paid to send him. Karma can be a fickle lady and a hard one to put your faith in, as we rarely get to see her payback to those who wrong us, but seeing results in my own life (both awesome and not-so) I believe his is coming. At the very least, he's also got some NSF fees on his end too (ironically, probably more than your original charge), and most likely not just the one from your transaction. As for the curse method, my aunt once gave me advise in the road rage arena, when you curse, make it something ridiculous like donkey ears or forever losing the ability to speak English and it ends up being something you can chuckle about than letting it ruin your day or inviting bad energy rebound. Anyway, thanks for staying kind and may he wake up with fluorescent green eyebrows tomorrow.

You will find "Barkeeper's Friend" in any cleaning aisle of grocery/hardware stores. It is oxalic acid, and I've used it successfully for several years now. Although the word acid appears as the ingredient it is classified in the same category as most household cleaners and the same care and caution should be used.

You can go to any fabric/sewing store and look in the clothing pattern books or their on-line sites (McCalls, Simplicity, etc). Most jacket patterns can be adapted to leather, but they have many leather-specific designs as well. This is a link on very basic instructions on how to sew a leather jacket once you have the pattern. Good luck!

I found a couple reviewsfrom different sites. Would love to hear how it works on vegtan. . . review (1) review 2 review 3

Found this site during morning coffee surf. Wonderful section on leather use and all done without Craftools! NativeTech: Leather and Clothes

Congrats on your grandpa's tools! I got a couple ruby blades in a lot of tools on ebay once, and I understand no sharpening is even suggested, but I do strop (polish) them as often as I do my ceramic blade (when you start to feel a bit of drag). Good luck & enjoy!

this was a fun post! I have small variances of some of the gripes, but my biggest is I have a gazebo I've converted set up on a gradual slope and if I drop a tool on the floor it rolls for miles. If I'm in a rush or I get lazy and instead of hopping off the bench and crawling under and around benches & tables, etc. . to find it I grab another one to try to make do (which rarely does) and in short time I end up with tools either scattered on my bench or under them. Like everyone, I've spent so much time trying to adapt my workspace to avoid the huge task of leveling the ground, I probably could've leveled it twice by now. . . It also gets very cold nights and winters . . looking for an inexpensive way to warm up.

all the above will help greatly, as well as lots of practice, it's a craft that just takes some time to master. Also try running back over your finished stitches with your spacer wheel, it helps "set" the stitches and spread them more uniformly.

what did you reply? funny thing is, when you get to that level of arrogance, there really IS nothing anyone could teach him!

yin-yang came right away to me as well, along with a peace sign and a finger point (left and right), the male/female symbol and that 'cowhide' shape blank inside.