NavyVet

Craftaid No. 2017 Craftool Co. Billfold Craftaid No. 2017 Oak Leaves Acorns WITH Template Craftaid No. 2055 1978 Craftool Co. Checkbook Craftaid No. 2055 Flowers Leaves WITH Template Craftaid No. 2190 1977 Craftool Co. Billfold Craftaid No. 2190 Buck & Squirrel WITH Template Craftaid No. 2230 1984 Craftool Co. Billfold Craftaid No. 2230 Oak Leaves Acorns WITH Template Craftaid No. 2310 1953 Craftool Co. Billfold Craftaid No. 2310 Deer Jumping WITH Template Craftaid No. 2340 1953 Craftool Co. Billfold Craftaid No. 2340 Flowers Leaves WITH Template (DEFORMED) Craftaid No. 2430 1953 Craftool Co. Billfold Craftaid No. 2430 Flowers Leaves NO PLASTIC Template (Matches 2431) Craftaid No. 2431 1953 Craftool Co. Belt Craftaid No. 2431 Flowers Leaves 1 1/4 Inch WITH Template Craftaid No. 2540 1953 Craftool Co. Alphabet Craftaid No. 2540 3/4 Inch Letters WITH Template Craftaid No. 2560 1984 Craftool Co. Billfold Craftaid No. 2560 Scared Horse WITH Template Craftaid No. 2600 1953 Al Stohlman Craftool Co. Billfold Craftaid No. 2600 Horse & Shack NO PLASTIC Template Craftaid No. 2643 1953 Craftool Co. Key Case Craftaid No. 2643 Flowers Leaves WITH Template Craftaid No. 2810 1956 Craftool Co. Billfold Craftaid No. 2810 Horse Head & Flower NO PLASTIC Template Craftaid No. 2821 1953 Craftool Co. Belt Craftaid No. 2821 Leaves 1 1/4 Inch WITH Template (DEFORMED) Craftaid No. 2985 Al Stohlman Craftool Co. Handbag Craftaid No. 2985 Roses NO PLASTIC Template Craftaid No. 3050 Craftaid Co. Billfold Craftaid No. 3050 Flowers Leaves NO PLASTIC Template Craftaid No. 3207 1960 Craftool Co. Alphabet Craftaid No. 3207 2 Inch Letters A-I, W K L U NO PLASTIC Template Craftaid No. 3220 1960 Craftool Co. Billfold Craftaid No. 3220 Maple Leaves Seeds WITH Template Craftaid No. 3403 1980 Craftool Co. Billfold Belt Craftaid No. 3403 Flowers Leaves WITH Template Craftaid No. 3730 Craftool Co. Billfold Craftaid No. 3730 Duck Pond Reeds WITH 2 Templates (1 BROKEN) Craftaid No. 4010 1978 Craftool Co. Billfold Craftaid No. 4010 Deer Jumping WITH Template Craftaid No. 6550 1973 Craftool Co. Belt Craftaid No. 6550 Leaves 1 1/2 Inch WITH Template I did notice something else, Some say Craftool CO and others say Crafrtaid CO.

I do not know what tools you currently own, but there are several ways to accomplish what you want to do. First you need to start with a very straight starter edge. 12 mm is .472 inches so the "Australian Strander" will work up to .5 inches. It is hand held by one finger. Another option is simply a straight edge and a razor knife. You MUST hold the Ruler and edge of leather together down, preventing movement while cutting. Others I know will also use a blade that has a HOOK in it. There is a tool called "Jerry's Stripper" which can cut a strip up to 3 inches 76.2 mm. Holding up to 24 blades I can cut in 1/8 inch increments. The closest inch equivalent is .5 inches at 12.7 mm. Hope this helps

What is really NOT touched upon is when making smaller objects that are tooled is that the leather stretches when hammered. Tandy Leather sells two types of glue for this purpose. These are the steps I take to tool a smaller item. 1. CASE the leather. Lookup casing on YouTube. LOTS of videos. 2. Transfer the image using the craftool stylus or a small round point shaping tool. 3. Carve your image. 4 At this point allow your leather to get nearly dry. Apply the TEMPORARY paste glue around the back edges of your leather and attach to something that will not stretch. I've used thin art foam board, heavy paper or grocery bag, cardboard and you can even use a scrap piece of suede. 5. Now you can re-moisten the surface of the leather for tooling. For many leathercrafters there are 3 levels of moisture to working with leather. CASED for initial cutting. DAMP - (no water moves when rubbed with stylus), for border tooling around your design cuts and PEAR shading. And lastly lightly moistened with sponge, almost original color, for back-grounding, decorative cuts and final touches. 6. When removing the backing. Leave the leather piece flat on your table and pull the backing up. In spots where it is stuck, work around it, use a long blade, box cutter or you can skive that spot. I know... I've been told TOO MUCH INFORMATION. on more than one occasion. But the devil is in the details. The SHORT answer is use a backer glued to the leather that will NOT stretch while the leather is being tooled. Not a day goes by that I don't try to learn SOMETHING about anything. Tim

