billybopp

That's awesome, @RockyAussie. Yet another reason why I need to get into 3d printing, and maybe even laser cutting! This is a great thread on matching production level to the tooling and techniques that you use. If you make all one-offs, then paper patterns are just fine. You have to lay out and cut pretty carefully (slowly) with those, tho. I don't do production, although I've made several of some items. For those, I use thick cardboard with clear plastic glued on both sides to stiffen, pretty similar to what you used to, and have as yet to wear one out - but I also haven't done more than a dozen or so of any one thing. Using a pattern like that goes faster, since you can ride your knife along the pattern but still have to use some care to not cut into it. I have a couple of acrylic patterns that I've purchased - very similar to what you've printed and they go very quickly by comparison - love 'em! I suspect that where it might make sense to go with a clicker & die would be where you want a production run and have a lot of inside cuts or something fairly intricate - as in this recent thread That's where the expense of clicker and dies might pay for themselves in the time saved punching all those holes, inside cuts and such. You'll see the same principals involved in building cars and airplanes. GM or Ford have to build MANY thousand cars to make it worthwhile for them to make the tooling and processes in order to hit a price point. Porsche and Ferrari use more manual processes because they don't do the same production numbers, and have more leeway in their higher prices. They just can't price justify the tooling to go fully automated. Thanks again, Brian! - Bill

Things to look for would include holes, scars, brands, bumps (bug bites), excessively "fuzzy" back, excessive wrinkling, too much uneven coloring (there's likely to be a little), uneven thickness or excessive uneven hand/stiffness above the expected differences on various areas of the hide (could indicate untanned areas). Don't worry TOO much about marks or discoloration near the edges, that is to be expected ... A little. I'm sure others may have a some other things to look out for. -Bill

Looks good! That's probably more even and straight than I have ever managed similar bottoms. They ain't easy! - Bill

This might be helpful . - Bill

I would add to this thread a couple of things that I found did NOT work! I tried a couple of woodworkers mauls - One all wood, and another rubber - they did not work well. The wood one tends to dent and eventually chip when hitting metal tools. The rubber one was just plain too bouncy. They will work nicely for other things - but not for leather work. - Bill

The Science Channel, and I think Discovery channel both broadcast an excellent series of documentaries about the Apollo program called "Moon Machines". One episode was about the space suits and their development - and it covers the involvement of ILC/Playtex in pretty good detail. It is available on youtube and well worth a watch - especially if you're a space junkie!: - Bill

Both knife and scabbard are very nice indeed! I love the way you did the removable belt hanger too. Great idea! - Bill

I've been buying from Buckleguy ... They are a little more expensive than some others, but the big thing that I like is that their hardware is matched. If you buy antique brass snaps, they will be a very close match with antique brass buckles, etc. That can be a huge factor when making something with a variety of hardware in it. With some other vendors, they source from different suppliers and things do not necessarily match up well - at least not without a lot of research. - Bill

I bet those feel nicer in the hand! (in addition to looking great) -Bill

Because, hey!, the last thing anybody wants is chunky glue! Great tip Dwight. Thank you! - Bill

There is certainly room in any leatherworker's toolkit for more than one hammer! I started with a couple 14oz rawhide hammers that were given to me with my original toolkit, and used that for quite awhile and it works alright, but lacked the hitting power for things like 3d stamps and gang punches. So I was at the auto parts store one day and saw a dead-blow hammer, 2lbs I think, and bought it. It works really great on those 3d stamps, gang punches and belt end punches. Eventually, I decided to try a round maul for the lighter hits needed for tooling stamps in place of that old rawhide hammer, and after a little practice found that I really liked it. The old rawhide hammers still get used from time to time, but I mostly rely on the round mauls now. One of these days I do want to try a tapered round maul, as I think that may work even better for me than the plain round mauls. With round mauls and hammers, you need to keep your elbow up while tooling for a square hit, a tapered maul would allow me to drop my elbow and maybe even rest it on the worktop which is much more comfy for me. Sometimes things need to KNOW they've been hit, and other times you need a little more finesse. - Bill

Maybe a better distinction than the term "hand made" would be "single maker" - where a craftsperson sees the the whole process through from leather selection to finished product. Just a thought - Bill

That looks great!!! - Bill

My Gomph is just about 145mm across, 75mm from ferrule to the edge, and 2.2mm thick. My osborne is 100mm across, 45mm from ferrule to edge, and 1.8mm thick. The Gomph was probalby 6" when new, but it's 100 + years old, so has probably been worn/sharpened down. I asked about a year ago about what the star markings mean on Osborne knives, and Bruce Johnson enlightened me. I suspect that larger than 7" is uncommon, but somebody that knows better may chime in for us!! As for thickness, I think some of the modern LeatherWranglers and Knipshield knives might be thicker. Maybe somebody that has one can put calipers to 'em and find out for us! - Bill

I like the idea, but I think I'd make a couple of changes ... go a little wider. 150mm is a shade under 6", which is a pretty common size. They do often come as large as 7". I'd also consider putting a V notch, or some such in the middle of the long sides so that the will center up on the handle when you drop your knife in. - Bill

