howardb

Very nice! Brent

Brilliant concept David. I recently visited both the Hide Crafters and Tandy home stores in Fort Worth, TX. Nice folks. Try contacting them directly & see if they have CAD files of the tools. If so, it's plausible for them to be squished & exported as line art. My guess is that very little, if any, already exist in CAD, but it's probably worth an e-mail. There are other toolmakers out there too, like Barry King, so getting a complete library is likely going to take time! Regards, Brent

...Fire away. Now that's funny! :biggrin: One thing that didn't get touched on in the myriad of replies is the history of leathercraft in the US. I am a rank beginner and don't know lots about the craft yet, but there was an interesting presentation at the IFOLG show this past October. They were introducing the "fathers" of the craft. Literally, it has grown up out of the old west. The "wild wild west" as it were. Guns and knives were literally survival tools. As time went on, the manner of carrying said tools became more embellished, and the craft's roots, at least here, are steeped in this wild west tradition. Thus you have a craft born of making saddles, holsters, and sheaths. It's natural to continue to make these kinds of things, even if you don't own the things that go in them. I guess my point is, nobody wants "cowboy" style holsters for their cell phone or I-pod, and most fashionistas wouldn't be caught dead with a traditionally carved purse. Hence, the prevalent use for stylized carving tends to fall back on guns and knives. Best regards, Brent Howard

Thank you all for the welcome! I should probably have included my name in the initial post. It's Brent Howard. :biggrin:

Hello, I'm a newbie. I got bit by the bug in Texas last month at the IFOLG show. I took "kids" class, enjoyed it, and got that basic tool set. Free class, free tools. Can it get any better than that? I took a leather painting class in the afternoon and found that way cool. I've dabbled in just about every other art medium throughout my 40-odd years and I think I finally found something that appeals to all the things I liked about other art media. My father in law (passed away) always wanted me to take up carving, and my mother in law is ecstatic that someone in the family is going to do leather work again. I've joined two of the guilds in the area so hopefully I'll have lots of help. I'm diving in head first... I'm making a holster for one of my pistols. I'm making my own pattern and now I'm trying to find a good design that will fit. I've got Al Stohlman's book to show me the steps, and an expert to help show me what not to do!