Creativity is an inspiration of the heart and can never be lost. Changing your focus only moves you to make new connections from the visual (SEEN) to the hands of creation. Tim

Art, talent, ability, capability, qualification. When looking directly at artistic talent as a mode of expression it denotes a means of expression that no one else has done EXACTLY what you have in the way that you have expressed it. If you do a "Sheridan Style" anything. You have copied someone else. All you have shown is GREAT SKILL, even if your work is flawless. We copy and emulate the best in others to develop ourselves. Then we can differentiate from the rest by making something unique. Tim

Sanding anything changes the overall size of an object. The rougher the grit, the more material that is removed. For thin leather it is far better to wax or use Edge-Kote then burnish. I am disabled with one GOOD arm and the other is weak. Finding a method that I was able to do came from that need. So out came a small shaped dowel, coated in polyurethane and attached to my drill. For LARGE pieces I can shape with a fine edge grinding wheel and on the other spindle I have an 8 inch buffing wheel. Tim

I bought a Husqvarna Viking sewing machine many years ago for my wife. Little did I know at the time that it was a walking foot and now I can use it for leather. The needles for leather can be found in your local sewing craft store and on Ebay. Tim

Buying a KIT seemed like an expensive proposition with a limited number of tools. The PRICE per tool was RETAIL or better. I went to Ebay and bought 2 major sets for 600 and 700, and sold the duplicates for about 350 in smaller lots. That kept my set under 1000. Went to Tandy on Black Friday for their sale and was able to get tooling sides 2- 8-9oz, 2- 3-4oz 1 suede 1 pig lining, 30 more tools on closeout (SOLD) on Ebay for more. And dyes and antique finishes. Spent a total of 350 and the sale of the tools paid for my leather. No need to buy someone else's scraps. Tim

I agree, Tight curves are the bane of every leathercrafter. There is a rhythm that you will get into depending on the lines you are cutting. Don't be put off on having multiple swivel knives with different blades in them.

How do I look one up in Naples, FL

I bought a 4 piece diamond awl set on Ebay from a China distributor that has a USA warehouse and they arrived within a week, for under 30. I try to buy my tools in larger lots but none of them had these fine ones for small work. Tim

I found a MAUN Universal Pliers tool set in a gray plastic box with dies not only for snaps but round and lacing punches as well.

I agree with all of you about blade selections. There is an added problem for me in the fact that I have one good arm and the other is very weak from a major accident in the Navy. I found a CS Osborne 1 5/8 punch with a steel base on EBAY that was totally rusted. I used acid gel, scrub brush, wire wheel, sand paper and gold paint to make it my leather WEIGHT to keep the work from moving around. It is easier to work on larger items. Sometimes it is better to purchase a LARGE lot of tools to get what you WANT and sell the rest in smaller lots to recoup some of your money. I have done this many times and saved a bundle. I have 3- 3/8 swivel knives non-adjustable, 2- 3/8 spare blades, 1 each 1/4 inch straight non, 1/4 inch angled adjustable and a 1/4 inch hollow ground adjustable. Sounds like a lot, I know, but getting them as part of a larger lot allows me to sharpen them before a project and keep going. Tim.

In the last 2 years I've spent over 11g's on leather tools and supplies. Shhh. What the wife doesn't know.... etc.

I bought a child's saddle on Ebay and am in the process of restoring it for my grandchildren. As a former Certified Electronics Technician with a love of fixing things I went from building to restoration on this project. I am literally going to COVER up the old flower sides with colorful horses. Finished the sides yesterday and here they are before dying.

Here in Florida we have Craft stores that sell the outdoor seat foam for patio furniture. It is a closed type of foam that is also resistant to mold and bacteria. The best feature is that it can be cut and shaped with a HOT knife. This enables me to use stacked foam layers and have it thinned way down along the edges.