That sounds like a good plan. I move my rig out to the back porch when I want to use it, so that I don't have to worry about overspray, and less about breathing in the nasty stuff (I wear a respirator anyway, to be certain). At some point, when I have more space, I'll probably make a spray booth so that I can work indoors more easily. I've tried using a 5 gallon tank to transport air and it does work, but it does not provide air for very long. With this being something that you want to do, Murphy's law dictates that the tank will run low exactly when you are at the most intense part of the job, or about 1 minute from completion of the job. If you do decide to go with an indoor rig, I'd suggest getting one that has an air tank. Most compressors will surge or pulsate the air supply which can cause issues if you are trying to do fine work. The air tank acts as a plenum and smooths out the air flow. Airbrushes work much better with smooth air flow. - Bill

I have a few, but prefer my Paasche VL. It's double-action siphon feed. I like siphon feed because you can use different sizes of jars - small for details, and larger for when you need to cover a large area. They have three different sizes of needle/orifice add-ons which will give you a spray pattern from very fine to relatively wide. Double-action lets you control the dye/paint flow making fades easier. I have a Paasche H, which is a single action external mix siphon feed. Single action is pretty much either on or off, with no fine control of feed. It is fine for covering bigger areas, but not so much for fine stuff. I do not often use my Iwata gravity feed. It's a very nice brush, but I find the small cup limiting for anything but small areas. - Bill

I've heard good things about the Tandy pro awl, but I can tell you from experience, avoid the 4-in-1. The handle is OK, but the blades might as well be made of butter. Totally useless. My preference for awls are Seiwa which are more straight sided than some, but they are relatively short blades so, not so useful for thick projects. Most blades arrive fairly dull, so if you are not comfortable with shaping and sharpening the blade, you may want to consider one from Leatherwranglers they are made by CS Osborne, but are sharpened and shaped for you by leatherwranglers. Whichever awl you choose, I'd suggest putting a small leather disk at the base of the blade. Without that, as you push through the backside of the leather the awl tends to jump forward, leaving a nice little circle embossed into your leather if you aren't careful. Tandy needles, particularly the "big eye" ones, do tend to break. I switched to John James needles long ago and have not looked back. If you are new to hand sewing, I'd also suggest using a woven polyester such as Tiger Thread. You need not buy full spools of Tiger, as there are a number of places that will sell you shorter lengths such as Rocky Mountain Leather Supply. They also sell Fil Au Chinois linen thread, John James needles, awls, and quite a bit more. It's considerably easier, particularly while you're learning. Linen has a few bugaboos that require more care. Linen picks up dye more easily, ends often have to be thinned to fit through your needles, it can fray on longer runs requiring that you splice it more often, and it's a bit easier to accidentally pierce it as you pass needles through. That said, those may not be such a big factor on a holster which requires relatively little sewing compared to something like a briefcase. Hope that helps - Bill

Fiebings sells (or at least used to) a white "dye". It's garbage. You can get white leather, and that's fine. Otherwise, stick with paint. - Bill

Just a curious thought: Can a top and bottom feed skiver be easily set up so that the top feed is idle? Maybe disconnect the top feed and replace the foot with a roller foot, or a standard foot? - Bill

Unfortunately, stitching chisels are not all the same. A 5mm spacing for one brand might make a bigger hole than another brand does. You may be comparing apples to oranges with somebody else's set unless they are the same brand. JJ needles sizing is a bit confusing too, and as I understand it they may be labelled differently in Europe vs. the US. So it all gets a bit confusing. Fortunately, needles are pretty cheap so it's not too painful to have several different sizes. Question: Are you having a hard time passing the needle through with thread, or without? If without thread, you need a smaller size for sure. With JJ needles, the eye is only very slightly larger than the shaft of the needle, which is why many folks like them. Other needles have a HUGE eye in comparison. If with thread, is the knot moving up to the eye? That can cause some problems with passing through the hole. A simple help for that is to pierce your thread leaving about an inch behind the needle eye. If the knot slipping up toward the eye, a little drop of superglue will hold it in place. Hope that helps! - Bill

ROFL! Even if the information that you provide weren't so amazingly good as it is, your sense of humor would make your posts worthwhile. Thanks!!! - Bill

I think that a video series on profitably making leather goods would be awesome! For now, I'm a hobbyist, and mostly make gifts for friends and family. I've sold a few items and had a few commissions, which is rewarding but not really profitable. That said, I can see a time in the future where I may use leather goods as a supplemental income after I retire. At that point, profitability will be much more important. So yes! Please!! - Bill

@mikerock - While there's no real substitute for a good old paper book, this book is available for free at the moment on Tandy's leathercraftlibrary.com - but who knows how long that will last. Get 'em while you can! - Bill

Perhaps surprisingly, it IS rocket science! WD40 was originally developed for Convair in the 1950s for the Atlas missiles to protect from rust and corrosion while they were stored for use. https://www.wd40company.com/our-company/our-history/ - Bill